Related
What can it do?
============
Are you concerned with certain apps required permissions? Then this app is for you!
Base on your settings, this app will automatically turn OFF location and network connections when it detects that certain apps are running, thus leaving the apps no chance of leaking your data. After the apps finish running, pull down notification bar and you'll easily turn network and location services back on.
It works on both non-rooted and rooted devices.
Alternatively, this app can be used as an ad-blocker or data saver.
Performance Impact
===============
With over 300 apps monitored, on average the app utilizes less than 4% of CPU on a Nexus One.
There is no noticeable impact on battery life.
Required Permissions
===============
Access to GPS and coarse location are for probing the location service settings.
Create bluetooth connections and bluetooth administration are for probing Bluetooth status and controlling bluetooth adapter.
Change Wi-Fi state is for controlling Wifi adapter.
Changelog
================
1.0
App published to Android Market after major usability improvements and critical bug fixes.
1.1
Major update
- App names are sorted
- Some performance improvements
- UI usability improvements
1.2
Minor update
- Option to hide notification when service is running
- User interface tweaks
- Removed all log messages
Please download from Android Market:
https://market.android.com/details?id=net.houzuo.android.privacyprotector
Major update
- Usability enhancements
- Critical bugs fixed
- Overall performance improvements and smaller memory footprint
houzuoguo said:
Changelog
================
App published to Android Market after major usability improvements and critical bug fixes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A link will be helpful
Fantastic app one again, sir! I've posted it to the XDA front page.
willverduzco said:
Fantastic app one again, sir! I've posted it to the XDA front page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much
Looks useful! Even though I'm rooted, I'm hesitant to install apps that require root because of the obvious security issues. So non-root security apps are important.
I have a question though, will it block access for apps that run in the background, such as code run via Broadcast Receivers? If not, perhaps it could warn the user in such a case, because a malicious program could easily gather or transmit data in the background.
Elemris said:
Looks useful! Even though I'm rooted, I'm hesitant to install apps that require root because of the obvious security issues. So non-root security apps are important.
I have a question though, will it block access for apps that run in the background, such as code run via Broadcast Receivers? If not, perhaps it could warn the user in such a case, because a malicious program could easily gather or transmit data in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you
The app only monitors the current foreground process (the one that is dominating screen).
I'd suggest that, if an app runs a background service and raises a privacy concern, it is better disabled by other ways (uninstall, etc.)
There are two reasons why background services shall not be affected by the app:
- Background services may run a long time, thus disabling network or location services could cause much inconvenience.
- To disable location services, Privacy Protector will forward user to Location Settings page. Currently, if user decides not to take action to the settings and do not run the app, s/he can go back to home screen by clicking home button. However if Privacy Protector keeps forwarding user to Location Settings because a background service is running, it may be very inconvenient and could possibly annoy the user.
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.
I guess many users aren't even aware that apps can run hidden in the background, let alone know how to detect background services. So I'm thinking about a warning to the user along the lines of "hey, you're blocking your 'Unhappy Avians' app, but Privacy Protector detected that app may run in the background, outside of our protection. If you're concerned, you may want to uninstall Unhappy Avians".
Elemris said:
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.
I guess many users aren't even aware that apps can run hidden in the background, let alone know how to detect background services. So I'm thinking about a warning to the user along the lines of "hey, you're blocking your 'Unhappy Avians' app, but Privacy Protector detected that app may run in the background, outside of our protection. If you're concerned, you may want to uninstall Unhappy Avians".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that sounds like a good idea! thank you!
Is it possible to get version of Privacy Protector that can run on Android 2.1 and less?
Is it independent of iptables?
p.s. App list must be sorted alphabetically
5[Strogino] said:
Is it possible to get version of Privacy Protector that can run on Android 2.1 and less?
Is it independent of iptables?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app only uses features of Android API, it does not rely on iptables.
It has been tested on my Nexus One with Android 2.2 and 2.3 roms, I wasn't able to test it on 2.1 rom because I had difficulty to find one.
I've attached an APK which should be compatible with Android 1.6, but I'm unable to test it. Please give it a try.
for further updates.. can u hide the top icon?
thx.. great app
What's about more harder function - to block access only chosen apps?
If I want use Skype and deny App X, your app will turn connection off. But i don't want lose whole connection.
Has anyone tested this on Galaxy S2 please?
Thank you
5[Strogino] said:
What's about more harder function - to block access only chosen apps?
If I want use Skype and deny App X, your app will turn connection off. But i don't want lose whole connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That behaviour would only be feasible to implement on a rooted device
NTOP said:
Has anyone tested this on Galaxy S2 please?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The top device which contributes to the 1200+ downloads is Galaxy S2. There has been 4 crash reports in total (the app occasionally crashes after loading apps.. I'm still investigating) but none of them came from S2.
Major update pushed to Android Market
Changelog
- App names are sorted
- Some performance improvements
- UI usability improvements
A minor update
- Option to hide notification when service is running
- User interface tweaks
- Removed all log messages
wifi access
Would it be possible to distinguish between data and wifi (like Droidwall)?
The phone it's installed on, has a bad chip and shouldn't be rooted, but I'd like some apps to only have access to wifi, and other apps have access to both data and wifi.
Does not work on Nexus 4 with Jelly Bean
I ticked the LOC box next to Facebook app, saved, enabled... then opened Facebook app and posted a status. My location was right there in the status post
After so long of developing apps for other people, I've decided to make one 100% by myself, and publish it.
The app is basically an alternative to the default app-manager of Android, and it provides some unique features that helps you manage and uninstall apps quicker and easier.
If you've found this app useful, please support it by sharing/donating/comment on the play store.
Installation link :
APK mirror:
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/androiddeveloperlb/app-manager/
ApkPure:
https://apkpure.com/app-manager/com.lb.app_manager
Some screenshots
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
So, here's some information about it:
Background
How many times have you tried to uninstall an app but found it annoyingly hard, whether you've forgot its name or it's hidden in a bunch of many apps you have?
Have you ever wanted to uninstall a built in app, which came from the carrier/manufacturer?
Are you a programmer/tester and need to uninstall/reset your apps frequiently?
If so, this is the app for you.
Short description
As I've written ,the purpose of this app is to replace the default app-manager, and ease the uninstallation task as much as possible.
The app is free and supports Android 2.3 and above, but works best from Android 4.0.
The app has ads (banners) but you can easily remove them by donating.
Who is it useful for?
The app is intended for multiple kinds of people:
For the common user, it's easier to perform searches of apps, easier to unisnstall them, and easier to share them.
It's also easier to go to the play store page of the app ,give feedback about it and contact the developers.
For power users, it's easier to uninstall built in apps (AKA "system apps"), like the bloatware that come with the OS.
For developers, QA, and beta testers, it's easier to uninstall/reset the recently installed app, by using widgets.
You can also share apps as APK files, and see the version of the apps.
Features and advantages over other apps
Viewing of app types of apps, and not just those that you can launch (example: plugins, live wallpapers, keyboards,...).
Widgets, for quick uninstallation/reset of the most recently installed app.
Quick uninstallation of apps. For rooted devices, the uninstallation (and other operations) can be silent (in the background)
Easy uninstallation of apps that got admin privilages.
Ability to automatically add app shortcuts when they get installed, no matter how they got installed.
Also the ability to choose which launcher will create the shortcuts.
Easy to use - one click to uninstall. Long click for multi-selection
Context menu options on selected app:
Run
Share Play store link, Amazon AppStore link, or even APK file (no need for Root)
Manage
Open app on the Play store.
Kill background process, or stop the app (needs root)
Quick reset of the app (needs root).
disable/enable app (needs root).
Create shortcut.
Search the app via your search engine or the Internet.
Sort the apps bysize, name, by package name, by date installed, and by date updated
Filter apps by:
System/user apps,
Enabled/disabled apps
Installation path : SD card / internal storage
Ability to uninstall system apps (Root only, and might not work on some cases)
Ability to replace the default uninstaller .
Detailed yet short view of the installed apps, including app name, package name, date insalled and version information.
Safe and automatic deletion of certain folders after uninstallation, that some Android OS versions don't handle for some reason.
Theme chooser, in case you don't like the cards UI.
Hopefully more to come, will be written about on the play store
App translation
https://crowdin.com/project/com-lb-app_manager
Beta testing
Links for the beta testing group:
- https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.lb.app_manager
Articles
https://web.archive.org/web/2014050...roid/supercharge-your-android-app-management/
http://reviewttb.blogspot.in/2014/04/app-manager-review.html
http://iandroid.co.il/dr-iandroid/archives/16296
http://www.appbrain.com/app/app-manager/com.lb.app_manager
https://www.androidrank.org/application/app_manager/com.lb.app_manager
FAQ
The OS says the app runs in the background, or the app has a notification of its own. Why? Doesn't it consume battery?
The app is triggered by app operation events : uninstall, install, clear-data...
Upon each of those, it saves the state for various purposes, in the background. For example the removed-apps list, and the widget. Those have to be handled right away, so it must be done even if you don't see the app.
