Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to stay private when using Android

protonmail.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 177 posts

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#121

Post by hydgv »

danShumway wrote: post #54
izacus wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you please list a few privacy violations that create the track record? Comparable to e.g. Apple giving Siri voice recordings to 3rd party contractors without the ability to disable it? I'm sure it'll be easy, easier than downvotes.

1. Google tracked user location even when location history was turned off. 2. Most people don't understand the full extent of Web and App Activity permissions -- they don't understand that this will allow Google to do things like parse search queries out of DuckDuckGo searches on Chrome. 3. Similarly (until recently) most people didn't realize that Google was using email info for advertising, including purchases made…

>This is the reason why none of your Amazon purchase confirmations list the items you purchased any more

Just checked a recent email from Amazon I received on a Gmail account and that is false.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#122

Post by slenk »

evgen wrote: post #107
slenk wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah, they generate revenue by locking you into an expensive ecosystem which has zero transparency, so we actually don't know what Apple is doing.

We don't know if Apple is violating our privacy. Who knows who Apple is selling your data to.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#123

Post by danShumway »

hydgv wrote: post #121
danShumway wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Google tracked user location even when location history was turned off. 2. Most people don't understand the full extent of Web and App Activity permissions -- they don't understand that this will allow Google to do things like parse search queries out of DuckDuckGo searches on Chrome. 3. Similarly (until recently) most people didn't realize that Google was using email info for advertising, including purchases made…

>This is the reason why none of your Amazon purchase confirmations list the items you purchased any more Just checked a recent email from Amazon I received on a Gmail account and that is false.

I just checked the emails I received from Amazon from Christmas purchases, and it is not false. I don't doubt you, but I'm curious what the difference is. I'm looking at order confirmation emails and package ship/delivery emails. They only list order numbers for me, and I need to click through to the Amazon account to see the actual items.

Is there a different category of purchase that you're looking at, or is there something I'm missing?

Edit: I am looking online and I'm not seeing any articles that reference Amazon hiding orders specifically to thwart Gmail tracking, so it's very possible I'm wrong and that's just anecdote. But that being said, they definitely aren't showing individual items in my email confirmations. Is there a preference for this that I forgot I toggled?

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#124

Post by hydgv »

danShumway wrote: post #123
hydgv wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is the reason why none of your Amazon purchase confirmations list the items you purchased any more Just checked a recent email from Amazon I received on a Gmail account and that is false.

I just checked the emails I received from Amazon from Christmas purchases, and it is not false. I don't doubt you, but I'm curious what the difference is. I'm looking at order confirmation emails and package ship/delivery emails. They only list order numbers for me, and I need to click through to the Amazon account to see the actual items. Is there a different category of purchase that you're looking at, or is there…

I have no clue.

https://i.imgur.com/qiKBJQf.png

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#125

Post by dang »

izacus wrote: post #24

These Android topics are always full of complete fabrications about how Android actually works (usually from Apple users, which don't know a lot about the OS). Let's see if this time is any better or we'll see Apple marketing people come out of the woods again :)

Please don't take HN threads into brand-fan flamewar or insinuate shillage or astroturfing. These things break the HN guidelines and lead to much lower-quality discussion. Your comments include substantive points—please stick to those.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#126

Post by d1zzy »

Terretta wrote: post #84
izacus wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I presume this false equivalence is trolling, since only one of the two firms mentioned derives ~90% of its revenue from targeting ads, and the implications should be self-evident.

There are things that aren't as obvious and may seem counterintuitive. Because company A derives 95% of their profits from ads it puts pressure on product design to not endanger that and also branch out in other areas. It would be extremely risky for such a business to have a cavalier attitude to how they manage user's trust and the information that the ads depend on because, like you said, they depend on that ad income. That is why, if you have to give your private information and the choice is between a company that depends on (safeguarding) it (like Google) vs a company that doesn't care (like mom&pop store), I would be very afraid of the latter's management of your private information, the security of their systems, etc.

If you have a choice to not give your private information (or limit what you give) to anyone then that's obviously better.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#127

Post by grzm »

danShumway wrote: post #123
hydgv wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is the reason why none of your Amazon purchase confirmations list the items you purchased any more Just checked a recent email from Amazon I received on a Gmail account and that is false.

I just checked the emails I received from Amazon from Christmas purchases, and it is not false. I don't doubt you, but I'm curious what the difference is. I'm looking at order confirmation emails and package ship/delivery emails. They only list order numbers for me, and I need to click through to the Amazon account to see the actual items. Is there a different category of purchase that you're looking at, or is there…

In my experience, I’ve noticed that order confirmation includes order details: shipping confirmation not. Took me a while to notice the pattern, and I still find it frustrating.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#128

Post by d1zzy »

xenospn wrote: post #105
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?

But maximizing ad revenue (long term) does also imply not losing user's trust and information.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#129

Post by huntermeyer »

endemic wrote: post #20
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.

AFAIK one of the best solutions for smartphone privacy is using a custom Android ROM without Google apps installed. Of course that means basically no 3rd party apps, but you can still get a surprising amount of functionality with just a web browser. You’ll still get tracked by your mobile provider, but I think that would happen even with a dumbphone.

What do you mean by, "no 3rd party apps"?

You can use F-Droid (https://f-droid.org/) in place of the Play Store.

Re: How to stay private when using Android

#130

Post by chiefalchemist »

izacus wrote: post #21
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…

Can you please list a few privacy violations that create the track record? Comparable to e.g. Apple giving Siri voice recordings to 3rd party contractors without the ability to disable it? I'm sure it'll be easy, easier than downvotes.

Not being troll-y but...A simple search of NH will give you plenty of examples. It seems that at least twice p/month some Google snafu related to privacy or other dark patterns bubbles to the top.

There's a reason they stopped using "don't be evil."

Post reply on HN