Related
I think Android has a Big Problem - There is little Real FOSS on Android. It's partly Google's fault. It's partly the Linux communities fault. It's partly the Developers fault. Yeah guys i'm talking about You. Or perhaps I'm just really bad at searching but no, I won't accept that. I've seen whats on the Google Play Store.
Sure there is F-Droid which is Awesome but it's not enough. I get that people want to make money. If you have a good app you want to charge for that's fine but Don't expect me to use a Keyboard App for example that wants to access my SD Card and have permission to delete files or view my contact list. Whats wrong with you developers? Don't you even care that most of your apps use unscrupulous practices?
I go about looking for a simple app to increase the size of the icons so my tired eyes can actually read the text below the icon. (Marshmallow 6.0.1) F-Droid doesn't seem to have one. Google Play has lots of ways to do this but they all have ads. O.k. I think, perhaps I can live with an ad or two but then I look at the Permissions and balk! Why does an icon app need to view my network connections or have full network access or change my system settings when all I need it to do is make a bigger icon - It doesn't. ( I won't even go into the Flashlight spying on you issue, Goggle it)
I consider these apps spyware that should NOT be offered on Google Play. That's 99 % of all apps on Google Play. No telling what these apps may be doing in the background and here is the problem. Why this practice seems to be accepted in our society is way beyond me. Or I can admit the truth that we live in a corrupt society where people no longer care.
My 89 year old Mom has had the same IPhone for the past 7 years. It has a tiny screen, poor resolution. She uses it for a phone - that's all. She wont use the internet or any apps on it at all - yet she calls me to look stuff up for her all the time. I'd like to switch her to a much cheaper and more modern Android phone that she can actually use but I Can't and Won't because she don't need the nightmares of ads every 5 minutes and apps that want to access things they have no business accessing.
Android doesn't need virus's, the apps have become the virus. It's sad this has become the norm. Perhaps things will change but I doubt it. Why doesn't Google Play offer a Foss category? Where are all the real Foss apps, does anyone know cus I'm just not seeing them and I think that's sad. It screams volumes that reflect badly on this community. Thank you for reading my rant.
https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/how-the-cia-made-google-e836451a959e
Google = CIA
F-droid = can replace most embedded spyware apps. Rooting your device and going nuts with a good root uninstaller are the first steps. Get rid of all Google crap. Installing AdAway is next. Replacement of nearly all bundled spyware is possible.
You will never achieve perfection while using the most popular spyware OS on the planet. But you will not get perfection on Windows or iOS or blackberry or Symbian either. Though it's much worse now.
Hi all,
I had the suspicion for some time now that my Android phone is somehow collecting private information without my knowledge and using it to bombard me with ads but I wasn't sure how. I know that google is reading my emails, my calendars and has access to my data stored on Google Drive but today something totally weird happened. I was watching a video clip on YouTube when suddenly the clip paused and an ad show up about a salve I was discussing about the night before with my girlfriend. This cannot be a coincidence! The phone was during the conversation on Standby mode.
I've found some articles and even some videos on YouTube regarding this topic so I'm not paranoid.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Meanwhile I have deactivated microphone permission for all google apps but I doubt this is enough. What else can I do to stop it if it is really true?
I have stock ROM from Honor installed, would it be helpful to install a custom ROM?
droidis said:
Hi all,
I had the suspicion for some time now that my Android phone is somehow collecting private information without my knowledge and using it to bombard me with ads but I wasn't sure how. I know that google is reading my emails, my calendars and has access to my data stored on Google Drive but today something totally weird happened. I was watching a video clip on YouTube when suddenly the clip paused and an ad show up about a salve I was discussing about the night before with my girlfriend. This cannot be a coincidence! The phone was during the conversation on Standby mode.
I've found some articles and even some videos on YouTube regarding this topic so I'm not paranoid.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Meanwhile I have deactivated microphone permission for all google apps but I doubt this is enough. What else can I do to stop it if it is really true?
I have stock ROM from Honor installed, would it be helpful to install a custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google, Amazon, etc do pay a lot of attention to what you do online, which can seem a little intrusive. But we're not quite at the stage yet of people being listened to for the purposes of advertising.
It would be very labour-intensive, kill your battery and wreck your data. Not to mention the massive backlash from the public if and when it was discovered.
It's not impossible that some malware could be made which does listen to you, but it's not going to be an official Google app.
But, if you're still worried, deactivating microphone permission will stop the apps from being able to hear anything. There's no way to sidestep this to my knowledge. If an app doesn't have permission to use the mic, it can't use it.