In the rest of the time, it does absolutely nothing.
This is why the app is so efficient in battery usage, that you won't see it in the list of battery-consuming apps. Meaning it doesn't even reach the 1% battery usage. I am sure it doesn't even reach 0.001% .
You can hide the notification, but sadly on some Android versions (8.0, but not 8.1 and above) you might see a different notification, that the app might use the battery. You can safely ignore it. I guarantee there is no noticeable difference in battery consumption.
In fact, due to the optimizations I've added for Android 8.0 and above, and because the app's process doesn't get killed so often, it might even be better in battery usage. The reason is that the app always had to listen to app-events, and before Android 8.0, the app got triggered by them, meaning its process started each time if it was killed before. Less CPU, more battery.
I have a Xiaomi device and the app fails to install any kind of app. How come ?
Seems it's an issue that will exist for quite some time, and that it is turned by default on Xiaomi devices and causes various issues (read here for example). This "feature" is called "MIUI optimization" , and for now you can only disable it on the "Developer options".
So, for now, you can overcome this by enabling developer options and there to disable "Turn on MIUI optimization".
Note that once you do this, the OS will reset a lot of apps, mainly in terms of permissions. This includes my app too.
Just a side note: Xiaomi is known as one that breaks a lot of apps, as it creates its own made up rules and permissions, very much against how Android works. This is also why there is a website that speaks about it, here, so for better handling of the app, also white list it from the various permissions Xiaomi has created, too.
Sadly I have no way to handle those things, as long as Xiaomi chooses to make their own non-standard rules.
I don't have a rooted device, but I still want to disable/uninstall a system app. Is it possible?
It's possible... to try, using a PC connected to your device.
I've made a tutorial for this here (old one here ).
If the OS would allow, you could uninstall or at least disable system apps this way.
I think I got some nasty app, which shows ads randomly or takes control of the smartphone in some way (or any other bad behavior that I don't like). Can this app help me find it and neutralize it?
Even though it wasn't originally intended for such a task, I've noticed it helped many people with it. There are multiple reviews telling that it helped them removing such "virus" apps. I've even done it myself on both my device and for my family-relatives.
So the answer is that it might help you. Here's what you can do to try to handle it:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=77987186&postcount=543
What are split-APK files? What are "APKS" that are being generated sometimes when sharing apps?
Split apk files (AKA "app bundle" apps) are not meant to be installed just like normal APK files. They are used as you use the app, getting installed by the Play Store, to use only the minimal things you will use on your device, with your Android version, with your CPU architecture, with your locales, with your screen density, and so on...
Not only that, but if you install such files on other configurations, they might not work properly or fail to install.
As far as I know, backup&restore of such apps is not even working on popular backup apps such as Titanium backup.
Currently the app allows to share such apps as APKS files, which is just a zipped file with all of the APK files of the app. This is similar to what's done on various other apps and services (SAI, ApkPure, APK-mirror,...) with various file extensions (APKS, XAPK, APKM,...).
To install them using my app (which supports all files that I've mentioned: APKS, XAPK, APKM ), you can currently do this only from other apps that trigger it. The most common way to do it is directly from file-manager apps, but this should also be possible via chatting apps and others.
If you wish to do it on your via the PC, you can do it too:
use adb command as such:
Code:
adb install-multiple apk1 apk2 ...
Why isn't there a permissions management feature?
For permissions management, I actually planned some management tool, but sadly Google has changed how permissions groups work, and so permissions sometimes go to a different group. For example, before Android P, the permission "WRITE_CALL_LOG" belonged to "Phone" permission group, but from Android P, it moved to "Call log" permission group, which never existed before.
Currently, Google removed all APIs to get which permission group has which permission. Even in the documentation there is no mention anymore which permission group holds which permissions. Not only that, but OEMs sometimes make up their own permission which aren't official in any way (see "auto start" that Xiaomi made, and the reason that "don't-kill-my-app" website exists, for example). I still hope that one day I will be able to get a reliable way to get the correct information, no matter which version of Android the app runs on.
Why isn't there an option to install an old version of an APK when I have a newer one installed?
Apps aren't designed to handle this situation. They are only designed to handle upgrades. So, Google made it impossible to do it starting from Android 7 (read here). If you want to try it anyway, you can do it using PC&adb tool, as written here.
Why isn't there a boot-up management feature? Memory freeing/boosting? CPU usage? RAM usage? Automatic-task-killing? Modify apps ?
Various features of those types are not documented and not recommended to be used. Those can ruin how the apps work, just like OEMs do it sometimes even by default. This can also cause false crashes, or crashes that can't be reported. For users, some of those functions have the false promise by various apps that say it will make reduce battery consumption (search google for "Android task killer myth").
It is not a good thing to alter how apps work and behave, and Google has rules about modifying APKs, so I do not want to take the risk in doing so.
As for viewing information alone, this is something that isn't useful for users, but more for developers who already have them via the various development tools and even apps that specialize about it.
This app was made for users and power users mostly, and I want to make it work properly as much as possible, without worrying that for some devices or at some day things will be broken. I prefer to have as little workarounds as possible.
That's why I decided to stick with things that are more standard, more commonly used, and more available to be used.
I have an SD-card. Why can't I set an installed app to be on it, properly?
Installing an app to the SD-card has various restrictions that determine whether it's possible or not, and how much it will affect how well the app behaves.
To do it here, you have to have a rooted device (or use a PC with adb command as written above), the OS should allow to do it, and the target app should allow to do it.
That being said, you might try your luck via the developer-settings of the OS (check how to enable it on Google for your device), via "force allow apps on external" preference.
Why not share version-name and app-name alone instead of version-code and package-name with others?
Simply put, version-name and app-name are not unique enough, depend on the current locale, can be of any length (so it can be too long) and not restricted by which characters are used (so can be problematic on some OSs).
That's while version-code is always an increasing number, and package-name is always safe to use and is considered as the ID of the app on the Play Store and probably on any app-store.
That being said, I might allow to customize what to share some day, and let users be responsible of possible issues if they might occur.
In the past versions, the app didn't need to run in the background, and didn't need to have usage-stats permission at all. What happened?
In one word: Google . Google has changed the rules:
- For running in the background , the reason is that a lot of types of global events (called "Intents") need to be handled only with an app that has a sticky notification (called "foreground service"). Before Android 8.0, it was possible without this requirement. The app would have been awakened for each such event, handle it and go to sleep, while the OS can kill it if needed. Now it's not possible (read here). Adding to this, is that Google forces all new apps and updated to existing ones to do it for Android 8.0 and above, by the end of the year (read here). This means you should expect more apps to show their notifications, or they will present a weaker functionality.
The good news is that this actually helps with battery usage on Android 8.0 and above. Instead of re-creating the process of App-Manager for each event, the process is already alive, so less CPU will be used. And, since it's already alive, handling it will take less time. So, less CPU and less time, meaning more battery for you. You can also hide the notification if it bothers you.
- For usage-stats permission, before Android 8.0 I could get the exact app-size without any permission. And, before Android 5.0, I could get the recently launched apps with a permission that doesn't require requesting in runtime. Because of the recent changes, this is not possible anymore without usage-stats permission. And, since getting app-size and sorting apps by recently launched - are quite basic features, I decided to request it all in the beginning together with the storage permission that was always a requirement.
Getting the app-size was tricky before Android 8.0, and so I added a fallback in case it's not working for some users, or working too slow for them. It wasn't perfect, but it was all I could do.
The good news about this, is that it's much more efficient than what I did before. Getting app size is super fast, and it will always work because there is now an official way to do it. In fact it's so quick that I've removed the fallback for Android 8.0 and above.
Privacy policy ?
Written on this post.
Thank you!
Very simple and useful app!
newHere:) said:
Thank you!
Very simple and useful app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcomed, and I do hope that it will succeed as I wish to improve it even more and make other useful and cool apps.
cool app,very helpfull for me,because im test so many apps from here and now its much easier to deinstalling,i like it!!!
-CALIBAN666- said:
cool app,very helpfull for me,because im test so many apps from here and now its much easier to deinstalling,i like it!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's actually why I made the app myself, since I am both a developer and a user that tries out many apps.
will try it!! sounds nice
I would like to get some feedback from you people:
1. What is the best feature that you liked on the app?
2. What is the best feature that you'd like to have?
3. In case you have a good English accent, have the ability to record your device, would you like to put your video review?
If so, I will put your video (if it's good enough) on the play store, along with credits (or you put them at the end of the video if you wish).
No ads in the video, please .
AndroidDeveloperLB said:
I would like to get some feedback from you people:
1. What is the best feature that you liked on the app?
2. What is the best feature that you'd like to have?
3. In case you have a good English accent, have the ability to record your device, would you like to put your video review?
If so, I will put your video (if it's good enough) on the play store, along with credits (or you put them at the end of the video if you wish).
No ads in the video, please .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well overall, the app is quite streamline and easy to navigate.
