Database Develop

Android and Privacy

Has anyone in their rom building and reverse engineering ever found anything Big Brotherish in the code? Keyloggers and hidden processes that phone home
your location come to mind.

When you set up the phone there is a question about sharing your location with google

jsapp said:
When you set up the phone there is a question about sharing your location with google
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But that is upfront, I'm asking about hidden processes. One that would crop up after you say no.

I'm sure Google wouldn't stick a keylogger or hidden process for the fun of it in a fresh build of the OS. I doubt it, like if you choose "No" it will tell the OS not to send location data to google.

Coburn64 said:
I'm sure Google wouldn't stick a keylogger or hidden process for the fun of it in a fresh build of the OS. I doubt it, like if you choose "No" it will tell the OS not to send location data to google.
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Yes, but what about HTC? T-Mobile? No offense but have you actually dug around the code? I don't know much about code besides web but I wouldn't put it past a company to do something like that.
ATT already got busted for helping DHS spy on citizens. I'm not paranoid, just curious.

Danny double post. Srry

thedroid said:
Yes, but what about HTC? T-Mobile? No offense but have you actually dug around the code? I don't know much about code besides web but I wouldn't put it past a company to do something like that.
ATT already got busted for helping DHS spy on citizens. I'm not paranoid, just curious.
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I am wondering also now that u guys bring this up. Maybe someone could ask the devs. I faintly remebering a dev saying "got rid of shady HTC log apk". I think it might of been cyanogen but I'm not 100% on that. So if I gave credit to the wrong dev feel free to correct me.

Well it wouldn't be incredibly smart to put in something like that, and then make it open source.

jsapp said:
Well it wouldn't be incredibly smart to put in something like that, and then make it open source.
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HTC's code is technically closed source AFAIK.

jsapp said:
Well it wouldn't be incredibly smart to put in something like that, and then make it open source.
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Click to collapse
This is the biggest reason I love open source. The more people with the code the better.
thedroid said:
I'm not paranoid, just curious.
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Im curious too, and paranoid
I just assume the governments watching me all the time, and I make sure to give them something to talk about.

thedroid said:
ATT already got busted for helping DHS spy on citizens. I'm not paranoid, just curious.
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Click to collapse
Why would a telecom company put spying code on the mobile? It would be so much easier to just snoop on their server end, where there's little possibility you could discover such an intrusion.

Thoughts and responses appreciated
Privacy policy from Google suggest private user information IS sent to Google*. I am moving from HTCs WM devices to the G1 and I'm getting quite concerned about things of this nature. I can see that a user has the option to share or withold some information but not sure if there are options to withhold ALL personal details (location, contacts etc). Are there any options or methods that COMPLETELY stop ANY information being sent to Google or any other party? (Device config options, ROMs etc???)
I am new to Android and still learning so any help would be appreciated. (also posting in a hurry!)
Thanks
*G1-specific information we collect
* In order to set up your device, we ask you to sign-in with your Google Account (if you already have one) or create a new, free Google Account. Your Google Account information is stored by Google. If you change your device, you will have to associate the new device with your Google Account before we can authenticate you.
* Each device is assigned one or more unique identification numbers. These identification numbers are associated with your Google Account and the IMEI number, mobile country code, and mobile network code of your device (which is also stored by your wireless operator), and allow your device to sync your Google email, contacts, and other Google services.
* In order to continually improve our services and provide a better user experience, we collect some basic usage statistics from your device. Information such as the hardware model of your device and the version of the Android software you are running is collected but not stored in association with your Google Account. In addition, we collect some information on device-level events such as crashes that is associated with your Google Account temporarily in order to provide customer service. Neither of these categories of usage statistics contains application-level information such as the content of emails or phone call records.
* Certain applications or features of your G1 device may cause other information to be sent to Google but in a fashion that cannot be identified with you personally.
* Your device may send us location information (for example, Cell ID or GPS information) that is not associated with your Account.
* Using some applications or features may send information to Google that is stored with your Google Account. If you use standard Google services on your G1 device, for example by creating new contacts or Calendar events, then this information will be associated with your Google Account and stored consistent with the privacy policies for those services. Likewise, if you use the Android Market, information about your downloads, comments, and ratings will be stored with and accessible through your Google Account. You have the option to disable or not use these features, in which case Google will not receive this data.
* Certain of our products and services allow you to personalize the content you receive from us. For these products and services, we will store your preferences and the information you provide for customization. These preferences may be associated with your Google Account or elsewhere with Google, as explained in the Privacy Policies for those products.

