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I installed SwiftKey X and it is a amazing, it's ability to predict text is mind blowing. but around 30mins later. I removed it due to privacy concerns. Should I of been concerned about privacy?
Edit: Can a developer have a look at the codes and see what it's been sent back from the advice to the server
Probably not... I also have Swiftkey X. The Swiftkey company is trustworthy but hey, better safe than sorry.
AndriodLover said:
I installed SwiftKey X and it is a amazing, it's ability to predict text is mind blowing. but around 30mins later. I removed it due to privacy concerns. Should I of been concerned about privacy?
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Click to collapse
could you tell us some more about it? what kind of privacy you're talking about? is swift key sending out your details? texts? accounts?
cez10 said:
could you tell us some more about it? what kind of privacy you're talking about? is swift key sending out your details? texts? accounts?
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Click to collapse
First for best performances it needs access to your facebook, Twitter, gmail accounts. Second, why does a keyboard needs a services running in background at all times ? that can be sending data back to the server.
Third, Have a look at the privacy details http://www.swiftkey.net/privacy.
AndriodLover said:
First for best performances it needs access to your facebook, Twitter, gmail accounts. Second, why does a keyboard needs a server running in background at all times ? that can be sending data back to the server.
Third, Have a look at the privacy details http://www.swiftkey.net/privacy.
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Click to collapse
Oef... where's the limit. It's like typing in Bentham's Panopticon.
appelflap said:
Oef... where's the limit. It's like typing in Bentham's Panopticon.
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Click to collapse
??
AndriodLover said:
First for best performances it needs access to your facebook, Twitter, gmail accounts. Second, why does a keyboard needs a services running in background at all times ? that can be sending data back to the server.
Third, Have a look at the privacy details http://www.swiftkey.net/privacy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"In relation to our Apps such as SwiftKey, learned language data generated and stored on your computing devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, is never accessed by, or transmitted to us unless you wish to use additional features or services which would require the use of such data. Where we offer any additional services or facilities that do require use of data which might include personal information, such as server-based personalized services, then we will always seek your consent to the use of such data before providing such services or facilities."
Hey - just to weigh in quickly here. I'm the CMO of TouchType, the company that makes SwiftKey. We take user privacy very serious and don't ever process any of the data stored on your phone, as explained in our privacy policy.
When you choose to use our personalization services, this data is handled securely and without access to any of your password data. We only use your data to provide you with better predictions, though a language module that is generated and pushed to your phone.
There is really nothing to worry about here.
Thanks guys,
Joe
Thanks for posting, that's good to know. Might I say that I've been using the keyboard for a few days and it's definitely getting better.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App
haha privacy concerns? whaaaat
Privacy ?? Mistrust...
hmm it does ask for a lot info
JoeBeats said:
Hey - just to weigh in quickly here. I'm the CMO of TouchType, the company that makes SwiftKey. We take user privacy very serious and don't ever process any of the data stored on your phone, as explained in our privacy policy.
When you choose to use our personalization services, this data is handled securely and without access to any of your password data. We only use your data to provide you with better predictions, though a language module that is generated and pushed to your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for answering here.
Just to clarify, when the "Learn from SMS" option is used, does SwiftKey upload or submit SMS text data stored on the phone to your servers or is everything processed on locally the phone?
anti-pop said:
Thanks for answering here.
Just to clarify, when the "Learn from SMS" option is used, does SwiftKey upload or submit SMS text data stored on the phone to your servers or is everything processed on locally the phone?
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Click to collapse
I wonder the same thing. Does anybody know the answer?
Personally, I would use a firewall such as avast to block out any apps I don't want reaching out to the Internet. Especially for all my keyboard apps.
And yes, you could use a packet sniffer to monitor swift or any other app you are unsure about.
a4ol said:
Personally, I would use a firewall such as avast to block out any apps I don't want reaching out to the Internet. Especially for all my keyboard apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree on this point. Use DroidWall, PDroid or LBE and feel safe? :> Using PDroid and LBE you could even configure SwiftKeyX to not be able to read any parts of private informations from your phone that you don't acknowledge.
Hope this helps The Keyboard as it rocks, i tested the trial-version myself. Too bad they don't have a free lite edition or something like that. As long as you need to pay for it i'm not jumping on that train, sorry ;/
I don't agree at all with the "CMO" of SwiftKey. The app is a huge privacy concern.