And the making of APK to share file is the best feature that I liked.
It would be nice if the app could have the feature to natively share apks of different apps, from within, using wifi direct, if another device has this installed. Would make it even better.
About the review, I have had some experience with them, so i'll give it a shot tomorrow morning, it's 10 pm here at the moment so I can't prepare and edit now.
I like this, for me the most useful part is the sorting by install and updated. Enough that I did the donation thing to get rid of the ads.
Some suggestions:
Tabs or Drawers / Categories with Tags
- The way this would work is that you can tag apps with categories (each app being able to be tagged with as many categories as the user likes). For instance, I may make a category for frequently used and camera. I would tag my several camera apps with the camera tag, and the one I use most I would also tag with the frequently used tag.
- Then, when searching I could search for the tags as well, such as searching frequently used and all those with that tag would come up.
- Going a step further is the creation of preset tag search tabs. So at the top, or side or wherever it fits best, there may be a place for the Camera Tab Search that I would select it and see all my camera apps.
I think the above feature would make organizing and accessing the apps even more awesome.
The next suggestion is moving towards replacing the stock app manager.
- I use XPosed with Gravity Box. I set up the long press of the home button to launch your App Manager.
- I also use the GEL Settings that changes the Home Button into the Apps Button when you are already on your home screen. It would be awesome if you did the same, but instead made it link to your app.
KNIGHT97 said:
Well overall, the app is quite streamline and easy to navigate.
And the making of APK to share file is the best feature that I liked.
It would be nice if the app could have the feature to natively share apks of different apps, from within, using wifi direct, if another device has this installed. Would make it even better.
About the review, I have had some experience with them, so i'll give it a shot tomorrow morning, it's 10 pm here at the moment so I can't prepare and edit now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
About sharing via Wifi-Direct, isn't it already possible in case both devices have an app for sharing stuff over Wifi-Direct?
For example, using "SuperBeam" ? I never tested the app or the feature, but I think it's already possible, no?
Some Roms (and I think it includes some stock Roms) even have this built in, as I remember.
Not sure though, if any of those solutions share APK files, or just media files.
Since I don't have multiple devices, I can't check it out, and I'm not sure if I will be able to develop it in a way without any bugs...
AndroidDeveloperLB said:
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
About sharing via Wifi-Direct, isn't it already possible in case both devices have an app for sharing stuff over Wifi-Direct?
For example, using "SuperBeam" ? I never tested the app or the feature, but I think it's already possible, no?
Some Roms (and I think it includes some stock Roms) even have this built in, as I remember.
Not sure though, if any of those solutions share APK files, or just media files.
Since I don't have multiple devices, I can't check it out, and I'm not sure if I will be able to develop it in a way without any bugs...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, many apps have this feature, but I just asked for it because this app already has many different methods of sharing an app, and this could make it even faster and better, due to more streamlined representation of your apps. But if it's hard for you, don't worry, no one's forcing you; you are the Dev, you decide how you app is.
But the functionality is quite great.
maddbomber83 said:
I like this, for me the most useful part is the sorting by install and updated. Enough that I did the donation thing to get rid of the ads.
Some suggestions:
Tabs or Drawers / Categories with Tags
- The way this would work is that you can tag apps with categories (each app being able to be tagged with as many categories as the user likes). For instance, I may make a category for frequently used and camera. I would tag my several camera apps with the camera tag, and the one I use most I would also tag with the frequently used tag.
- Then, when searching I could search for the tags as well, such as searching frequently used and all those with that tag would come up.
- Going a step further is the creation of preset tag search tabs. So at the top, or side or wherever it fits best, there may be a place for the Camera Tab Search that I would select it and see all my camera apps.
I think the above feature would make organizing and accessing the apps even more awesome.
The next suggestion is moving towards replacing the stock app manager.
- I use XPosed with Gravity Box. I set up the long press of the home button to launch your App Manager.
- I also use the GEL Settings that changes the Home Button into the Apps Button when you are already on your home screen. It would be awesome if you did the same, but instead made it link to your app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
About the tagging suggestion:
Do you mean auto-tagging, or letting the user tag them? or maybe scan the play-store and tagging the apps using the category they were in...?
Currently, it's a rather time consuming thing to add this feature of tagging, especially if I will add a server side storage that will hold the tags of all the users.
It's a very good suggestion, though, and I will keep it in mind for future releases.
For now, if you wish to organize apps, there are plenty of launchers out there that do the job by putting the apps shortcuts into folders . Some, like "everything.me" launcher, will do it for you.
About having tabs of tags, I think it's against the guidelines of Google to have too many tabs (think how annoying it will be when you create many tags). Maybe a navigation drawer is better.
BTW, I also use Nova launcher, and I've tried a lot of launchers.
About replacing the stock app manager, that was my goal, but I still need to handle operations that I didn't find how to deal with, such as clearing the default of apps, getting the size of them correctly, toggling notifications on/off,...
I'm familiar with using XPosed, but didn't use Gravity Box module. I'm not sure what this module does (I've read its description now) ...
I didn't understand what you did with GEL settings. Did you make it so that the home button of the navigation buttons changed to anything you wish on certain cases?
KNIGHT97 said:
Yeah, many apps have this feature, but I just asked for it because this app already has many different methods of sharing an app, and this could make it even faster and better, due to more streamlined representation of your apps. But if it's hard for you, don't worry, no one's forcing you; you are the Dev, you decide how you app is.
But the functionality is quite great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My app only uses the apps that are already installed on your device. That's how Android works (using "send" intents in this case).
For example, if you had "WhatsApp" installed, it will be shown on the dialog I've made, and if "WhatsApp" supports sending APK files, it will also work (sadly I think it doesn't, but I'm pretty sure "Telegram" does).
BTW, the dialog I've made isn't the native one just because I wanted to add some features to it and I also didn't like how slow the default one is.
Can you please check if Wifi-direct is possible for this task, before I consider adding this feature? I will also try it out at the office if I get the chance.
AndroidDeveloperLB said:
My app only uses the apps that are already installed on your device. That's how Android works (using "send" intents in this case).
For example, if you had "WhatsApp" installed, it will be shown on the dialog I've made, and if "WhatsApp" supports sending APK files, it will also work (sadly I think it doesn't, but I'm pretty sure "Telegram" does).
BTW, the dialog I've made isn't the native one just because I wanted to add some features to it and I also didn't like how slow the default one is.
Can you please check if Wifi-direct is possible for this task, before I consider adding this feature? I will also try it out at the office if I get the chance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, telegram is the only one which would let you send apk files.
But I am not a dev, so I won't be able to check or add things. I am just a tester for the apps and roms and sometimes co-operate with reviews.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I found a small bug, in the sharing menu of the app, aside the regular apps, it also displays apps from music streaming services, but only the ones which allow uploading of content, like grooveshark.
KNIGHT97 said:
Yeah, telegram is the only one which would let you send apk files.
But I am not a dev, so I won't be able to check or add things. I am just a tester for the apps and roms and sometimes co-operate with reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About checking it, I didn't mean that you'd develop anything, not even search the internet about it.
I meant installing an app that lets you send files over WIFI-Direct (like the app I've mentioned), open it (not sure, but I think it's needed so that it would be enabled), and then use my app to send the APK via this app.
AndroidDeveloperLB said:
About checking it, I didn't mean that you'd develop anything, not even search the internet about it.
I meant installing an app that lets you send files over WIFI-Direct (like the app I've mentioned), open it (not sure, but I think it's needed so that it would be enabled), and then use my app to send the APK via this app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad, got you wrong there.
So I tested with Superbeam(tried other apps too, but just won't show them in share menu) and it works fine. The transfer is carried out normally like choosing a file to be transferred from any other app.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going to sleep for now. Will test, review and report further tomorrow morning.
KNIGHT97 said:
My bad, got you wrong there.
So I tested with Superbeam(tried other apps too, but just won't show them in share menu) and it works fine. The transfer is carried out normally like choosing a file to be transferred from any other app.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going to sleep for now. Will test, review and report further tomorrow morning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I understood :
Did it show up there ?
Did you succeed transferring the APK file using WIFI-Direct?
If so, that's great news. I wonder though how come WIFI-Direct sharing isn't a built in feature on Android.
I think it should be easy as using the Bluetooth.
Also I don't get why Android-Beam uses Bluetooth instead of WIFI-Direct (as done on Samsung's devices). In fact, maybe Google could make the files transfer faster by harnessing both Bluetooth and WIFI-Direct together.
Thanks very handy.... Donated.... And again cause I'm
.. And again
Christiancs1969 said:
Thanks very handy.... Donated.... And again cause I'm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Thanks. :good:
You are the first one who is...
Well one more for luck then.....
Seriously... Its very handy thanks
I'm surprised no one has reviewed this app but I'll give it a shot. *edit- attached pics keep going away each time I edit this post. Take a look at the attachments for screenshots.