Yes in settings and during setup it asks you if you want info to be sent...However you should know that microsofts has the win update which sends info about your pc. You shouldnt be concerned though...Contacts/emails/calender is sent/stored on servers.

Ace42 said:
Yes in settings and during setup it asks you if you want info to be sent...However you should know that microsofts has the win update which sends info about your pc. You shouldnt be concerned though...Contacts/emails/calender is sent/stored on servers.
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I was curious to know if all the data collection methods could be switched off reliably. Thanks for the quick response Ace

[Q] Questions about Microsoft New EULA and interop-unlock

1.9 Are there things I can’t do on the Services? You must not use the Services to harm others or the Services. For example, you must not:
•Use unauthorized software or hardware to access the Services or modify an Authorized Device in any unauthorized way (e.g., through unauthorized repairs, unauthorized upgrades, or unauthorized downloads). You agree that we have the right to send data, applications or other content to any software or hardware that you are using to access the Services for the purpose of detecting an unauthorized modification and/or disabling the modified device; or
•Attempt to disassemble, decompile, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, modify, further sublicense, distribute, or use for other purposes the Services, any game, application, or other content available or accessible through the Services, or any hardware associated with the Services or with an Authorized Device. If you do, we may cancel your account and your ability to access the Services, and pursue other legal remedies. We may take any legal action we deem appropriate against users who violate our systems or network security, this Agreement or any additional terms incorporated or referenced in it. Such users may also incur criminal or civil liability.
Click to expand...
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Source : Xbox Live Terms of Usage
I'm getting a popup that I should accept the new end users agreement when trying to install a new app or check my Xbox Achievements, I have however a few questions about this paragraph above (I have honestly never seen this before) :
- Is it safe to accept if I have interop-unlocked my Samsung Ativ S, installed the BootStrapper.xap and EnableAllSideLoading.xap, WP8Tools and WP Tweaks from -W_O_L_F- and GoodDayToDie and jessenic.
- I'd used proxies provided by reker and others on XDA-Developers to access some manufacturing exclusive apps (like Nokia apps)
- Should I be worried if I accept that they can block and/or delete my Xbox account, I have saved a fair amount of temporally free store apps and I don't want to lose them.
If so, should I be better off to switch back to Android because they "allow" (turning a blind eye to) rooting your phone or tablet?
Please help me guys, I'm starting to freak out (I haven't accepted the new version of the EULA yet).

Terms like that have traditionally been part of the XBL EULA, but in the past they've always related to cheating or piracy on the console itself. People certainly have gotten their accounts banned for that, which is part of why I have nothing to do with such things. As for whether it's "safe" to accept... eh. If they want to, they can easily argue that you broke the EULA (and forfeited your account) when you interop-unlocked your phone, but they haven't - so far as I know - ever tried to attack individuals or their devices. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do anything so foolish, either. Both Google and Apple have disabled peoples' accounts in the past for EULA/TOS violations - Apple for iOS hacks, Google for incredibly stupid <REDACTED> like breaking the Real Name Policy on G+ - and so for that matter has Microsoft, for something almost as idiotic (if you want to take risqué photos with your phone, make damn sure auto-upload is off even if your SkyDrive profile is set to private; they've called it a TOS violation and suspended, though not quite completely disabled, peoples' accounts for that). Every single one I've heard of resulted in a flood of bad PR, and not in the "all PR is good PR" sort of way... more like calls for lawsuits, and accusing anybody who uses that platform of being an idiot.
If there's one thing Microsoft cannot afford to do with regard to Windows Phone right now, it's give people another reason *not* to buy it. We are probably safe.

Yes, but WP8 is gaining popularity so maybe they won't do it now but in the future they probably will. Was this clause also present at the time of the interop-unlocking of WP7? If so, you are probably right. But as a precaution is it possible to lock out Microsoft from checking if modifications are made to the system (like you did with the relock solution redirect the data to a different proxy)?

GoodDayToDie said:
if you want to take risqué photos with your phone, make damn sure auto-upload is off even if your SkyDrive profile is set to private; they've called it a TOS violation and suspended, though not quite completely disabled, peoples' accounts for that
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Are you sure of that? It means they watch the photos we take? I don't think so... maybe they used it as an image hosting and shared the link everywhere in the internet...