I just did a logcat and was more than shocked: The app completely misuses users trust by tracking him permanently. The logcat not even comes to equilibirum, permanently are requests made to http://api.geo.kontagent.net. To get feel how "serious" the company is about privacy, take a look here: http://www.kontagent.com/privacy-policy. Just as an example: "Kontagent employees, may, on occasion look at customer data for test purposes". Collected data includes social application data, custom data, cookies, location (!). Personally I "just" saw that serial number, phone type, ID etc. is transmitted. Plain text - no SSL - of course. I block my data anyways using XPrivacy and Droidwall and needless to say, I disabled all the clous services but this app immideately leaves my device. A keyboard is the most sensitive and important app on the device. It records everything, every single keystroke and sending out anything here is an absolute no-go. Breach of trust. I paid for the app, felt good about it and now I feel shocked how this company spies it customers.
My recommendation for everyone who takes security or privacy a little bit serious: Get rid of the software. Uninstall it immideately!
It's sad because the software is good but spying without opt-out on paying customers is unacceptable!
Hi,
Sometimes an app (.apk) is either simply not available through Google's store, or it might say "not compatible with your device", etc. There can be various reasons why a person might download a .apk from somewhere other than a "trusted" source.
If this was a file for my PC I could test it in a "sandbox", and I could scan it with both Microsoft Security Essentials and Malware Bytes Antimalware.
On my Android phone(s) I'm not aware of something like the "sandbox" option, and I don't really want to run an "antivirus" program on my phone. Is there an easy way to scan .apk files on the PC to see if they are rogue apps, might send SMS, "phone home", or otherwise mess with other applications or the system software installed on my phone?
Lets give another example: say I thought 15 minutes was not long enough to evaluate a relatively expensive Android game (it certainly isn't!) and I want to test it out first. Let's assume my only option in that case might be an illegally downloaded copy from unknown sources. Of course, we shouldn't do that. But if we did, how could we know if the file is safe and not risk installing some Chinese spyware?
About Android AV programs: anybody know how effective they are? Do some defend against "trojans" - I would think these days trojans are 99% of problems and viruses mostly a relic of the past?
My biggest concern is actually just unwanted crap that runs in the background which eats up battery, makes my phone warm (which I hate), or, perhaps even sends SMS message [this would be even worse because I don't have a text message plan].
EDIT: I see web pages with tiles like "new study finds Android antivirus apps not effective" and articles like this one: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/...bouncer-does-it-offer-enough-protection/17981
Do we have an easy way to boot Galaxy S3 off of "external" SDCARD instead of internal memory?
Search play store for avast antivirus, completely free, updates daily and works really well (firewall. Anti theft. And many more Features
sony xperia ray ics 4.0.4
stock rom unrooted
I found this website, maybe it can help someone.
h t t p://scan.netqin.com/en/
Maybe someone can post another one...
an easy way to check for safe apk
The easiest way to check for safe apk is to have one gmail account and another "whatever" email account. Then just send the apk from the gmail one to the second account, gmail always find viruses in any apk and stop the process to join the file (virus alert). Bad point is you are limited with the size of the file you wanna send.
Nowadays, even pc antiviruses can detect viruses in apks. I would rather not burden my phone with any android antivirus,since they are literally battery hogs.
sent using my HTC One S
Go here and upload the APK
http://anubis.iseclab.org/
Anubis is a service for analyzing malware.
Submit your Windows executable or Android APK and receive an analysis report telling you what it does. Alternatively, submit a suspicious URL and receive a report that shows you all the activities of the Internet Explorer process when visiting this URL.
Andrubis executes Android apps in a sandbox and provides a detailed report on their behavior, including file access, network access, crypto operations, dynamic code loading and information leaks. In addition to the dynamic analysis in the sandbox, Andrubis also performs static analysis, yielding information on e.g. the app's activities, services, required external libraries and actually required permissions.
Found a good one too
apkscan.nviso.be - give it a try. Drag and drop - wait for the upload - than click SCAN . Wait for a few minutes. That`s all. Unlike ANUBIS it has a resolution at the end of the analysis . Usually helpful.
You can also email the file to [email protected] and it will email the report back in about ten minutes. Virustotal can display some interesting info, for example it said that Lucky Patcher is a "Potentially Infected Hosts File (v)", as reported by VIPRE and AVware.