My Android Tools (free version)
My Android Tools(Pro)
This is an app I stumbled across by chance or mentions in random forum posts and maybe those who've played with it do only a few things such as disable startup items but it's a lot more powerful than that in regards to blocking in-app ads and trackers.
Now, blocking stuff is a multi-prong approach.
You have Adaway for removing the DNS requests for both apps and browser traffic. MAP targets in-app stuff- not browser traffic. That's why you'd do something like Adaway + MinMinGuard/Adblocker XPosed modules. They actually target blocking the code in the app.
something like XPrivacy for sending random info instead of what an app wants from you
And a bunch of apps and XPosed modules to do things like block receivers or in-app ads.
I've whittled it down to Adaway + *Youtube Adaway + *CrappaLinks + My Android Tools(Pro)
*XPosed Modules
from now on I'm calling My Android Tools MAP
First, make a backup of your ROM
Next, make a backup in the About screen in MAP. The optional thing is if you want MAP to open after every app install/upgrade for review of new and updated apps.
*screenshot
The 3 things we'll look at are Services, Broadcast Receivers and Activities.
Services- things that run whenever
Broadcast Receivers - things that respond to system events (boot, connectivity changes, timezone changes, packages added, etc)
Activities - ads and junk that pop up on your screen. Developers add 3rd party sdk's to show pop-ups and stuff. This is how XPosed Modules such as MinMinGuard and Adblocker work
ContentProvider - still haven't figured out if I find stuff here yet. Maybe in Google Play Services it might have some analytics provider but it's basically things that share things with other apps.
*screenshot
Under Services I mainly look at Analytics and Campaign Tracking svcs. It's up to you but these do offer legit tracking analytics to developers.
Google to see what they do
*screenshot
Broadcast Receivers a few apps that do look at a limited selection of these like XPosed module ReceiverStop
mainly I look at 2 of them:
android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED
com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER
*screenshot
Finally, Activities
This is how MinMinguard and the like block things. We're going to block more because MinMinGuard just has a hardcoded list (see above link to its source code. That's what frustrated me about MinMinGuard. If I'm going to block this stuff I'd rather not have a hardcoded list as ad blocking should be equal opportunity if a user is going that route.)
under here it's really about getting familiar with names of ad networks. Here's a hint
I just downloaded a random app to find one with a bunch of fun things.
*screenshot
Great guide, thank you.
royeiror said:
Great guide, thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yw, thanks for the nudge to put it together
Also, note disabling some activities core to an app can cause loss of functionality, force closes, icon removed from the app drawer, etc. That's why I toggle showing the long description of things (that <> button) so I know which are main pieces.
Unity is a library for game development so most of it is actually the app if you see that one a lot.
Sometimes I use the search to look for ad, analytic, track, campaign
Official worst app I've seen for ad activities : agar.io
It's one of the Google recommended apps of 2015 and I was able to find and block 35 ad network activities.
I can't imagine what it's like to actually play the app and what info about you gets collected
@jawz101 : There is an older thread where is shared this app along with an guide which stuff to disable: [SHARE] [APP] MyAndroidTools + Guide to disable some Play Services processes Add it to OP...
@Force I'm wary of disabling too many Google Play Services. I mainly look at the analytics and ads stuff but even then I wonder what repercussions any of it has on battery life. Say, if an app calls for a specific function and it's no longer able to retrieve the information would it cause a force close or get hung in some loop and chew up CPU? I dunno.
Anyone having FCs with the latest version?? It doesn't seem to open at all.. I have a note 4 N910C, on 5.1.1 COJ5, rooted, xposed.
i have been using this for many roms and it saves loads of ram and helps your phone/tablet boot up quicker,i read somewhere that it dont work with xposed or mm both are wrong because i use it on AICP MM ROM and have Xposed installed for XinternalSD and have had no problems at all.
I do submit any crashes if they happen and have emailed the dev in the past when crashes happened. I used to get app crashes until several months ago when trying to backup the current config or when clicking the Content Providers menu option but no longer. Sometimes I completely wiped my device to get it to stop crashing. Since it's been updated these past few months those problems don't occur.
You may want to try reinstalling the app, clearing its data, rebooting, etc to see if something fixed your app crash. Make sure your device I is rooted and the My Android Tools app does indeed have root privileges. Given the nature of the app it may take some error submissions and logcats sent to the dev.
Good to see that somebody reviewed and created a thread for this great app.
Just one question here (if someone could help out) - unlike other apps, Skype seems to be way too stubborn. By mistake I once turned off the connectivity change broadcast receiver. Now, no matter what I do I cannot toggle this receiver back on. WHY? I tried pretty much everything. Rebooting, enabling the receiver from within SD Maid pro, tried making a backup of MAT and then editing this backup manually to remove the tweak for skype but it all failed. With other apps I can toggle their receiver, activities and everything however I see fit and the toggles remain put. With Skype, however, it's a fail. Any help?
Let x
Great tutorial.
As you seem to be very clever with MyAndroidTools, do you have any idea how to spot the services to disable with MyAndroidTools, in order to kill UC news inside the 11.4.5.1005 UC browser last release :
For more or less one week, UC browser has become unusable for Android nowadays with forcing every user with b******* news, foxnews search engine, star magazine search engine, googlenews search engine, yahoo search engine, uc browser search engine, 9app, music player and many more.
Do you think MyAndroidTools could be able to strangle this overwhelming flow of stupidity ?
If yes, there are so much possible items among Services (run whenever), ...
What could be a method to spot the tap and turn it off?
thx
is there any FOSS alternative?
Can't locate in the Play store?
Has the app been removed from the play store? If so is there any chance you could make the file available here? This has been a favorite app of mine for quite sometime. Would hate to see it fade into oblivion.
Guys this was a one-stop app for me...can somebody make the apk here??
Sivabalan said:
Guys this was a one-stop app for me...can somebody make the apk here??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if I would be violating any XDA rules or not. For sure this app is no longer available on the Play store and the developer unfortunately didn't respond to my email. If I can be assured that I'm not violating any XDA rules, I'll gladly share. PS, I love this app I use it for so many things
Bobbaloo said:
I don't know if I would be violating any XDA rules or not. For sure this app is no longer available on the Play store and the developer unfortunately didn't respond to my email. If I can be assured that I'm not violating any XDA rules, I'll gladly share. PS, I love this app I use it for so many things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buddy it's available in apk mirror portal.
App was removed from Play Store how to get the Pro now?
I bought it but if it's in my library its a pita to search a misplaced tap and you back to the top of the list
How I can get this app? It's no longer in the AppStore. I bought the Pro Version.
Bobbaloo said:
I don't know if I would be violating any XDA rules or not. For sure this app is no longer available on the Play store and the developer unfortunately didn't respond to my email. If I can be assured that I'm not violating any XDA rules, I'll gladly share. PS, I love this app I use it for so many things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it on google play and suddenly it disappeared. I contacted the creator and he wrote me he violated some rules (?) of google play and they cutted off his account, but he send me the full apk. But I don't know if I can share it here and if he wants to share the full version. Anyway it's still possible to find it on some websites (apkmirror and something else).
I'm satisfied with it, expecially after I lost money buying autorun manager pro (the developer is not releasing new version, he said he's not interested in it anymore).
Anyway, if someone has any alternative to suggest to My Android Tools Pro it would be good.
Hi,
Adaptive battery helps to boost performance if you tweak it enought. I did this on my own device and it blazing fast right now. No root required for this guide. Use at your own risk.
First Step:
Step by step:
1- Go to Settings - Apps & Notifications - See all apps - 3 dot - Show system
2- Tap to app
3- Turn off all Notifications of that app
4- If you cant turn off Notifications, Tap Advanced - Disable Notification dot
5- Turn off Background data
6- Tap Advanced - Battery - Background restriction - Restrict
7- Go back to See all apps
8- Repeat 2-7 steps until the last app.
Rules:
Dont do this to Clock and your most used apps. I didnt touched Telephone, Notifications, Sms related apps.
Second Step:
Disabled apps:
1- Android Auto
2- Android Setup
3- Android Setup (another one)
4- Basic daydreams
5- Bookmark provider
6- Carrier Services
7- com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks
8- Companion device manager
9- Default Print Service
10- Device setup
11- Digital Wellbeing
12- Files
13- Fingerpirnt test
14- Google
15- Home screen tips
16- HTML Viewer
17- Lens
18- Maps
19- Market Feedback Agent
20- Nfc Service
21- Photo Screensavers
22- Print Service Recommendation Service
23- Qualcomm Mobile Security (telemetry app)
24- Tags
25- PAI
26- ConfigUpdater
27- Storage Manager
28- com.android.wallpaperpicker (any other HD wallpaper app will not affect from it)
29- com.android.cts.ctsshim
30- com.android.cts.priv.ctsshim
31- Google One Time Init
32- Google Partner Setup
Third Step:
Permissions:
1- Deny all permissions on Disabled apps.
2- I gived only Physical Activity permission to Google Play Services app. (I cant do this on v11.0.10)
3- Google Play Store app has only Storage permission.