It's supposedly automated scanning that recognizes anything that looks like it needs to be flagged for human review...
http://wmpoweruser.com/microsoft-monitoring-censoring-skydrive-uploads/
http://wmpoweruser.com/watch-what-you-store-on-skydriveyou-may-lose-your-microsoft-life/
http://www.neowin.net/news/microsofts-ban-of-nudity-on-skydrive-questioned
etc...

OnePlus is collecting user data without permission

This is not acceptable.
I Quote:
Chris Moore, the owner of a UK-based security and tech blog, recently published an article demonstrating that OnePlus has been gathering his personal information and transmitting them without his permission. He noticed an unfamiliar domain while completing the SANS Holiday Hack Challenge and decided to further examine it. He found that the domain – open.oneplus.net – had essentially been collecting his private device and user data and transmitting them to an Amazon AWS instance, all without his permission.
The data that OnePlus is accessing ranges from device information like the phone’s IMEI, serial number, cellular number, MAC address, mobile network name, IMSI prefix, and wireless network ESSID and BSSID to user data like reboot, charging, screen timestamps as well as application timestamps.
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Potinial Fix
Moore states that the code responsible for this data collection is part of the OnePlus Device Manager and OnePlus Device Manager Provider. Fortunately, Jakub Czekanski claims that despite their being a system service, they can be permanently disabled through replacing net.oneplus.odm for pkg via ADB or through running this command: pm uninstall -k –user 0 pkg
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http://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-collecting-user-data-without-permission-806579/

theduke7 said:
This is not acceptable.
I Quote:
Potinial Fix
http://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-collecting-user-data-without-permission-806579/
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It's a breach of privacy if it's not something we agree'd to in the TnC's and a few people are saying it's the toggle under settings that you can opt out with so that's nothing if that's the case. But this info they're logging is not personal and means nothing to average users just device info what every OEM logs in their OS.
If you are worried about privacy maybe time to switch to iOS. Google is the worst every app is logging some kind of data
This is something not acceptable if it's true https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/BU2aNCfBNEo

This is nothing mate , if you worry about that I guess that you don't have Facebook? Or you don't use Google service? All company are getting your data and you don' t even know, but there is worse than just getting information of "phone lock", "phone unlock "

liam_davenport said:
It's a breach of privacy if it's not something we agree'd to in the TnC's and a few people are saying it's the toggle under settings that you can opt out with so that's nothing if that's the case. But this info they're logging is not personal and means nothing to average users just device info what every OEM logs in their OS.
If you are worried about privacy maybe time to switch to iOS. Google is the worst every app is logging some kind of data
This is something not acceptable if it's true https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/BU2aNCfBNEo
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according to the article it's not the toggle controlled User Experience in Advanced settings, i understand that even google collects data (and even Apple fyi) , but the point is it's without permission, Google asks on every new setup if it can , even when you install a Google app like Gboard, it asks if you want to share info, and in their setting there's always a toggle to opt-out... this on the other hand seems to be a hidden service , why hide something if it's collecting standard data everybody else is collecting and why not provide an opt-out option?

Monk3y said:
This is nothing mate , if you worry about that I guess that you don't have Facebook? Or you don't use Google service? All company are getting your data and you don' t even know, but there is worse than just getting information of "phone lock", "phone unlock "
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i either debloat those or use clean alternatives or delete any concerning risk... again Google gives you the option to opt-out , this doesn't, and this is the difference, and we can't make excuses for such behavior because it enables them to continue doing it.

theduke7 said:
according to the article it's not the toggle controlled User Experience in Advanced settings, i understand that even google collects data (and even Apple fyi) , but the point is it's without permission, Google asks on every new setup if it can , even when you install a Google app like Gboard, it asks if you want to share info, and in their setting there's always a toggle to opt-out... this on the other hand seems to be a hidden service , why hide something if it's collecting standard data everybody else is collecting and why not provide an opt-out option?
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HTC collects the same kind of data as OnePlus their is no opt in or out. You agree to it in the Terms and Conditions when you buy the device and It's probably the case here and the case with many products and services. If you are really worried or pi*sed off about it happening read the TnC's before you agree to a purchasing a product or a service
I'm going with what the people are saying in advanced settings that is the opt out. No other reason for that to be there and in Open beta you can opt out of that in setup of the phone not sure if the case in stable. I run custom rom