Ticklefish said:
Google, Amazon, etc do pay a lot of attention to what you do online, which can seem a little intrusive. But we're not quite at the stage yet of people being listened to for the purposes of advertising.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree. If you know someone who has a Google Home or Amazon Alexa product, ask them if they've had a similar experience. I know people who have those products, and they had a similar experience as OP.
Eavesdropping via Google Home/Amazon Alexa is a little different than eavesdropping on private phone conversations, because you must give Google Home/Amazon Alexa explicit permission to listen in order for it to work. However, I would not be surprised if Google monitors phone calls/texts in some manner to tailor advertisements.
answers
Google, Amazon, etc do pay a lot of attention to what you do online, which can seem a little intrusive. But we're not quite at the stage yet of people being listened to for the purposes of advertising.
http://qz.com/1145669/googles-true-...nd-nsa-research-grants-for-mass-surveillance/
http://www.theverge.com/2018/8/13/17684660/google-turn-off-location-history-data
https://video.foxnews.com/v/5731183327001/
Ads are being fed to users based on their voice content, online searches, etc. It is easy for machines to convert voice to text nowadays. That text is analysed for any text or phrase. Been going on for years with our spied-on phone calls and emails. Just see some YouTube videos for realtime subtitles in various languages for proof that this is done routinely.
Cameras, wifi, cellular and GPS are activated without our knowledge or permission routinely by OS, games and apps. Info is sent to Google and third parties when online. If your device is filled with Google's own battery-sucking apps, forget any semblance of privacy, I reckon. If your front camera is not covered...you are probably a sitting duck. You can buy camera covers on ebay if you want to be selective about when it's OK, these have a slider, otherwise consider taping it over. Same with your laptop.
If you are using Google Services or using Google Apps then I think you are a sitting duck ready to take some bullets. Much like Apple and Microsoft users are. To be fair, that is probably 99.99% of device owners.
Third-party apps and games do it too. So there's that. Your data is siphoned-off and sent over the interwebs by them.
Is your device rooted? If not, I'd recommend using a device that has TWRP for it, so you can more cleanly root it without resorting to more questionable root software with its own spyware. I'd recommend making a TWRP back-up before heavily uninstalling apps.
I'd recommend downloading open-source apps on f-droid.org. With a root uninstaller you can uninstall many things they normally don't let you: like all the Google spyware apps and components. Also things that you don't see listed under your Apps. Disabling Google apps doesn't stop them running. Uninstalling them then removing leftover files is a far better approach. For that you'll want a root uninstaller and a root file manager. Some uninstallers are better than others.
Trusting Google's own Permissions thing was always a bit like entrusting your kid to the local paedophile, to me. Google have CIA origins (and backing) and NSA funds keeping them primed. Do you know what just these 2 do worldwide? Unspeakable horrors. Consult William Blum or Susan Lindauer for starters.
I'd consider an open-source keyboard from f-droid.org. Like AnySoftKeyboard. I'd.consider replacing all default stock apps, including the Launcher.
The following has been safely removed by me after rooting my devices (various Mediatek-based Lenovo tablets):
Android Live Wallpapers, Android Work Assistant, Basic Daydreams, Black Hole, BSPTelephonyDevTool, Bubbles, Calculator, Calendar, Calendar Storage, Certificate Installer, Chrome, Clock, com.android.backupconfirm, com.android.browser.provider, com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks, com.android.sharedstoragebackup, com.android.wallpaper.holospiral, com.huaquin.factoryservice, com.mediatek, com.mediatek.voiceexztension,ConfigUpdater, Contacts, Contacts Storage, Device Service, dongle,Drive, DRM Protected Content Storage, Email, Exchange Services, FactoryKit Test, FM Radio, FTPrecheck, Fused Location, FwkPlugin, FWUpgrade, Gallery, Gamestore, Gmail, Google Account Manager, Google Backup Transport, Google App, Google Calendar Sync, Google Keyboard, Google One Time Init, Google Partner Setup, Google Play Movies, Google Play Music, Google Play services, Google Play Store, Google Services Framework, Guvera Music, Hangouts, Launcher3, Lenovo ID, Maps, Market Feedback Agent, McAfee Security, MmsService
Mobile Data, Mobile Network Configuration, MTKFloatMenu, MTK Logger, MTK NLPService, Music Visualisation Wallpapers, MusicFX, PacProcessor, Permission Control, Phone, Photos, RawDataTEst, RunInRebootSystem, Schedule power on & off, Search Applications Provider, Setup Wizard, SHAREit, Skype, SmartcardService, Sound Recorder, SYNCit HD, System Update, Tap the Frog HD, Tedongle Settings, Twitter, UC Browser HD, UpgradeSys, Vcalendar, VoiceCommand, Volidation Tools, YGPS, YouTube
Some of thistuff might be needed for phones but I use a tablet. All the telephony stuff is uninstalled.