4- Go to: Settings/Privacy check the permissions to deny unwanted access.
5- Disable - Display over the other apps permission on Disabled apps.
6- Disable - Modify system settings permission on Disabled apps.
Fourth Step:
Developer Settings:
1- Lower Animator duration scale to 0,5x
2- Game Driver Prefences:
- Find your games and choose ' Game Driver ' for them.
- Find your most used apps (Firefox, YouTube, Nova launcher,.. etc.) and choose ' Game Driver ' for it.
3- Enable Wi-Fi Scan Throttling.
4- Background check:
- ANT HAL Service, disable
- Calendar Storage, disable
- ConfigUpdater, disable
- Dirac Control Service, disable
- GFManager, disable
- Spock, disable
(I disabled everything in there except Google Play Store app on my own device.)
Fifth Step:
Ad-Blocking:
1- Go to: Settings/Network&Internet/Advanced/Private DNS/Private DNS provider host name:
dns.adguard.com
2- Go to: Settings/Privacy/Advanced/Ads - Enable - Opt out of Ads Personalization
3- Go to: Settings/Privacy/Advanced/Ads - Disable - Enable debug logging for ads
Sixth Step:
Final:
1- Do the last thing: Restart your phone.
2- Enjoy!
Pros:
- Apps no longer restarts.
- Performance improves.
- Battery life improves.
- Ram management works as expected.
- It smoothens the UI.
- Device starts working as iOS'ish performance.
- Youre gonna love your phone again.
Cons:
- Dont think so.
Notes:
I did this to 182 apps plus the applications I installed (i didnt add them to that count). It takes time. Requires a lot of patience to do that. But the results incredible.
Warnings!:
1- Do not touch Reset app preferences button after this. You will be lose everything what you did so far. If you do, Slow performance will be back.
2- Do not disable Adaptive Battery.
How to Reset everything back to Default:
1- Go to: Settings/Apps and Notifications/See all x apps/Three dot/Reset app preferences
2- Go to: Settings/Advanced/Developer Options/Turn Off
3- Restart your phone.
4- Done!
Is this for real? Were you ok when you started this thread?
First of all 70% of the apps you disabled are extremely useful in the day to day world and are vital, that's why Google put them there, and that's why people with 3rd party Android modifications install them.
Android Auto, it's your phone fully integrated into your car, I use it every time, and that's why I waited for the full system integration of Android Auto in Android 10.
Carrier services, it's the STK service that it's extremely useful when you want to check the internal services from your carrier, like cost control, carrier updates, etc.
Print service, again, for real? This service enables your phone to print to cloud services or wi-fi printers, extremely useful.
Digital Wellbeing is the system version of activity tracker, I love it, it offers me all the devices privacy and limitation features that instead I would have to set myself. The black and white screen at night, the autoDND, and a tracker to see how much I use the phone.
And I can go on with my explanations. This is not a tutorial, this is how you can dumb down the phone even more than Xiaomi did. Breaking every system integrated functionality to what? Replacem them with 3rd party apps from god knows what developers on the Play store.
5- Disable - Display over the other apps permission on Disabled apps.
Are you for real again? This way you kill all the apps that use bubbles like whatsapp, phone, sms, facebook messenger and you can't use them during multitasking anymore.
2- Go to Settings/Privacy/Advanced/Ads - Enable - Opt out of Ads Personalization
Do you even know what this does? This removes the ad personalization, but it still tracks you. This is not a performance boost, this is still getting track but you get random ads instead of relevant ads.
1- Lower Animator duration scale to 0,5x
This is the worst thing a user can do. In the build.prop there is a setting that defines how many events per second can occur on the screen at a given time, decreasing animation time may overflow that limit and force the SoC to use more power. What you gained by disabling/crippling good services on your phone it's now being used by the processor itself, since you're forcing it's buffers.
- Device starts working as iOS'ish performance.
- Youre gonna love your phone again.
Again, this is a joke, isn't it? How can someone love a phone with broken HARDWARE features that cannot be fixed through app management, kernel issues, driver issues, etc? If you were to browse just a little XDA forums you'd see how much nonsense you wrote in this thread. This is not a performance boost, this a dumbed down phone with performance being as placebo as it gets.
I will report this thread to the moderators/admins, because this is not acceptable on a development forum. I never saw so much fake news in this place in my entire life.
I think you're being a bit too hard on the guy. If someone's browsing the XDA and finds this post, chances are they know a bit about the aforementioned settings and will not tamper with anything that they wouldn't want working properly. He just listed the things that he doesn't really care about too much, and also mentioned those that he didn't touch.
It is a tad bit misleading but I don't think this will be breaking anyone's phone, as it just takes a couple of "reverts to default" to set everything as it had been before.
TeoXSD said:
Is this for real? Were you ok when you started this thread?
First of all 70% of the apps you disabled are extremely useful in the day to day world and are vital, that's why Google put them there, and that's why people with 3rd party Android modifications install them.
Android Auto, it's your phone fully integrated into your car, I use it every time, and that's why I waited for the full system integration of Android Auto in Android 10.
Carrier services, it's the STK service that it's extremely useful when you want to check the internal services from your carrier, like cost control, carrier updates, etc.
Print service, again, for real? This service enables your phone to print to cloud services or wi-fi printers, extremely useful.
Digital Wellbeing is the system version of activity tracker, I love it, it offers me all the devices privacy and limitation features that instead I would have to set myself. The black and white screen at night, the autoDND, and a tracker to see how much I use the phone.
And I can go on with my explanations. This is not a tutorial, this is how you can dumb down the phone even more than Xiaomi did. Breaking every system integrated functionality to what? Replacem them with 3rd party apps from god knows what developers on the Play store.
5- Disable - Display over the other apps permission on Disabled apps.
Are you for real again? This way you kill all the apps that use bubbles like whatsapp, phone, sms, facebook messenger and you can't use them during multitasking anymore.
2- Go to Settings/Privacy/Advanced/Ads - Enable - Opt out of Ads Personalization
Do you even know what this does? This removes the ad personalization, but it still tracks you. This is not a performance boost, this is still getting track but you get random ads instead of relevant ads.
1- Lower Animator duration scale to 0,5x
This is the worst thing a user can do. In the build.prop there is a setting that defines how many events per second can occur on the screen at a given time, decreasing animation time may overflow that limit and force the SoC to use more power. What you gained by disabling/crippling good services on your phone it's now being used by the processor itself, since you're forcing it's buffers.
- Device starts working as iOS'ish performance.
- Youre gonna love your phone again.
Again, this is a joke, isn't it? How can someone love a phone with broken HARDWARE features that cannot be fixed through app management, kernel issues, driver issues, etc? If you were to browse just a little XDA forums you'd see how much nonsense you wrote in this thread. This is not a performance boost, this a dumbed down phone with performance being as placebo as it gets.
I will report this thread to the moderators/admins, because this is not acceptable on a development forum. I never saw so much fake news in this place in my entire life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
novak.vujacic97 said:
I think you're being a bit too hard on the guy. If someone's browsing the XDA and finds this post, chances are they know a bit about the aforementioned settings and will not tamper with anything that they wouldn't want working properly. He just listed the things that he doesn't really care about too much, and also mentioned those that he didn't touch.
It is a tad bit misleading but I don't think this will be breaking anyone's phone, as it just takes a couple of "reverts to default" to set everything as it had been before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Harsh, maybe. But a "a bit misleading" is an understatement. Killing parts of the core system is NOT a performance boost, it's like going to vacation all packed up and throwing everything down the road to your destination so you save fuel. This is not the first time he done posts like this (check the "I thought this is stock android, why does it has 200 apps?" thread). This kind of misleading threads are misinforming the users here, most of them who are just basic users coming from Mi Forums in search for solutions (since the phone is so broken due to poor updates). These posts then get copy and pasted to Mi Forums and there you go, you have a good amount of users now with crippled phones. The same happened to how to update to 11.0.2, there was a step there that made users lose their data, poor tutorials, poor understanding of technology and you made that user lose whatever was on his device.
I hope a moderator would close this thread and let it sink to the bottom of this forum, this is not quality information and it's not helping anyone. You say he said what he didn't touch? I beg to differ: "Notes:
I did this to 182 apps plus the applications I installed (i didnt add them to that count). It takes time. Requires a lot of patience to do that. But the results incredible." This was added later it seems, and out of 212 system core apps... 182... uhm... he kinda' killed everything and brags for "performance". Really?
Hahah, oh well, maybe he really likes bloatwarefree or any-warefree user interface :'D I think that the idea that he is coming from is not necessarily bad, I also disabled many google and system apps because they really do drain battery and throttle performance, plus I wasn't really using them too much. A good balance between functionality of the phone for any John Doe and functionality of the system itself is important though. He did overdo it most certainly, but then again, everyone should always be cautious when tampering with the system using the instructions from strangers on the internet...