I don't see 'oneplus device manager' anywhere on my op3. The article also states that he found that on an op2.
Do we even have to be concerned?

liam_davenport said:
HTC collects the same kind of data as OnePlus their is no opt in or out. You agree to it in the Terms and Conditions when you buy the device and It's probably the case here and the case with many products and services. If you are really worried or pi*sed off about it happening read the TnC's before you agree to a purchasing a product or a service
I'm going with what the people are saying in advanced settings that is the opt out. No other reason for that to be there and in Open beta you can opt out of that in setup of the phone not sure if the case in stable. I run custom rom
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that's why i didn't buy an HTC... and if it was something in t&c OnePlus would've said so...
it's not the one in advanced settings, that was the point of the article, and the testing was done by a security company, again, the fact that some companies collect data without permission doesn't mean we should accept it.
people don't use a lot of Chinese rooting apps for the exact same reason, the difference being those apps are from unknown companies or groups, so what you're saying is as long as those collecting data are big players it's OK!
we can't get even the minimal amount of privacy just accepting every violation as OK... for myself, i know how to disable or delete those, and it's the 1st thing i do if i'm on a stock rom (as i do with Windows 10), but that shouldn't be the case, people shouldn't be concerned about their personal info collected and used behind their backs.

sicHiRsch said:
I don't see 'oneplus device manager' anywhere on my op3. The article also states that he found that on an op2.
Do we even have to be concerned?
Click to expand...
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if you run the command given on ADB it'll uninstall something (then reboot the device) , it uninstalls a package of services related to that...
it's not there on device manager because they hid it.

The reality is, we are living in a world where "privacy" is a joke and every OEM is tracking and logging data no matter even you are using Samsung or HTC or LG. Atleast OP accepted that they are collecting.

It's sad to see people accepting the truth that many OEM's log the data and keep quiet.it's necessary for us to stand against this logging of data. I'am concerned about my personal info being logged in without my permission. We just see the top layer of data being logged but who knows may be they even sell data to other companies and make profit. And those companies target ads at u and probably they might even know more about you then you yourself!! They know your habits. How and when you use your phone.what apps you use the worst part where you stay and what places you visit often etc etc!! I stand against this and you all should too!! If you still think it doesn't matter I suggest you read the book THE ART OF INVISIBILITY by Kevin mitnickey you'll know why your privacy is important

Cypher dude said:
It's sad to see people accepting the truth that many OEM's log the data and keep quiet.it's necessary for us to stand against this logging of data. I'am concerned about my personal info being logged in without my permission. We just see the top layer of data being logged but who knows may be they even sell data to other companies and make profit. And those companies target ads at u and probably they might even know more about you then you yourself!! They know your habits. How and when you use your phone.what apps you use the worst part where you stay and what places you visit often etc etc!! I stand against this and you all should too!! If you still think it doesn't matter I suggest you read the book THE ART OF INVISIBILITY by Kevin mitnickey you'll know why your privacy is important
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Click to collapse
I am right there with you. (great book by the way) People are giving up their freedom without a fight or even understanding the dangers of it.

The two packages you want to remove are "net.oneplus.odm.provider" and "net.oneplus.odm"
So the two commands to run via ADB are
pm uninstall -k --user 0 net.oneplus.odm.provider
pm uninstall -k --user 0 net.oneplus.odm

Cypher dude said:
It's sad to see people accepting the truth that many OEM's log the data and keep quiet.it's necessary for us to stand against this logging of data. I'am concerned about my personal info being logged in without my permission. We just see the top layer of data being logged but who knows may be they even sell data to other companies and make profit. And those companies target ads at u and probably they might even know more about you then you yourself!! They know your habits. How and when you use your phone.what apps you use the worst part where you stay and what places you visit often etc etc!! I stand against this and you all should too!! If you still think it doesn't matter I suggest you read the book THE ART OF INVISIBILITY by Kevin mitnickey you'll know why your privacy is important
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am reading the book at the moment and it's awesome

Pressure works
https://www.androidauthority.com/oneplus-makes-changes-data-collection-policy-807415/

denogun said:
The two packages you want to remove are "net.oneplus.odm.provider" and "net.oneplus.odm"
So the two commands to run via ADB are
pm uninstall -k --user 0 net.oneplus.odm.provider
pm uninstall -k --user 0 net.oneplus.odm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can confirm no adverse side effects whatsoever after uninstalling these 2 packages :good:

Or you can add to blacklist in adaway/adguard open.oneplus.net

Configure privacy settings equivalent to IOS?