If i need an app from Google's Spyware Play Store I use sites like https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/ to download the APK directly without signing in to Google's Spyware Store infrastructure (since no Google apps are installed on my device). Otherwise f-droid.org caters to 95+% of my needs.
AdAway is one of the first things I install, along with a decent firewall like AfWall+
Xprivacy deserves some of your attention as do these apps from Tibor Kaputa https://simplemobiletools.github.io/
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
Hi All,
I am considering a OnePlus 6T. My issue is that I am not looking for a phone, just a secure device I can do some web activity with, and use as an old style PIM device. I actually expect that I would pull the Sim card.
That said, I suspect that I would want to root this thing and eviscerate this thing of any bloatware as well as ties to Google or anyone for that matter.
I have not done any Android programming, but have been using Linux since the SysV days (mid to late 70's) and in a pretty serious sorta way, and I have even more experience with embedded systems.
Questions are: Can I make the 6T do what I want - private web browser, no calls, data storage, music, photos, etc...
Thanks
Ray
rbahr said:
Hi All,
I am considering a OnePlus 6T. My issue is that I am not looking for a phone, just a secure device I can do some web activity with, and use as an old style PIM device. I actually expect that I would pull the Sim card.
That said, I suspect that I would want to root this thing and eviscerate this thing of any bloatware as well as ties to Google or anyone for that matter.
I have not done any Android programming, but have been using Linux since the SysV days (mid to late 70's) and in a pretty serious sorta way, and I have even more experience with embedded systems.
Questions are: Can I make the 6T do what I want - private web browser, no calls, data storage, music, photos, etc...
Thanks
Ray
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
First of all it's an honor to have a Linux veteran here (I mean 70's !)
You can turn your OnePlus 6T in a privacy oriented device installing LineageOS without installing GApps. LineageOS is a ROM based on AOSP and not Google, every app is aosp and if you don't flash GApps (a zip that install Google Services and Apps), your device will be Google-free.
You'll be able to take photos, listen to music, browse internet and even have a "market place" by installing F-Droid or another alternative app store. For that you'll need to install APK files (those are like .exe but for Android) that you can download online. But beware, sometimes the files may contain a virus, so download from trusted website only (E.g: Apkmirror, F-Droid, XDA-Labs,...).
For private web browser I can advise Tor Browser, but browsing will be slow, as this browser includes a very powerful VPN.
I just wanted to precise, being Google-free and being invisible is very different. If you're more into things like Tor Browser (meaning you want full privacy, not being seen from anyone), you may take a look at GrapheneOS. It a ROM you can flash like LineageOS, but it is very privacy-oriented. But it is available only for Pixel Devices, so you may wanna consider buying one (the Pixel 4a which just came out has really good camera, not very powerful for gaming but can surely browse the internet. It doesn't have a build of GrapheneOS yet, since it just came out, but it'll surely come).
Here is a vid explaining: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDUOtWXGv8
Here is their website: https://grapheneos.org/
If you need any extra info, just mention or quote me so I get notified
Have a good one
This great information and exactly what I want!
I know about Tor, and I want privacy, but, at least for this application, not looking to be invisible since I will be interacting via email and browser.
Thanks
Ray
Raiz said:
Hi,
First of all it's an honor to have a Linux veteran here (I mean 70's !)
You can turn your OnePlus 6T in a privacy oriented device installing LineageOS without installing GApps. LineageOS is a ROM based on AOSP and not Google, every app is aosp and if you don't flash GApps (a zip that install Google Services and Apps), your device will be Google-free.
You'll be able to take photos, listen to music, browse internet and even have a "market place" by installing F-Droid or another alternative app store. For that you'll need to install APK files (those are like .exe but for Android) that you can download online. But beware, sometimes the files may contain a virus, so download from trusted website only (E.g: Apkmirror, F-Droid, XDA-Labs,...).
For private web browser I can advise Tor Browser, but browsing will be slow, as this browser includes a very powerful VPN.
I just wanted to precise, being Google-free and being invisible is very different. If you're more into things like Tor Browser (meaning you want full privacy, not being seen from anyone), you may take a look at GrapheneOS. It a ROM you can flash like LineageOS, but it is very privacy-oriented. But it is available only for Pixel Devices, so you may wanna consider buying one (the Pixel 4a which just came out has really good camera, not very powerful for gaming but can surely browse the internet. It doesn't have a build of GrapheneOS yet, since it just came out, but it'll surely come).
If you need any extra info, just mention or quote me so I get notified
Have a good one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.