TeoXSD said:
Harsh, maybe. But a "a bit misleading" is an understatement. Killing parts of the core system is NOT a performance boost, it's like going to vacation all packed up and throwing everything down the road to your destination so you save fuel. This is not the first time he done posts like this (check the "I thought this is stock android, why does it has 200 apps?" thread). This kind of misleading threads are misinforming the users here, most of them who are just basic users coming from Mi Forums in search for solutions (since the phone is so broken due to poor updates). These posts then get copy and pasted to Mi Forums and there you go, you have a good amount of users now with crippled phones. The same happened to how to update to 11.0.2, there was a step there that made users lose their data, poor tutorials, poor understanding of technology and you made that user lose whatever was on his device.
I hope a moderator would close this thread and let it sink to the bottom of this forum, this is not quality information and it's not helping anyone. You say he said what he didn't touch? I beg to differ: "Notes:
I did this to 182 apps plus the applications I installed (i didnt add them to that count). It takes time. Requires a lot of patience to do that. But the results incredible." This was added later it seems, and out of 212 system core apps... 182... uhm... he kinda' killed everything and brags for "performance". Really?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
novak.vujacic97 said:
Hahah, oh well, maybe he really likes bloatwarefree or any-warefree user interface :'D I think that the idea that he is coming from is not necessarily bad, I also disabled many google and system apps because they really do drain battery and throttle performance, plus I wasn't really using them too much. A good balance between functionality of the phone for any John Doe and functionality of the system itself is important though. He did overdo it most certainly, but then again, everyone should always be cautious when tampering with the system using the instructions from strangers on the internet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, the whole point of this thread is? Lying to people, giving them false information and basically clickbait. That was the whole point, a clickbait thread with extremely bad information in it. Disabling apps, especially Google ones in an Google rom is bad. Tweaking developer settings (which are for developers and not users) is a bad idea if you don't know what is the point of X setting. Instead of making a thread like this explain how people can customize their phones explaining what features do, what is safe for disabling/deleting and what is the general purpose of this. He also said he has no problem, but can he use the feed on the home screen after disabling Google app. I bet he can't anymore. Can he use Google assistant anymore in Auto app for example? No because he disabled it when disabling Google. He doesn't explain the purpose, he doesn't explain that is a cascade of dependencies between some of the core apps. Even the lite version of GAPPS comes with Google (the app) as main and on. If it wasn't a dependency it would have been removed, right? This is coming from actual developers that prepare GAPPS packages for custom roms. Want another one? He disabled HTML Viewer, now when he's going to go into settings and go into about, it will crash when trying to open HTML elements like certifications and so on. That being said it will also crash whenever you're trying to view a help file based on HTML in any 3rd party app. Companion device manager, well if you have a nice companion device like smartwatch, smart headphones, anything smart, now it ain't smart no more, you killed it, but does he explain that? No, he just marks it as bloatware, when unfortunately it's a system core service and not a Google app.
Let me tell you a thing, as core apps, and as an operating system Android 10 is good, but the optimization on how the OS interacts with the hardware is faulty, and it's been proven numerous times. There are enough people who did actual research to do so, if you're disabling apps you may fix the battery drain and performance throttle until Xiaomi decides to break something else, somewhere else and then you're up for the task again to find and disable whatever you "don't need". Google kinda' patches sometimes the problem with it's own apps, but you ain't going to see a difference because the apps are now in a frozen state (talking about important apps here, not the extras). Now for the extras, I still don't understand why in 2020 Android don't let you delete extras app, this will both help people like you who like balance, maybe have some better 3rd party alternatives you like etc. and also help people like OP who has no idea what he's doing, killing the whole system and hoping for the best. iOS did this since... idk when, but from what I remember iOS 12 can lets you uninstall preinstalled apps that are not important and later reinstalling them from the store (books, home, and whatever else is there). Disabling apps in Android just keeps the memory clogged with useless data... so, where is the improvement? Ohh, a few minutes to hours of battery more...
Also, to give you another reason to read about it, when you say you disabled some system apps and you get better battery it's placebo. Why? Because while most of the system apps are optimized for the current API level the phone is running your 3rd party apps aren't... and from what I've checked on APKMirror, extremely few apps are actually fully optimized for Android 10 as target. Optimized system apps + not optimized 3rd party = low sot. Disabling system apps just compensates a little for the not optimized ones, the not optimized ones running the same as before. By disabling your system apps you just made room for more mess to run, which in the end, it's not optimal, it's just placebo.
So, tl;dr: informative threads, information, explanations, facts, data, demonstration not this joke.
TeoXSD said:
So, the whole point of this thread is? Lying to people, giving them false information and basically clickbait. That was the whole point, a clickbait thread with extremely bad information in it. Disabling apps, especially Google ones in an Google rom is bad. Tweaking developer settings (which are for developers and not users) is a bad idea if you don't know what is the point of X setting. Instead of making a thread like this explain how people can customize their phones explaining what features do, what is safe for disabling/deleting and what is the general purpose of this. He also said he has no problem, but can he use the feed on the home screen after disabling Google app. I bet he can't anymore. Can he use Google assistant anymore in Auto app for example? No because he disabled it when disabling Google. He doesn't explain the purpose, he doesn't explain that is a cascade of dependencies between some of the core apps. Even the lite version of GAPPS comes with Google (the app) as main and on. If it wasn't a dependency it would have been removed, right? This is coming from actual developers that prepare GAPPS packages for custom roms. Want another one? He disabled HTML Viewer, now when he's going to go into settings and go into about, it will crash when trying to open HTML elements like certifications and so on. That being said it will also crash whenever you're trying to view a help file based on HTML in any 3rd party app. Companion device manager, well if you have a nice companion device like smartwatch, smart headphones, anything smart, now it ain't smart no more, you killed it, but does he explain that? No, he just marks it as bloatware, when unfortunately it's a system core service and not a Google app.
Let me tell you a thing, as core apps, and as an operating system Android 10 is good, but the optimization on how the OS interacts with the hardware is faulty, and it's been proven numerous times. There are enough people who did actual research to do so, if you're disabling apps you may fix the battery drain and performance throttle until Xiaomi decides to break something else, somewhere else and then you're up for the task again to find and disable whatever you "don't need". Google kinda' patches sometimes the problem with it's own apps, but you ain't going to see a difference because the apps are now in a frozen state (talking about important apps here, not the extras). Now for the extras, I still don't understand why in 2020 Android don't let you delete extras app, this will both help people like you who like balance, maybe have some better 3rd party alternatives you like etc. and also help people like OP who has no idea what he's doing, killing the whole system and hoping for the best. iOS did this since... idk when, but from what I remember iOS 12 can lets you uninstall preinstalled apps that are not important and later reinstalling them from the store (books, home, and whatever else is there). Disabling apps in Android just keeps the memory clogged with useless data... so, where is the improvement? Ohh, a few minutes to hours of battery more...
So, tl;dr: informative threads, information, explanations, facts, data, demonstration not this joke.
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Click to collapse
Nothing is clickbait in here. You will see the difference when you follow the steps. I am so happy with my phone.
Someone forgot to take his meds again...
TeoXSD said:
So, the whole point of this thread is? Lying to people, giving them false information and basically clickbait. That was the whole point, a clickbait thread with extremely bad information in it. Disabling apps, especially Google ones in an Google rom is bad. Tweaking developer settings (which are for developers and not users) is a bad idea if you don't know what is the point of X setting. Instead of making a thread like this explain how people can customize their phones explaining what features do, what is safe for disabling/deleting and what is the general purpose of this. He also said he has no problem, but can he use the feed on the home screen after disabling Google app. I bet he can't anymore. Can he use Google assistant anymore in Auto app for example? No because he disabled it when disabling Google. He doesn't explain the purpose, he doesn't explain that is a cascade of dependencies between some of the core apps. Even the lite version of GAPPS comes with Google (the app) as main and on. If it wasn't a dependency it would have been removed, right? This is coming from actual developers that prepare GAPPS packages for custom roms. Want another one? He disabled HTML Viewer, now when he's going to go into settings and go into about, it will crash when trying to open HTML elements like certifications and so on. That being said it will also crash whenever you're trying to view a help file based on HTML in any 3rd party app. Companion device manager, well if you have a nice companion device like smartwatch, smart headphones, anything smart, now it ain't smart no more, you killed it, but does he explain that? No, he just marks it as bloatware, when unfortunately it's a system core service and not a Google app.
Let me tell you a thing, as core apps, and as an operating system Android 10 is good, but the optimization on how the OS interacts with the hardware is faulty, and it's been proven numerous times. There are enough people who did actual research to do so, if you're disabling apps you may fix the battery drain and performance throttle until Xiaomi decides to break something else, somewhere else and then you're up for the task again to find and disable whatever you "don't need". Google kinda' patches sometimes the problem with it's own apps, but you ain't going to see a difference because the apps are now in a frozen state (talking about important apps here, not the extras). Now for the extras, I still don't understand why in 2020 Android don't let you delete extras app, this will both help people like you who like balance, maybe have some better 3rd party alternatives you like etc. and also help people like OP who has no idea what he's doing, killing the whole system and hoping for the best. iOS did this since... idk when, but from what I remember iOS 12 can lets you uninstall preinstalled apps that are not important and later reinstalling them from the store (books, home, and whatever else is there). Disabling apps in Android just keeps the memory clogged with useless data... so, where is the improvement? Ohh, a few minutes to hours of battery more...