Assuming I was an expert user who knew every single Note 9 device option, samsung account setting, and google account setting.... If I were to configure EVERY single one of them to limit the data it collects, set every app permission to be in its most restricted state, disable every usage access setting, and configured my google and samsung accounts to be the most limited data collection accounts as possible, .... it is even possible to get to IOS level privacy on my Note 9? Is Android just sending everything it can back to google's servers as possible, such as when i turn the phone on, when i walk, move, open an app, browse the web, or whatever? I know some have already setup network analyzers to see the traffic going out, but I can never tell what configuration they do that with. I want to know if getting the privacy to IOS levels is impossible, or is it just a matter of very careful configuration....?

It's impossible. I'm not a fan of Apple devices, but I applaud them from a business perspective and that trickles down from the fundamental ideals of Steve Jobs.
Numerous studies show that Google sucks up information 10x as much as Apple which relies in differential data that doesn't exactly pinpoint the person, but more so the general interests of the person. Google identifies the person and their location. Unless you're walking around with your phone off or granting no permissions to every app, you can't match the security of an Apple device. The doesn't only include Google. Remember we have to deal with our specific manufacturers that are collecting data on us as well since Android is open source. So we just have to hope Googles intentions are good or move to an Apple device.

brainysmurf said:
Assuming I was an expert user who knew every single Note 9 device option, samsung account setting, and google account setting.... If I were to configure EVERY single one of them to limit the data it collects, set every app permission to be in its most restricted state, disable every usage access setting, and configured my google and samsung accounts to be the most limited data collection accounts as possible, .... it is even possible to get to IOS level privacy on my Note 9? Is Android just sending everything it can back to google's servers as possible, such as when i turn the phone on, when i walk, move, open an app, browse the web, or whatever? I know some have already setup network analyzers to see the traffic going out, but I can never tell what configuration they do that with. I want to know if getting the privacy to IOS levels is impossible, or is it just a matter of very careful configuration....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No fanboi of any company/mfg/OS,but,they all do virtually the same thing with your personal information/usage habits.
The differences are mere semantics & they collect/sell user information.
The following is a 2yr old article,but,I'm guessing the points they make still hold true:
https://decentralize.today/apple-vs...company-handles-your-data-better-a7022bd452b1
Arguably,Android users can control their sharing of personal data usage,but,that has its caveats,such as limited functionality on some apps/etc...
Best advice I can give is the following:
1) Carefully comb through every setting on the phone,most are self-explanatory.
2) Go to every apps internal settings & the phone's setting under SETTINGS > APPLICATIONS & fine tune as best as possible.
Even after all of that,Google/Samsung (or most other mfgs) have settings that are inaccessible or cannot change (greyed-out),so,you're still not in the clear as far as total control/privacy.
This is one of the major attractions to rooting/ROMs for your Android device.
A rooted &/or ROM'd Samsung device is the ideal for gaining control of privacy/permission control,but,it breaks KNOX & Samsung Pay,no going back once rooted,even if restored to a stock state.
You gain more granular control of such permissions & if you want to go all-in on privacy, a ROM such as Lineage gives you the best you can hope for in personal security/privacy. A brief summary,but,that's the gist.
Outside of root/ROMs,If privacy/security is of utmost importance,I'd dare say a Blackberry would be a decent choice. I myself only briefly owned a Blackberry (Android device),so,I can't attest to how private/secure you personal usage/data is,but,I've rarely,if ever,heard of any major concerns in the matter w/Blackberry.
@brainysmurf
Another step you can take to regain some control of your Samsung device is using a package disabler app & the nice thing about these is no root access is required (AppFreeze/Package Disabler Pro/Adhell3).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wakasoftware.appfreezer&hl=en_US
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.powermanager.batteryaddon&hl=en
https://amp.reddit.com/r/GalaxyS8/comments/8nmrfq/how_to_install_adhell_3_a_video_guide/
Use the XDA site search feature or Google for more info on the above mentioned disabler apps.
You can also use ADB Commands to disable apps as well,but,please read the following link carefully before proceeding:
https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/

