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Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

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Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#351

Post by hansel_der »

streamofdigits wrote: post #290
xondono wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is there no money to be made? Because we don't really know how much hardware costs anymore. Most hardware you buy is subsidized in one way or another through data collection, from phones to TVs. Building stuff is very capital intensive, and the world changes very rapidly. And most people don't really care about data collection because they don't understand the consequences, or they don't care at all (which I fi…

this is plausible (and very worrisome if really true). We are not talking about an aspirational consumer device, it is already the case that you are being cutoff from regular life / the economy without one. Incidentaly, I don't buy the "people don't care" argument. First of all, people do care. There is massive legislation in the EU (which represents half a billion people) towards data privacy. They are not freaks -…

> it is already the case that you are being cutoff from regular life / the economy without one.

it's true that you can't easily buy stuff online while on the move, but _life_ is happening outside and without a phone.

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#352

Post by hansel_der »

streamofdigits wrote: post #149

How far are we from a phone that: ships fully formed - no flashing and stuff, has reliable supply chain and production, is open source only, usable on a daily basis (stable, normal battery life, all basic apps, easy upgrades) and ideally repairable / recyclable as much as possible? I would leave "high-end" specs and price constraints out of scope to make this a reality sooner than later. There are several contenders…

ime fairphone is good enough hardware, but the software and experience is a trainwrek despite their best to emulate the iphone feeling. given they only sold a few thousand of each series, i would still count them very much as "small effort"

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#353

Post by init_5 »

daneel_w wrote: post #125
salusinarduis wrote: post #75

I use GraphineOS and LineageOS without Google Play Services. They are great and are suitable replacements for Apple and Google. - Osmand(FOSS) for maps (supports being fully offline!) - Signal and Discord for messaging (Discord is sandboxed) - Newpipe(FOSS) for Youtube - F-droid(FOSS) for my FOSS appstore - APKmirror for the few non-free apps I need - Libretorrent(FOSS) and VLC(FOSS) for watching movies - Firefox(FOS…

> ...and have a better experience in every category than iOS, hardware and software. Really? I tried GrapheneOS on a Pixel 4A, and without exaggerating or trying to come off sensationalist the experience was really tepid compared to iOS, and even "normal" Android. Stuttering and jerky UI (which often also wanted to take a brief nap), very poor GPU hardware acceleration support, notably worse battery life, loads of th…

This in fact sounds quite exaggerated. I've had nothing like this experience with the Pixel 4a. Battery life has been exceptional, UI works fine, Play Services work with about 90% of the apps I tried. Google Camera worked also with Play Services so you don't have to use Open Camera.

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#354

Post by CountDrewku »

fomine3 wrote: post #243
CountDrewku wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That couldn't have been your point. It's very easy to avoid having a gmail account. Did you miss the part where I told you we have Google Workspace (GSuite) and I have to use it for work? What part of getting rid of that is easy? I cannot stop using it end of story. >People here don't know you personally, or your needs. Most people don't need gmail for work. I feel like you're not aware of the fact that Gmail is use…

Do those companies accept login G Suite account on custom ROM?

Depends on your administrator. If they allow IMAP to be turned on for your gmail account then yes. However, your email is still going through Google's servers and this is still only a partial mitigation. You get the gmail app off your phone but that's about it.

A lot of admins won't enable IMAP for security purposes though.

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#355

Post by keyb0ardninja »

commoner wrote: post #192
_V_ wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you use as Dialer/SMS/Contact app? I tried to switch myself from iPhone and almost everything was OK but these were the worst to get right... I ended up using suite from Tibor Kaputa (Simple Dialer etc) but I ran into some rather annoying issues. Also, do you use phone recoding? This was actually my breaking point, because i have an iPhone w/ jailbreak that enables me to record phone conversations (for my use…

The only functional FOSS call recording app for Android that I'm aware of is the Call Recorder app on F-Droid: - Call Recorder: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.callrecorder... To use this app, you'll need to root your phone using Magisk[1] and the install the Magisk module for Axet's Call Recorder.[2] Then, upgrade the Call Recorder app to the latest version in F-Droid. Note: do not enable "System Mix…

LineageOS's default phone app supports call recording out of the box. I'm using LineageOS 18. I don't know if this is true for earlier versions.

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#356

Post by hilbert42 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #341
hilbert42 wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"...if you want an airgapped phone, use it in airplane mode." Right, that's what I do. In fact this post comes from a smartphone sans SIM with airplane mode on, with a firewall against apps phoning home, no Google or Gmail account, all Google Gapps nuked including playstore - in fact all Gapps have been completely removed - not to mention that most replacement apps come via F-Droid. Yes, technically it's not fully ai…

Is the pocket router battery powered. Really we need an suitable open source, easily compiled OS to run on a suitable "smartphone" that can be re-purposed into a "pocket router". This to function as the gateway through which our "phones" reach the internet.