Also, to give you another reason to read about it, when you say you disabled some system apps and you get better battery it's placebo. Why? Because while most of the system apps are optimized for the current API level the phone is running your 3rd party apps aren't... and from what I've checked on APKMirror, extremely few apps are actually fully optimized for Android 10 as target. Optimized system apps + not optimized 3rd party = low sot. Disabling system apps just compensates a little for the not optimized ones, the not optimized ones running the same as before. By disabling your system apps you just made room for more mess to run, which in the end, it's not optimal, it's just placebo.
So, tl;dr: informative threads, information, explanations, facts, data, demonstration not this joke.
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Click to collapse
Here's my take...if an App has the option to disable said app, then it is not important to the overall function of the phone. There are many that fit this criteria - and obviously many that don't.
I did everything on this guide to v11.0.10 and its like butter smooth now.
These are new tweaks for Developer Options:
1- Find your most used apps (Firefox, YouTube, Nova launcher,.. etc.) and choose ' Game Driver ' for it.
Game Driver also improves other apps responsiveness not just Games.
2- Background check:
- ANT HAL Service, disable
- Calendar Storage, disable
- ConfigUpdater, disable
- Dirac Control Service, disable
- GFManager, disable
- Spock, disable
(I disabled everything in there except Google Play Store app on my own device.)
I added these apps to Disabled list:
- PAI
- ConfigUpdater
- Storage Manager
- com.android.wallpaperpicker (any other HD wallpaper app will not affect from it)
- com.android.cts.ctsshim
- com.android.cts.priv.ctsshim
- Google One Time Init
- Google Partner Setup
How to Reset everything back to Default:
1- Go to: Settings/Apps and Notifications/See all x apps/Three dot/Reset app preferences
2- Go to: Settings/Advanced/Developer Options/Turn Off
3- Restart your phone.
4- Done!
Note: Xiaomi blocked Disabling Location for Google Play Services. I am getting infinite loop on v11.0.10
Thanks a lot Man !
I don't know whether you are still using this device. But believed me I was so frustrated about the performance after the update. And I honestly don't care much about disabling hard critical apps in the system as the phone now works buttery smooth. All my required apps works and no one can tell the difference. Maybe android inside is crying and bragging what have you done what have you done screw the system the phone feels great . Thanks man ! :good:
This guide worked perfect. I didn't even follow all the steps but handpicked the ones that seemed to have most impact for me.
I am curious to try, what are the most valuable apps you think i should stop?
I am not really afraid to broke my phone as i thinking to move again to custom rom
JUST INSTALLED THIS
and its perfect now
[ROM][12][Daisy][OFFICIAL]Syberia Project
/* * Your warranty is now void. * * Syberia Team not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, * thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please * do some research if you have any concerns about features...
forum.xda-developers.com
Situation:
I have somewhat of a "love-REALLY HATE" relationship with Google apps and ecosystem.
On one hand, they are great at what they do.
On the other, it's like having a spy satellite overhead, given how much telemetry it does.
Question:
I'd like to cut all of the Google apps' internet, location, sensor and background activity access for good when not in use. Or at least spoof whatever personal data is being sent (Device info, location, activities, etc). Any way to do that?
What I've done so far:
My current way-to-go method involves installing RethinkDNS+firewall, then blocking every single one of google apps including Gboard. It sort-of works, but very inconvenient, as I have to manually enable internet access for a particular app and/or service when needed. I also tried edXposed's XluaPrivacy module to cut off access to certain permissions. Again, cumbersome.
After going through F-Droid, I found an app called "Insular", that claims being able to put all of the "big brother" apps (such as Gapps) behind an isolated sandbox, a digital gulag of sorts.
Thanks for the pointer to Insular whose advertising on F-Droid says:
Insular is a FLOSS fork of Island.
With Insular, you can:
Isolate your Big Brother apps
Clone and run multiple accounts simutaniuosly
Freeze or archive apps and prevent any background behaviors
Unfreeze apps on-demand with home screen shortcuts
Re-freeze marked apps with one tap
Hide apps
Selectively enable (or disable) VPN for different group of apps
Prohibit USB access to mitigate attacks with physical access
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on that, I suspect this XDA thread about "Island" may be useful.
[APP][5.0+][BETA] Island - app freezing, privacy protection, parallel accounts
"Island" is a sandbox environment to clone selected apps and isolate them from accessing your personal data outside the sandbox (including call logs, contacts, photos and etc) even if related permissions are granted. Device-bound data is still accessible (SMS, IMEI and etc).
Isolated app can be frozen on demand, with launcher icon vanish and its background behaviors completely blocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totesnochill said:
Question:
I'd like to cut all of the Google apps' internet, location, sensor and background activity access for good when not in use. Or at least spoof whatever personal data is being sent (Device info, location, activities, etc). Any way to do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like you, my relationship with Google is strained where I don't set up any Google Account on Android and it works just fine.
I don't have a contacts.db sqlite database for that reason too, so my favorite communication apps are all designed to store their own contacts db internally to the app itself.
I replace Google apps with FOSS equivalents such as NewPipe (or, more recently, Vanced YouTube) for example.
And I spoof my GPS location by default (using Lexa Fake GPS, for example).
Of course, given I don't have a Google Account on my phone, I use the Aurora Store instead of the Google Play Store. Of course, I strive for apps that don't require Google Framework Services (GSF) which Aurora neatly filters out for us.
Since I'm not rooted, I can't delete Google Play Store, but I can disable it, which is almost as good.
And, I use privacy-aware apps for my messenger, calendar, contacts, and dialer apps (many of which come from Simple Mobile Tools' suite which are available on F-Droid).
To keep my WiFi SSID/BSSID/GPS/Strength/etc. out of the hands of Google (& Mozilla and Kismet and Wigle, etc.), I add "_nomap" to the SSID and I turn off the SOHO router SSID broadcast (which "hinders" most cellphones from uploading my BSSID information to Google public servers); but then I have to also turn off "AutoReconnect" on Android 12 and also I have the Developer Options set in Android 12 to randomize the MAC address on EACH connection; however that means I need to set any "static" connections on my LAN from the phone and not with address reservation on the router (which typically utilizes the MAC address).
And it's not just Google we need to keep our data out of their hands, as I even use WhatsApp privacy aware tools such as the WhatsApp dialer and WhatsApp Click to Chat mechanisms (to keep my contacts out of Facebook's hands too).
For offline maps, I use a quick web browser lookup on a privacy browser (such as Tor or Epic or Opera), since the Google address lookup is still the best in the world... (which is the love/hate relationship, right?)... and then I paste the GPS coordinates that the privacy browser found on the maps.google.com web site into a local routing application (such as a shortcut to a browser to google maps on the phone or better yet, to a dedicated offline map program such as OSM And~), and even traffic can be gotten without Google (e.g., Sigalert & 511 apps).
I used to reset the Advertising ID with a homescreen shortcut that could be activated from Windows via a batch file over Wi-Fi, but now with Android 12 we can wipe out the Advertising ID altogether (i.e., reset it to all zeroes). However, I still periodically change my GSF ID and other supposedly unique identifiers.
I'm still trying to figure out the implication of "trackers", so if anyone has more information about them, please advise.
Off hand there must be scores more things I do for privacy, where we probably should have a main thread on this site of all the myriad things people can do to increase their privacy on Android (some of which I've screenshotted for you below).
GalaxyA325G said:
Like you, my relationship with Google is strained where I don't set up any Google Account on Android and it works just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks heaps for the very in-depth response. Really opens up on a lot of things I wasnt aware of, and I realized that unlike desktop, when it comes to mobile privacy I'm still a bit behind.
Are there any guides where I can do some reading on the concepts and techniques you've described? Especially regarding contacts.db sqlite database, GPS spoofing and privacy-aware options for accessing WhatsApp.
Also, what are your thoughts on MIcroG?
Totesnochill said:
Thanks heaps for the very in-depth response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I try to put effort into the response so that others can benefit (but nobody ever presses the like button so maybe it's not worth the effort).
For example, when I mentioned I spoof my GPS, I looked up the app I used and linked to it so that you wouldn't have to test a score of apps like I did to find the best one.
Totesnochill said:
Really opens up on a lot of things I wasn't aware of, and I realized that unlike desktop, when it comes to mobile privacy I'm still a bit behind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was just off the top of my head where there has to be at least a hundred different privacy things I do on Android to distance me from Google that most people don't bother to do.
I admit, sometimes it feels like we're putting a dozen locks on the front door, but in the end, we LEARN a lot about Android in the process.
A lot of the protection is to protect ourselves from others who don't know how to configure their phone, so they are uploading our private information (like our contacts and home locations) to Google databases.
