Question: If I want Android without google services, what options do I have? So far I know only cheap chinese phones and F-Droid app store.
The Fairphone 1 was shipped without Google services; don't know about the Fairphone 2.
Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
11–20 of 422 posts
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#12I am running Android 7.1.2. I remember in the older versions of android, when you turned off the GPS, it would have to manually sync the receiver and it would take minutes to get GPS lock. In the current version, when I turned off location services, there is no "dot" indicating your location on Google Maps, but it appears almost instantly when you turn it off. I have long suspected that Android has the "coarse locati…
You can't even use course location anymore. The battery saving location setting exists but as soon as an app requests high accuracy the global setting reverts to high accuracy
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#13Certain options should be hardware disable-able and this is one of them.
While I don't disagree with you on any level, why would a hardware manufacturer ever do that? Their customer is the companies selling us phones, and most of those companies want the ability to collect data on their users to use internally or sell for profit.
Shareholder profit > all, remember? /s
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#14Cell phone companies will probably hand over such info to any government entity to comply with local laws. I suppose with Google they have it a bit easy, because google links your identity to your phone, email, web search, purchases, maps activity, etc. They don't have to issue 20 different legal requests to each provider, and then combine that data. Other than that I don't see how Google collecting this data is bad (if we're to assume that there is a legitimate reason to do so).
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#15Why is this a problem? What is the harm of them collecting cell tower information? Is it possible to provide the same quality of service(s) without the cell tower information?
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#16This is not surprising in the slightest.
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#17Another reason to order a Librem 5.
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#18I am running Android 7.1.2. I remember in the older versions of android, when you turned off the GPS, it would have to manually sync the receiver and it would take minutes to get GPS lock. In the current version, when I turned off location services, there is no "dot" indicating your location on Google Maps, but it appears almost instantly when you turn it off. I have long suspected that Android has the "coarse locati…
There are other strategies for getting a lock faster. Most of the slowness for a cold start with a modern receiver is receiving the ephemeris data (i.e. where the satellites are at the moment), which is transmitted at a whopping 50 bits per second, and so takes about 30 seconds to receive. Once you have that, the rest comes quickly. Older receivers with less computational power and less clever techniques could take a…
Interesting, thanks for the info! I knew you could do some tricks to get a lock faster with GPS, but I am not sure of all of them.
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#19I’ve always assumed location services = GPS
Meaning you can still be triangulated by towers
Which I had run legally for LEO at Sprint back in 2003-2005.
Towers gotta know where you are to provide service.
Don’t want to be tracked? Leave your phone at home.
Not saying it’s ideal but it’s how technology works.
Re: Google collects cell tower info even if location services are disabled
#20Question: If I want Android without google services, what options do I have? So far I know only cheap chinese phones and F-Droid app store.
I used an android for almost a year without logging into anything Google.
I can't download apps, but the phone itself works fine, and it came with a bunch of pre-installed apps anyway.