Virustotal also has an official android app.
The Netqin scanner is also an android mobile app.
Late answer, sure, but I think ClamAV is what you want. You also want its bytecode signature file, and to speed things up, you only want that single file (speeds up things quite a bit).
It is the only offline apk scanner i know of, and as for its efficiency i cannot say, but it seems like it is what you are asking for.
An alternative would be to install something like BlueStacks and remap your "Windows shared folder" (through registry) to the folder you have your apk files in, and then run BitDefender on it. BD is by far the most pernickety AV app out there for Android.
I'll have to check out bitdefender (it's also included on virustotal.com)
apkscan.nviso.be seems to be pretty good at analyzing files for suspicious activity, and it also uploads the file to virustotal for you. Then you can copy the sha256 hash into the virustotal's search, to get all the gory details.
anubis.iseclab.org limits files to 8 megabytes.
Another way to avoid malware is:
when installing an update to an already-installed version of an application, it will 99% of the time prompt you to update an existing app. There's been rare instances where some apps do use a new digital signature (for example when spotify had a big security hole, and for awhile there were two apps by spotify in the app store).
One other way to tell, as a final check when launching the apk for installation on the phone: the icon will not have the right icon. I've installed apps before that I thought came from a trusted source, but the icon was not right. In fact, I was considering not posting this publically, so the "bad dudes" would not update their methods.
Another tool I found:
http://andrototal.org/
Although it might be a duplicate of virustotal.
nintendo1889 said:
Another tool I found:
http://andrototal.org/
Although it might be a duplicate of virustotal.
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Click to collapse
I just tried out this site. To me, it appears to be the most thorough virus testing site that I have seen. It takes some time for it to complete the scans. mainly because it scans the file with about 7 or 8 different scanning engines. Just just have to keep refreshing the page every few minutes to see if the results have updated.
I will be using this one as my go to site for apk scanning.
Just install it on the default emulator in the Android SDK
You can also install your apps on other emulator live bluestacks(best for games), jar of beans(best for rooted app) and windroy(the lightest)
Hit thanks if this helps
nintendo1889 said:
I'll have to check out bitdefender ...
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Your signature photo ... awesome ... Bad Dudes
By using GDATA security , When you want to install an app the GDATA will scan it befor installing
Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
Use google scanning service VirusTotal to scan any app, secondly always use secure source. There are many well reputed apk sites but I personally use apklink.com , on this site required apk file is just a click away and its quite easy as well...
be safe & secure
This threads out of date, but it has me thinking I want to use something as mentioned in several replies to OP.
Are there any sites, or apps that can warn me if an .apk (for example) has malware etc.?
Thanks in advance for any help, including a link to another discussion that may have my answer
denise1952 said:
This threads out of date, but it has me thinking I want to use something as mentioned in several replies to OP.
Are there any sites, or apps that can warn me if an .apk (for example) has malware etc.?
Thanks in advance for any help, including a link to another discussion that may have my answer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Malwarebytes can detect malware.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
I tried this site and I like it because it goes into a lot of detail after analyzing and sends me a report in email. It was mentioned, and it is still available to use: https://apkscan.nviso.be/
Thank you for the heads up on MB, I use that on my PC and works great
You can use virustotal.
So i am just wondering, there are so much different apps for android on the market, and most of them has a lot of access to phone's functions. Now for example i am always logged in to Gmail, and theoretically can a random app scan and copy my gmail's data and send it trough internet? Really curious..
Kblavkalash said:
Now for example i am always logged in to Gmail, and theoretically can a random app scan and copy my gmail's data and send it trough internet? Really curious..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This question is not really an issue of Android security this is a question about general security. Can an app look at your gmail app directly and copy data and send it out...not exactly no, an app can't forcibly connect itself to another app to scan data.
However...
That question is actually not relevant because such a task is unnecessary for malicious apps. Lets say you install a malicious app that wants to copy your gmail data. What it will do is not watch the app itself but it will watch the network packets being sent to and from the app, logging and tracking those.
This is not the only way to get the data though because any data saved on your sdcard is accessible from an app if you give it permission to do so.
The MOST important thing to look at when installing an app is the permissions the app is requesting when it installs. This can be confusing as well because some apps will request full internet access because they need it but this can also be used by a malicious app to steal your data.
