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How to stay private when using Android

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Re: How to stay private when using Android

#61

Post by hombre_fatal »

elric wrote: post #30
MobileVet wrote: post #23

... don’t use Android, period. Google did a great job with PR in the early years, but the reality has always been that your data is exploited to their ends.

What are the alternatives? The iphone is prohibitively expensive for most people, and it's unacceptable that privacy should only be available to the wealthy. There's basically an Android/iOS "duopoly" out there, and it's only getting worse. There are now bank accounts that are unusable without a smart phone app, and guess which platforms are supported...Google Play and Apple App Store. And don't even think about side…

$200 for an Amazon Renewed iPhone 7 which I just bought when my previous iPhone was stolen.

https://www.amazon.com/iPhone-7-Plus-Renewed/s?rh=n%3A169477...

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#63

Post by giancarlostoro »

decasteve wrote: post #8

> 7. Review your cloud sync I used an Android device for a short while a few years ago. I disabled all sync functionality and would back up to my own storage device. After an OS update, all of the sync functionality was automatically enabled and everything on the device was uploaded to Google’s services anyway. So I deleted everything that was uploaded, then deleted my google account, and bought an iPhone and swore t…

> After an OS update, all of the sync functionality was automatically enabled and everything on the device was uploaded to Google’s services anyway.

Which carrier and phone manufacturer if you don't mind my ask? I've never had Google reset my sync settings but I've kept the same phone manufacturer (LG) for years. I've been an Android user since 2009 and I've never had my settings tampered with, the only exception was when Android added silent mode that made it so your alarms wouldn't go off, that sure pissed off a lot of people I'm sure.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#64

Post by hans1729 »

Benjammer wrote: post #58
squarefoot wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it is undeniably true that Android, just as any other networked product by Google, is a nightmare with respect to privacy, I hardly believe that Apple doesn't collect any user data. They very likely want to remain the #1 solution for wealthy people who don't want their communications to be bugged, and they're surely much much better than Google in that context, still I don't trust them because their product is…

Apple's incentives as a product business align much better with user privacy than Google's incentives as an ad business though.

To put it more blunt: risking your rep for some additional amount per user isn't worth it, if your margin is already a non-trivial multiple of said amount.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#66

Post by izacus »

Terretta wrote: post #51
singron wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, turning off "location history" didn't prevent Google from tracking your location history. You had to also disable "web and app activity".

More to the point, none of this matters when you’re continuously polling Google’s API endpoints for your email.

How is that different than Apple iPhones polling iCloud backends for your email? Or visiting websites?

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#67

Post by wongarsu »

api wrote: post #53
MobileVet wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so infuriating. sadly the majority of people have no idea just how deep the rabbit whole goes. They and their data are exploited at every turn for the gain of Google.

Everything on the Internet has to be "free," so that's the business model.

Not really in this case: I paid money for my smartphone. The manufacturer might not have paid anything for Android, but that's a problem of Google spending insane amounts of money outcompeting and destroying the entire mobile OS market, not a problem of me not wanting to pay.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#68

Post by izacus »

NetOpWibby wrote: post #47
elric wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the alternatives? The iphone is prohibitively expensive for most people, and it's unacceptable that privacy should only be available to the wealthy. There's basically an Android/iOS "duopoly" out there, and it's only getting worse. There are now bank accounts that are unusable without a smart phone app, and guess which platforms are supported...Google Play and Apple App Store. And don't even think about side…

Apple is getting better at providing more affordable iPhone options. You’re not getting a flagship under a thousand bucks but you’ll still have a damn good device that’ll be supported for a while.

The cheapest iPhone available in my region still costs almost as much as the average worker wage. The Android phones are available for 1/5th of the price.

Also iPhones are not localized to the local language at all, so this again provides significant barrier to less well off.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#70

Post by izacus »

johnsea wrote: post #44
elric wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the alternatives? The iphone is prohibitively expensive for most people, and it's unacceptable that privacy should only be available to the wealthy. There's basically an Android/iOS "duopoly" out there, and it's only getting worse. There are now bank accounts that are unusable without a smart phone app, and guess which platforms are supported...Google Play and Apple App Store. And don't even think about side…

There a secondhand iPhones (it's also better for the environment). Otherwise no alternative than using a desktop computer and forego some smart conveniences.

The problem with secondhand iPhones is Apples relentless war on repairability - with Apple Stores not being widely available and Apple limiting supply of spare parts (and using DRM to lock them), those secondhand iPhones are very poor value proposition.

Especially when new Androids come with manufacturers warranty, local repair center and fraction of the cost.

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