The router/modern is battery powered or it will run continuously off a USB charger. The one I'm using currently is a Vodafone (Huawei) R216. Here are the specs: https://wirelessgear.com.au/vodafone-pocket-wifi-4g-r216-mod.... That link is the first one I found, if it doesn't work for you just search the modem's model number.

The R216 lasts for at least 6 hours on battery, often much longer (and the battery is removable, so you can have spares to extended its operational life). Whilst this modem is principally an ISP one (Vodafone) it comes unlocked. I note that that link says it's locked but it's likely not - as most assume ISP-supplied stuff is but to be sure you'd better check that's so where you are. Also, if you aren't using a Vodafone SIM then first just check that it works even if it's guaranteed unlocked (some other SIMs may need setting up).

If the R216 isn't available or its locked in your country - or you have that common aversion to using Huawei equipment - then there are several other brands that are essentially equivalent. If you want the details I'll provide them.

Note this is a real router/modem and it'll run up to five smartphones/PCs at a time (which can be very handy). Some others that are a little more expensive can connect 10 devices to each other by their WiFi LAN and or to the SIM's mobile network. Also the R216 will take a micro SD card (one's mobile NAS so to speak :-)). Given its small size size and usefulness I'd never be without one (I've three of this model and several earlier types).

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#357

Post by Graffur »

kaba0 wrote: post #214
Graffur wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the FB app but rarely use it. Why would it be phoning home when I don't have it open?

To check for notifications? I’m fairly sure they haven’t implemented a complex AI model to determine that “you are using it rarely”, so the check it out each n minutes is a constant thing.

I have all notifications from FB turned off. Also, that would not be a complex AI model...

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#358

Post by fistynuts »

n8cpdx wrote: post #328
commoner wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mid-level processor on the Pixel 4a may just not be performing to your expectations. A phone with a high-end processor would perform better. For GrapheneOS, the fastest compatible phone available (used/refurbished) right now is the Pixel 4 (or Pixel 4 XL). Also, if you are using a Pixel phone with a non-default flavor of Android, the Google Camera app still works if you download it manually. APKMirror is a trustw…

Pixel 4 running graphene. I'm sure it's fine by android standards, but if you're used to iOS, it is unbearable. Going back to iPhone as soon as I've got some free time to get everything set up again. Unrelated, but I'm still very surprised there's no standard way of doing live photos on Android. They really do add a lot to the experience of reviewing old memories and Google has had at least 5 years to catch up.

Software patents are often used to stifle competition.

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#359

Post by 1tSlEv »

hilbert42 wrote: post #329
bubblethink wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, if you want an airgapped phone, use it in airplane mode. Obviously, the phone needs some network infra for things like updates or timekeeping. You can route it over vpn if you want and you can build everything yourself and host all the servers yourself too if you so prefer. This type of pedantry is more harmful than useful to casual users who would be far better served with grapheneos than some non-existent ideal…

"...if you want an airgapped phone, use it in airplane mode." Right, that's what I do. In fact this post comes from a smartphone sans SIM with airplane mode on, with a firewall against apps phoning home, no Google or Gmail account, all Google Gapps nuked including playstore - in fact all Gapps have been completely removed - not to mention that most replacement apps come via F-Droid. Yes, technically it's not fully ai…

Interesting approach.

Which goal gets served by the separate router? I've been thinking here for a while, but the only thing that comes to mind is a very restrictive "allow-list only" firewall.

Which dumbphone are you using? The majority thereof seem to be KaiOS based, which frankly is not sufficiently dumb for me to warrant the switch.

Re: Android phones are sending significant amount of user data with no opt-out [pdf]

#360

Post by eozoon »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #297
yc12340 wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a keyboard isn't something you should install without some careful consideration because they can be used as keyloggers To be frank, Android should not allow input methods access to internet/filesystem in the first place. But that would have hindered Google's own keylogger, so...

I use Google Pinyin Input. (Which seems to have been deprioritized or something, but still...) The general shape of input methods that let you produce 汉字 is that you provide some type of input that hints at the character(s) you want, the input method displays a menu of options that match your input, and you select the correct option from the menu. For example, if I'm using pinyin entry and I type `shi`, I can choose…

It wouldn't be as bad as you might think without prediction - back in the days with "dumb" input method, the word choices would be listed by frequency of use, and you'd remember which choice the word you want would be.

So you'd type shi and click the first choice for 是, second choice for 时, etc without even needing to read the options since they'll always be in that slot. If there's a word you use frequently but is listed late in the list you can change that in the settings file. Same for shortcuts like bhys and you can always add your own shortcut.

The Chinese keyboard I use does not have internet access and only does prediction based on set phrases - eg if you type 时 it'd offer 間, 代, 事, 空 etc; if you type tmd it'd give you you-know-what, and I prefer it over the Google keyboard since my muscle memory can do most of the work instead of my eyes.

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