The important thing to do is research. The more you learn about the app the better off you are.
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Just to clarify, this applies to all apps of any kind on any platform including but not limited to Android, iPhones, Blackberry, Windows Phone, WebOS, Windows PC, Mac OSX, Linux or etc. - ALWAYS learn as much as you can and are comfortable with before installing anything...if you are not comfortable with a particular app or learning more about it then don't install it. That is not to say it may be malicous, it is just to say it could be a bad idea for other reasons. (for example, if it is a developer tool or a configuration tool that you don't understand or haven't researched enough to understand...then you could potentially damage your device with something that is a legitimate tool)
Kblavkalash said:
So i am just wondering, there are so much different apps for android on the market, and most of them has a lot of access to phone's functions. Now for example i am always logged in to Gmail, and theoretically can a random app scan and copy my gmail's data and send it trough internet? Really curious..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edit
MichaelTunnell said:
This question is not really an issue of Android security this is a question about general security. Can an app look at your gmail app directly and copy data and send it out...not exactly no, an app can't forcibly connect itself to another app to scan data.
However...
That question is actually not relevant because such a task is unnecessary for malicious apps. Lets say you install a malicious app that wants to copy your gmail data. What it will do is not watch the app itself but it will watch the network packets being sent to and from the app, logging and tracking those.
This is not the only way to get the data though because any data saved on your sdcard is accessible from an app if you give it permission to do so.
The MOST important thing to look at when installing an app is the permissions the app is requesting when it installs. This can be confusing as well because some apps will request full internet access because they need it but this can also be used by a malicious app to steal your data.
The important thing to do is research. The more you learn about the app the better off you are.
-------
Just to clarify, this applies to all apps of any kind on any platform including but not limited to Android, iPhones, Blackberry, Windows Phone, WebOS, Windows PC, Mac OSX, Linux or etc. - ALWAYS learn as much as you can and are comfortable with before installing anything...if you are not comfortable with a particular app or learning more about it then don't install it. That is not to say it may be malicous, it is just to say it could be a bad idea for other reasons. (for example, if it is a developer tool or a configuration tool that you don't understand or haven't researched enough to understand...then you could potentially damage your device with something that is a legitimate tool)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good answer, you are right!, but you say do a research before installing, but it's not really possible unless you are a programmer and checking whole code The best rated apps still have many different permission requirement and i have no idea what they are doing.
For example app can request a new password change for example on paypal and steal packets which come to my gmail about new password.^^
Security Apps
Hi,
in my eyes the best way is to use programs like PDroid. You cann adjist the rights of every App regarding send SMS for example.
LBE Privacy Guard may be also an Option. (runs not on my Device - SGS+)
(i use Pdroid 2.0)
you should also read the comments in the store, and the needed rights from the app before install. The best Apps to trust are open source apps.
Kblavkalash said:
Good answer, you are right!, but you say do a research before installing, but it's not really possible unless you are a programmer and checking whole code The best rated apps still have many different permission requirement and i have no idea what they are doing.
For example app can request a new password change for example on paypal and steal packets which come to my gmail about new password.^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Research generally involves a Google search...
Editor's Choice in the market are safe bets, you know, the blue icon.
But then there are the millions of other apps, and frankly, I tend to toe the app name plus xda for instance, Google will show you xda threads about the app, if the posts are normal, you can be sure it's not malicious.
Stuff like that...
Also, fake market comments are really easy to spot and are a dead giveaway
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Hi there,
I hope this is the right place to post such question, otherwise, please feel free to move to the right place.
I am quite into mobiles, since day 1 (1999 for me). This is also why I bought an HTC G1 ...
Anyway, when installing "Network Connections", I was quite surprised, how many connections, how many apps had, to several servers, even of services I dont use. My weather app calling Facebook, even though I dont have facebook on my mobile et all. "Brave" Browser, no tabs open, however, six connections...
Then the news with the Apps using trackers (PayPal, Outlook etc.). I really like my privacy, but I dont see, that this is respected. I do know, that nothing comes for free in life, and I do know, that it is a trade-off, data against services. And for Google it is okay (Google Maps e.g. couldnt live without it), but I think a few too many, want to have a peace of the cake, in particular, after I have paid for the apps (because, I also know, they need to make a living).
