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PSA: If you run an Android phone Goggle collects more information about you than you would think possible, but there is hope

submitted by Glowbright to whatever 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 18:43:26 ago (+17/-0)     (whatever)

I did not really think people needed to hear this but I recently was talking with a old friend and he really was oblivious. These links shocked him.

Privacy violations of stock android: https://digitalcontentnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DCN-Google-Data-Collection-Paper.pdf
More privacy violations of stock android: https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/Android_privacy_report.pdf

The good news is that there are in fact some good options for the privacy-conscious. I highly recommend https://grapheneos.org/ I feel like I sacrificed nothing except a physical headphone jack when I switched and that is not GrapheneOS' fault, just the lack of supported hardware with a headphone jack.


19 comments block

sort by: hot new top old low

[ - ] i_scream_trucks 6 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 21:22:36 ago (+6/-0)

PSA if you think Apple is any different you might just have a smooth brain.

[ - ] autotic 5 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 23:05:02 ago (+5/-0)*

There are no trustworthy phones. None. Not with special Pixel hardware. Not with GrapheneOS. GrapheneOS only makes the ghetto as non-shitty as possible.

"Flip phone!"

No, most of them run a stripped down Android.

"But the Librem 5...."

No, because as soon as you turn on one of the radios all the surveillance phones around you are reporting the location and unique ID embedded in that radio.

The best bet out there right now is arguably a WiFi only tablet with LineageOS, Aurora Store instead of Google Play, a firewall, and a VPN (maybe i2p) but even then you must use WiFi and BT radios only when necessary.

[ - ] VitaminSieg 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 01:39:24 ago (+1/-0)

Muh blackberry os10. Checkmate, surveillance niggers.

[ - ] Glowbright [op] 0 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 23:36:04 ago (+0/-0)

lol. Can't have the goy getting out of the pen, eh moshe?

[ - ] beece 2 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 20:22:37 ago (+2/-0)*

It's enough to make ya want to move back to having a landline. Thank you for the conversation. I will be trying Graphene soon.

[ - ] deleted 2 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 18:49:57 ago (+2/-0)

deleted

[ - ] Glowbright [op] 4 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 18:54:44 ago (+4/-0)

Root and firewall is a good start, but insufficient. GrapheneOS FTW. Lets you put google in it's place while still allowing you to run playstore apps. I keep the playstore in a box like a gimp. It only gets to come out of the box when I need to install an app

[ - ] foxtrot45 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 04:56:46 ago (+1/-0)

I suggest go with lineage with microg that has signature spoofing enabled. That is only if you want your banking app to run. I am at the point of just buying el cheapo phone for anything that needs to pass the safteynet stuff of google or needs service framework like uber, (detects unlocked bootloader and if the phone is rooted) and keeping my nice phone. I wish there was 2 phones in one with actual physical switch. One with the spy crap OS and the other your daily runner. The switch would just switch between the emmc (like a hard drive) chip. That MAC address stuff is amazing. I ran something on a PI one time to sniff packets. All devices where yelling 'Name of a older ssid' 'are you there' 'its me MAC Serial'. There is project on github where if you set up your pi it will announce new MAC address's in the area and send you a sms msg. It does not work that great anymore with new phones doing a random mac address every time they search for hotspots. Google also records SSID's and their MAC address along with the GPS cordinates and uploads it to their server. Also most idiots have google save their wifi password (up to the "cloud') what security? lol

To do what I suggested if your just starting off and are not very tech literate would take you 3-4 weeks of 8 hour days. I can do the above only because I have been at it so long and invest a couple hours here and there. I read that this year or next google has some new system that detects root and the current system is going to be phased out.

[ - ] Glowbright [op] 0 points 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 15:31:16 ago (+0/-0)

Respectfully, your information is out of date. I have gone down the LineageOS path and come back. If you are ok using Pixel hardware, GrapheneOS is a million times better. Nothing detects an unlocked boot loader because you re-lock the bootloader after the Graphene install. Uber runs fine, my banking app runs fine. Even things like Microsoft or Google Authenticator run fine. Pixel HW has MAC address randomization built in. Google does not record shit, much less SSIDs, MACs or GPC coordinates because of the grapheneOS sandboxed playstore. GrapheneOS does not come with any google anything. If you think you really need the playstore you can install it, but you are root. You can strip the play store of every priv and keep it bound and gagged in the closet. And you give up nothing... literally everything works. It took a few hours initially to set up but after that it has been just like using any other Android phone. If I handed you my phone you would never know unless you rebooted it and saw the GrapheneOS splash screen.

[ - ] foxtrot45 0 points 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 18:35:46 ago (+0/-0)

Thanks, good info. I'm going to look into this next time I need a new phone.

[ - ] letsgetit 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 00:38:51 ago (+1/-0)*

Looks like source code is available which is good. First thought was this is a honey pot. Remember all those 'secure' messaging apps from the past, yea most of those were suspect

[ - ] WhiteRonin 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 19:21:14 ago (+1/-0)

What is your position on LineageOS?

[ - ] Glowbright [op] 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 20:03:20 ago (+1/-0)

LineageOS is worth trying, especially if you have a older phone that is out of support from the OEM. I have had mixed luck. It really depends on the phone model but for a daily driver it was difficult - you may have to give up apps you use. It depends on what you use your phone for.

The trade off with GrapheneOS is "Are you okay with one of the 5 recommended phone models?" If the answer is yes, then you are golden. everything works. It is the best of all worlds. Every app works. The OS is hardened. Google is your bitch. You are root. Life is good. But you have to pick one of those 5 phone models.

[ - ] WhiteRonin 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 20:18:45 ago (+1/-0)

The reason I ask, is that Lineage supports other phones where Graphene appears to mostly (only?) support Pixel phones. Pixel's are not the most powerful or robust mobile platform.

[ - ] i_scream_trucks 2 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 21:24:04 ago (+2/-0)

Lineage = Cyanogen = Script kiddies stealing other peoples code.

[ - ] Glowbright [op] 1 point 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 20:39:37 ago (+1/-0)

Pixel's are not the most powerful or robust mobile platform

If you say so ... but have you see the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro? I don't know what you standard for powerful and robust are but I feel the 7p can hold up to anything on the market right now. It is year old HW at this point so I expect a new generation of phones from the likes of Samsung that will out perform will hit the market soon, but the Pixel 8 is expected to drop this fall.

...also on the exact same phone GrapheneOS runs faster than the OEM Android OS. Significantly faster. Stock Android spends half of its CPU power spying on you.

[ - ] carnold03 0 points 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 06:20:12 ago (+0/-0)

Interesting. I've got an old tablet that runs Android 4.1.1 and been curious to replace the OS. Assuming I can follow the installation instructions, would this work?

[ - ] FluffyBunnySlippers 0 points 2.4 yearsJan 19, 2023 00:22:16 ago (+0/-0)

How do you like it? Is it easy ti turn off radios and mic via the software

[ - ] SkullFuckerSupreme -4 points 2.4 yearsJan 18, 2023 19:13:26 ago (+0/-4)

But I herd the 5G gonna make the graphene explode!!
How u can fit the 5Gs in them bitches??
Widoutem blown, alldafuckup??? You lyin,nigga!! You lyin!!

Sez "you lyin$ or "you lyin nigga" seventy five more times hypnotically before chimping the fuck out.