For example, the typical Android phone when it drives by your front door uploads to google your exact location, your signal strength, your unique BSSID and your SSID... where you'll note in my response above I had to do a half dozen things on my phone and router to prevent that from happening (i.e., just adding "_nomap" doesn't work but most people don't realize that because they don't think about it).
Totesnochill said:
Are there any guides where I can do some reading on the concepts and techniques you've described?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there are plenty.
But I have been in MANY situations where there are none.
Take, for example, changing the GSFID... almost nowhere on the net is that described how to do it. Almost nobody does it, but it can be done if you know how.
I really should write a set of privacy tutorials so that everyone can do it but I have to find the time, and this web site doesn't like text tutorials I found out recently. So they make it a PITA in the end to help people. Sigh.
Totesnochill said:
Especially regarding contacts.db sqlite database, GPS spoofing and privacy-aware options for accessing WhatsApp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at the links I gave you in my response for contacts, gps spoofing and privacy-aware WhatsApp, you'll get a good start.
A quickie is to not have a contacts.sqlite database, which means you need your own contacts.csv or more likely contacts.vcf file, which you can maintain on the PC if you like (works with Excel for example).
Now that you don't have a contacts.db sqlite database, you need to find the contacts and dialer and mms/sms apps that can suck in their own contacts.vcf file, which I pointed you to in the Simple Mobile Tools suite.
For GPS spoofing, I didn't mention you need to turn "Mock Location" on in the Android Developer Options, but that's what most people already do so I assumed you knew that. Once you turn that on, you can just select the mock location app of your choice (where I suggested one above which isn't perfect but none of them are).
That particular app moves your location every few feet and it gets the altitude and it can easily be stopped and started, etc., but I'd like it if it didn't move just "west by 10 feet every minute" but instead if it would follow a pre-determined route that I could give it. So they need a lot more work to be as good as we'd like them to be.
For What'sApp privacy, look at the two apps I linked to in the prior post as they don't need the contacts.sqlite database to work.
Your WhatsApp should only have an icon in your folders for the people you contact and nothing else, IMHO. That's the best privacy you can get, although WhatsApp does decent hashing on the contacts file when it uploads it to their servers - but still - why give them your entire contacts when you only contact 10 people (or whatever) on WhatsApp. Right?
Totesnochill said:
Also, what are your thoughts on MIcroG?
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Click to collapse
Funny you mentioned microG since I installed it for the first time yesterday when I was setting up Vanced Youtube based on this thread.
I generally choose apps that don't use GSF but sometimes you have to use a GSF app (e.g., Zoom meetings), and then it's nice to use MicroG instead of Google Services Framework.
I only installed it yesterday so I really don't know how well it will work for me as I didn't even need to install it to install VancedYoutube. You just need it to log into YouTube but I never do that anyway.
In summary, there's probably a hundred things we do to our phones to set up privacy but I'd have to write each one up in detail to help everyone and that's a lot of work.
Especially if almost nobody reads these threads.
GalaxyA325G said:
I try to put effort into the response so that others can benefit (but nobody ever presses the like button so maybe it's not worth the effort).
In summary, there's probably a hundred things we do to our phones to set up privacy but I'd have to write each one up in detail to help everyone and that's a lot of work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for doing God's work out there. Ethics like these are what creates the content that keeps the internet from becoming a dumpster fire otherwise. Tutorials and explanations that come from the fellow users are THE best and usually directly on-point.
When I was just starting setting up Linux environment, I wrote "how-to notes" on every successful step. At first it was more like the "sticky notes" to help me remember, but eventually (as the list grew) I started writing these tips in a way as if they were to be read by someone with little background in the subject. What used to be the "Linux notes" file became 10563 lines monstrosity now... So every time I need to answer someone's question I just copypaste from this file.
GalaxyA325G said:
That was just off the top of my head where there has to be at least a hundred different privacy things I do on Android to distance me from Google that most people don't bother to do.
I admit, sometimes it feels like we're putting a dozen locks on the front door, but in the end, we LEARN a lot about Android in the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. I've spent about 2 weeks tweaking my new phone (Nokia X6), trying out different roms/recoveries and app setups. Pissed off a bunch of people in the process - most wouldn't understand that I'm setting up a system to last another 7 years, just like my previous phone (Galaxy Gprime). Not to mention that with the amount of sensitive info on the phone, security and privacy are a legit concern, and worth learning about just how one learns to install and use the lock on the front doors.
Phones became disposable both in software and hardware, and so have the general attitude towards the devices.
My final setup became AOSP PixelPlusUI Rom (comes with about openGapps nano worth of Google stuff) with most other stock apps (contacts , dialer, keyboards, msg etc) removed via ADB and replaced with F-Droid alternatives.
I've also used Rethink DNS with whitelist set up/AppInspector to put Google in the Goolag - no internet access for anything google-related at all times. So far my phone has 253 apps blocked (including almost all of the system apps). Surprisingly, all of the necessary apps off google play store (Whatsapp, FB messenger) still function well. Whenever I need a particular Gservice (like a translator), I just enable access for that (and only that) until I dont need it anymore.
GalaxyA325G said:
If you look at the links I gave you in my response for contacts, gps spoofing and privacy-aware WhatsApp, you'll get a good start.
A quickie is to not have a contacts.sqlite database, which means you need your own contacts.csv or more likely contacts.vcf file, which you can maintain on the PC if you like (works with Excel for example).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'm not sure why the links didnt show up at first. I'll give this a look. I've been using "simple mobile tools" for quite a while, and I must say I like how they are completely autonomous and transparent about what prems they need and why.
GalaxyA325G said:
For GPS spoofing, I didn't mention you need to turn "Mock Location" on in the Android Developer Options, but that's what most people already do so I assumed you knew that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely saw the option in the dev settings, but didnt experiment with it. Well, now I know, thanks!
Funny you mentioned microG since I installed it for the first time yesterday when I was setting up Vanced Youtube based on this thread.
I generally choose apps that don't use GSF but sometimes you have to use a GSF app (e.g., Zoom meetings), and then it's nice to use MicroG instead of Google Services Framework.
I only installed it yesterday so I really don't know how well it will work for me as I didn't even need to install it to install VancedYoutube. You just need it to log into YouTube but I never do that anyway.
In summary, there's probably a hundred things we do to our phones to set up privacy but I'd have to write each one up in detail to help everyone and that's a lot of work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will give microG a try (in a form of LineageOS for MicroG). In fact I did install this rom before but I was a bit confused about what it did and assumed that it is a regular LinOS repack with Gplay store and apps built-in. Time to test again.
Especially if almost nobody reads these threads.
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Click to collapse
Threads like these is how I passed my uni exams. Not even exaggerating XD. Thanks again for a very detailed insightful read!
Hello my friends, very happy to meet good hearted people who think alike about Gugle.
as my name suggests I'm noob still and didn't understand much of discussion but very happy to meet you friends. My love & warm regards to all here. Here is what I did uptill now before I saw this thread :
1> Load GSI/ROM.
2> Load TWRP
3> Load Magisk
4> Load microG
5> Install Service Disabler
5.1> Disable bunch of internal services like telemetry, analytics, location (FusedLocation not possible to disable) for every app (3-rd party & system app), contacts sync etc.
6> Install SD-Maid Pro
6.1> Freeze apps like Gugle Calendar Sync Adapter & Gugle Contacts Sync Adapter
7> Install CIAFirewall Fake VPN & configure it.
8> I use Opera browser for Banking, Youtube, Cab booking, Surfing, Gmail, Food Order etc.
9> Install Aurora Store for general app management & installation
10> For contacts I save all contacts in notepad app, and let all calls purposely bounce then I call back aftter checking whose call it was & state false apologies.
#FYI :- Gugle, Mycrowsowft , eFbee are not really to be blamed, rhey are having to comply with FBI, Phentagon, Central Intelligence Agencies, Interpol, etc. or they have to shut bizness.
GalaxyA325G said:
Like you, my relationship with Google is strained where I don't set up any Google Account on Android and it works just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I’m glad to have found this thread as I’m not happy with how my normal Android phone is spied upon by google. But I’m not technically knowledgeable and I don’t want to risk bricking my phone by trying amateur attempts at rooting, or installing Insular, etc…
So far I have not signed in, I allow only minimum permissions, use Netguard, Aurora and FDroid, and have disabled bloatware. I also force-stop apps as much as possible when not in use, and enable Location and Bluetooth only when needed.
I know this is just an amateur, token attempt to reduce spying - so I may have to eventually buy a degoogled phone.
I’ve also done some of the privacy suggestions in the attachments you posted.
Could you help me with a couple of newbie questions…
1): I might have minimised some personal data harvested by most of the apps I use, but I guess my privacy precautions will have no significant effect on the amount of telemetry collected by google?
2): If my precautions really have no significant effect, I’m wondering if would it make any real difference if I was signed in as I don’t use any of the google backup services anyway?
Thanks.