Anway, long story short, what is there I can do to protect myself, learn how it works etc. Pleasese refrain from tellin gme to sell my mobiel, turn off the internet etc
I used xprivacy on my Nexus4 - still a good idea?
I am using Android and iOS.
Thanks a lot in advance
Try MyAndroidTools to disable Google spyware embedded in apps. Components like these:
GcmInstanceIDListenerService GcmMessageListenerService
AppMeasurementService FirebaseInstanceIdService FirebaseMessagingService
AppMeasurementInstallReferrerReceiver AppMeasurementReceiver FirebaseInstanceIdInternalReceiver FirebaseInstanceIdReceiver
FirebaseInitProvider
These are all Google-related tracking/ analytics. Along with any Crashlytics components you see.
Stop using ALL Google apps. Including Chrome. Including bundled spyware. Including Play store. Including Calendar. Including SMS. Remove all of them from your rooted device and install non-Google equivalents. Try Osmand and others for maps and other apps from f-droid to get the functionality you want. Yes, it takes time.
Find app to change hostnames and Mac addresses and clean persistent cookies if you want. Find websites such as https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/ to download some apps you can't get from f-droid.org. Some apps rely on Google Play being installed. In my experience, none of them are worth it. If your app requires them and you can't live without it, probably forget any decent privacy.
If using a Mozilla-based browser, add these to your block list in Adaway:
accounts.firefox.com
blocklist.addons.mozilla.org
blocklist.settings.services.mozilla.com
detectportal.firefox.co
dynamicua.cdn.mozilla.net
fhr.cdn.mozilla.net
firefox.settings.services.mozilla.com
incoming.telemetry.mozilla.org
input.mozilla.org
install.mozilla.org
location.services.mozilla.com
mozorg.cdn.mozilla.net
mz.la
search.services.mozilla.com
shavar.services.mozilla.com
snippets.cdn.mozilla.net
tracking-protection.cdn.mozilla.net
updates.push.services.mozilla.com
versioncheck-bg.addons.mozilla.org
webextensions.settings.services.mozilla.com
...to help stop browser spyware.
Download apps from f-droid. Use a good firewall. Use AdAway. Customise your blocklist in AdAway. Disable all auto update components unless you trust the CIA and NSA to 'take care' of your device.
Etc.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-08-28/how-cia-made-google
You may wish to consider blocking these Google domains if you are adamant you want no business with Google:
adservice.google.com
adservice.google.com.au
ajax.googleapis.com
apis.google.com
books.google.com
books.google.com.au
clients1.google.com
clients2.google.com
clients3.google.com
chart.googleapis.com
crashlytics.com
cse.google.com
console.firebase.google.com
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com
firebase.google.com
fonts.googleapis.com
fonts.gstatic.com
ggpht.com
googleanalytics.com
id.google.com.au
imasdk.googleapis.com
lh3.ggpht.com
lh4.ggpht.com
lh5.ggpht.com
lh6.ggpht.com
mail.google.com
maps.googleapis.com
ota.googlezip.net
payments.google.com
safebrowsing-cache.google.com
safebrowsing.google.comsb-ssl.google.com
ssl.gstatic.com
support.google.com
www.googleapis.com
www.googlecommerce.com
You can add more if you are really enthusiastic.
Many are safe to add to your AdAway block list, but some of these will annoy you on some websites or apps that use Google infrastructure, so be warned. You can always temporarily disable AdAway ad-blocking or identify the domain you want to remove from the blocklist by using the Log DNS Requests feature.
Thank you
Thank you @comfortable - I really appreciate you took the time, to give me such a long and detailed reply.
Persepctively a complete avoidance of Google is the long-term goal. At this stage, I am more interested in avoiding smaller fish (like my alarm clock, which unfortunately offers a unique feature: slowly increasing alaram sound, gibes you a relaxed wake-up).
I am using Adhell already, and already diabled background call via AMB shell, however this made apps stop working compeltely (Runtastic e.g.).
Thanks for pointing out the relevant components! Thats quite helpful... I already condiered installing pihole and surfing via OpenVPN so this would filter out quite a bit of such stuff?
So yes- thanks again, I have a new project and will work off the measures you listed!!! Thank you. :good:
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.
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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?
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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.
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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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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).
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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.
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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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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.
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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.