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How to stay private when using Android

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Re: How to stay private when using Android

#101

Post by slenk »

tsbinz wrote: post #100
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…

A friend of mine had that happen with iOS (iCloud sync settings that she disabled changed after an OS update) so I wouldn't feel safe from this kind of trickery after the OS switch.

He doesn't mention turning off Apple sync. It seems like he/she is ok with their data being owned by Apple and not by Google. Confuses me as to why they think Apple is more private.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#102

Post by art4ur »

andrepd wrote: post #95
pinepinetree wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Scottiestech's YouTube has some good info on how your smartphone is tracking you more than you think. Sometimes I think about building my own phone with a Raspberry Pi or use LineageOS.

I do use LineageOS+microg without play store installed, to avoid any Google software on my phone (yet still being able to use some apps which depend on the google framework)

I've been doing this for about a year and half now. Not only does my phone's battery last longer without Play store but I'm missing very few features.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#103

Post by lern_too_spel »

danShumway wrote: post #99
lern_too_spel wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Google tracked user location even when location history was turned off. This is disingenuous. If the user uses a Google app that needs location data, of course that location will be sent to Google. This also happens on iOS. > 3. Similarly (until recently) most people didn't realize that Google was using email info for advertising That's how Gmail was marketed when it launched. Ads were shown based on the content…

> that needs location data, of course that location will be sent to Google It's surprising enough that articles were written about it, and Google had to clarify its privacy policy to explain it.[0] It is not intuitive or natural to a normal user to believe that location data will be stored when they have a permission entitled "location" turned off. That's deceptive on Google's part, plain and simple. On that note, I…

> Google had to clarify its privacy policy to explain it.[0]

Google didn't update any privacy policies in this article. It is about background collection of location data when location services was disabled that has since stopped. Meanwhile, Apple continues to collect your location data in the background with no way to disable it.

> why would bad privacy policies on iPhone make me feel better about Google spying on me?

Because you're saying that Google is uniquely deceptive on privacy when the main competitor is provably worse.

> Google was forced to respond and change their policies after public backlash.

As I showed, Apple still hasn't changed its policies on WiFi collection. Responding to privacy concerns is better than not responding to privacy concerns by any definition.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#105

Post by xenospn »

andrepd wrote: post #2

Unfortunately all of these things are bandages on a sinking ship. They're technically better than nothing, but in reality they simply do not fix the problem. Even worse, it's possible (even probably) that some privacy controls simply do not do the think they say they do. You are essentially trusting a company with a rubbish track record in privacy violations to pinky swear they stop tracking you when you toggle a swi…

This is why I have a serious aversion to using any kind of Google Product. They're an advertising company first and foremost - why would anyone expect their products to do anything BUT maximize ad revenue?

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#106

Post by danShumway »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #103
danShumway wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that needs location data, of course that location will be sent to Google It's surprising enough that articles were written about it, and Google had to clarify its privacy policy to explain it.[0] It is not intuitive or natural to a normal user to believe that location data will be stored when they have a permission entitled "location" turned off. That's deceptive on Google's part, plain and simple. On that note, I…

> Google had to clarify its privacy policy to explain it.[0] Google didn't update any privacy policies in this article. It is about background collection of location data when location services was disabled that has since stopped . Meanwhile, Apple continues to collect your location data in the background with no way to disable it. > why would bad privacy policies on iPhone make me feel better about Google spying on…

Google isn't uniquely deceptive on privacy. It's just deceptive on privacy. Google isn't uniquely bad on privacy. It's just bad on privacy.

It is possible for multiple companies to be bad at the same things.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#107

Post by evgen »

slenk wrote: post #101
tsbinz wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A friend of mine had that happen with iOS (iCloud sync settings that she disabled changed after an OS update) so I wouldn't feel safe from this kind of trickery after the OS switch.

He doesn't mention turning off Apple sync. It seems like he/she is ok with their data being owned by Apple and not by Google. Confuses me as to why they think Apple is more private.

Because unlike Google, Apple does not generate the vast bulk of its revenue from selling your private data to advertisers, so Apple does not have an extensive history of violating your privacy for profit.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#108

Post by lern_too_spel »

danShumway wrote: post #106
lern_too_spel wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google had to clarify its privacy policy to explain it.[0] Google didn't update any privacy policies in this article. It is about background collection of location data when location services was disabled that has since stopped . Meanwhile, Apple continues to collect your location data in the background with no way to disable it. > why would bad privacy policies on iPhone make me feel better about Google spying on…

Google isn't uniquely deceptive on privacy. It's just deceptive on privacy. Google isn't uniquely bad on privacy. It's just bad on privacy. It is possible for multiple companies to be bad at the same things.

This I agree with. There are also degrees of deception and badness on privacy, and Apple is by far the worst among the major tech companies, even beyond Facebook, which has not given the Chinese government wholesale access to a subset of its users' data and then lied about it.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#109

Post by evgen »

itvision wrote: post #52

> How to stay private when using Android 1. Stop using Android. FTFY > How to stay private in general 1. Stop using the smartphone - some of its tracking features are near impossible to disable 2. Use VPN or/and TOR 3. Enable either DNS over TLS and DNS over HTTPS 4. Never login anywhere 5. Use the most common OS (Windows 10 at the moment) + the most common web browser (Chrome at the moment) 6. Make sure your web bro…

> 5. Use the most common OS (Windows 10 at the moment) + the most common web browser (Chrome at the moment)

Use the OS with built-in telemetry and the web browser that constantly reports your activity to a data harvesting company and which keeps trying to prevent people from blocking ads or limiting data harvesting on the browser? Try again.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#110

Post by evgen »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #46
qrbLPHiKpiux wrote: post #33

> smartphones per se are not evil. No, just the people who write the code.

It's not the people who write the code, it's their management. If they were paid to write secure privacy centric code then that's what would happen

If the people who write the code had a sense of ethics they would go work for someone who did not ask them to violate user privacy.
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