What are everyone’s recommendations on making android more private? Given Google’s recent behavior around tracking and the like, I’m not really comfortable with then having all of my data. I’ve even contemplated going to iOS, since apple doesn’t have a vested interest in me having less privacy… But I just don’t like their OS lol.
I’ve tried GrapheneOS, and it’s not awful. For usability, I did have to add Google apps back in, but at least they are sandboxes.
For the moment though, my daily driver is a Samsung S21. What can I do to make I more private?
So far, I have:
- Switched to Samsung browser with adblock.
- Started using duckduck go.
- Installed duckduck go’s app tracking protection. That was an eye opener.
- Restricted location history in Google maps.
What else? I know Graphene is typically the gold standard, but I’m trying to see what I can do short of that.
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Not sure if this makes it “private” but here is what I use:
- Firefox with extensions.
- Proton VPN, Calendar, Drive, Mail.
- Bitwarden password manager.
Disable play services, install fdroid, install aurora store from fdroid to keep your play store apps up to date switch to ProtonMail or Tutanota, install and use newpipe from fdroid
I would use Firefox Mobile over the Samsung browser. Samsung is still chromium based and Firefox puts more priority on user privacy.
If you can switch messaging and group chats to Signal or Telegram, that’d be a good move as well.
Otherwise App Tracking Protection is probably the best thing you can do for privacy.
Went to signal awhile ago, mainly because it’s secure and cross platform.
Signal is bad for privacy. You need to enter your phone number and it has centralized server
I use Matrix. It requires only email and is decentralizedThis is a very informative post, thanks for sharing. Although Signal is still way better than SMS and probably also closed source apps like WhatsApp, the leakage of metadata on a centralized server is a problem that needs to be addressed.
That being said, there is some evidence that Signal isn’t collecting metadata based on the fact that it has published its responses to subpoenas and did not provide that information.
I’m curious what you don’t like about iOS. I started out on Android, switched to iOS and never looked back. I realized I was doing most customization in Android to feel like iOS lol. the privacy upgrade is priceless imo.
iOS is not private, it’s secure.
Private: Only you can see it, the servicing company does not. In the case, Apple not only sees your data but sells it too.
Secure: The data is protected from unwanted access by 3rd party vendors.
These are rough definitions though.
Yeah, this is what concerns me.
Stock Android is neither. So for the average user, Apple iOS is probably better.
I’m on lemmy so I’m probably not the average user lol.
Pure personal preference. I’ve traditionally gone back and forth almost every time I get a new phone. It’s really only in the last 2-3 years I’ve hit the point I significantly prefer android.
For me, some of the interface choices on iOS are no Bueno. Additionally, the lack of a button, or simulated button is not something I’m fond of.
I’m also not convinced they are more private. I think Apple’s incentives line up more with mine than Google’s, but only barely. Independent researchers are pretty mixed on whether Apple is actually blocking all apps, or just making it so Apple is the only one who can profit off of people’s data.
The only reason I think they are probably more private is the giant hissy fit Facebook threw over their settings.