I have never had an apple device, But I would like to say that android as a system is opensource and the google apps that are put on top are non opensource and are probably where you lose your privacy but as a system it is transparent which attracts devs and rooting (i.e. getting access to the system partitions) is what makes android so customizable. Versus apple which you have to blind trust ios and trust that these options are 100% do what they say..
Yes it is more secure because it is closed source but at the same time For actual privacy you never know. Saying that how do you get your privacy with android needs some setup which koliosis did good explaining. But the difference between the two OSs I believe is because of (opensource)ness of android the amout of customizablity with android is really deep. To which I believe if you invest good time researching, you can get a way better state than iOS. Again not an expert but putting my opinion
For the rest
Koliosis said it all.

that_same_guy said:
Yes it is more secure because it is closed source.
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Click to collapse
Have to correct that one. That is a myth spread by some big companies in order try to gain some customers over from the cheaper/free competition. In reality, open vs. closed source has no other effect on how secure the result is than with open source there can be more eyes looking at the code (for both good and bad intentions). As an example, simply compare a decent linux distro (from which only similar applications are installed that would come with corresponding Windows installation) to M$ Windows. Open source (and free at that) wins many times over in overall security (while neither is free from issues).
The biggest effect on the code quality (thus often also how secure it is) is on how many (real) experts work on it, and this in turn depends on popularity (open source) and/or money (company's/organization's income and policies/ideals). For the last part 'policies/ideals' just compare M$ and Apple, both have the money to throw at development if they choose to do so; former makes mostly insecure crap, latter makes half-decent stuff. (And note, I'm not a fanboy of either, or pretty much of any company, except one little local camera shop, so do read the previous with some weight on that "half-" before the "decent".)
As for small input on the privacy squeezing on Samsung devices:
I have so far managed to avoid to use a samsung-account, and that might help a tiny bit, although some features of the phone are then not working, but mostly useless features. Though there are some seemingly useful features that require Samsung-account for some weird reason, but I've manage to live without them. Like the "protected folder" (or whatever it is in English), why on earth would that need an account or anything external for that matter?!?
(Well, technically, I do have a Samsung-account, as that was required to get the phone cheaper, but after that order, I've not used that account anywhere.)

ErebusRaze said:
It's impossible. I'm not a fan of Apple devices, but I applaud them from a business perspective and that trickles down from the fundamental ideals of Steve Jobs.
Numerous studies show that Google sucks up information 10x as much as Apple which relies in differential data that doesn't exactly pinpoint the person, but more so the general interests of the person. Google identifies the person and their location. Unless you're walking around with your phone off or granting no permissions to every app, you can't match the security of an Apple device. The doesn't only include Google. Remember we have to deal with our specific manufacturers that are collecting data on us as well since Android is open source. So we just have to hope Googles intentions are good or move to an Apple device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This actually goes to my point... If indeed I did remove all permissions from all apps, does this mean Android tracking would be completely disabled? Or if I removed google play services, or disabled it, or removed all permissions from it? Technically, would that give it an IOS level of privacy? I'm just wondering if the OS itself is prone to just phoning home and letting it know everything I'm doing, or if it's possible at all to tame it....
Thanks for your repsonse.

ErebusRaze said:
It's impossible. I'm not a fan of Apple devices, but I applaud them from a business perspective and that trickles down from the fundamental ideals of Steve Jobs.
Numerous studies show that Google sucks up information 10x as much as Apple which relies in differential data that doesn't exactly pinpoint the person, but more so the general interests of the person. Google identifies the person and their location. Unless you're walking around with your phone off or granting no permissions to every app, you can't match the security of an Apple device. The doesn't only include Google. Remember we have to deal with our specific manufacturers that are collecting data on us as well since Android is open source. So we just have to hope Googles intentions are good or move to an Apple device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I saw those same studies. And they never seem to provide specific configuration data. For instance, the study showing that android gathers as much as 10x more data specifically mentioned that Chrome was constantly phoning home sending data. However, what if the user didn't log into their chrome account? I think it's much more limited in that case... Or what if the user disabled chrome, and perhaps all google apps? Is it android doing the privacy damage, or google apps/play services? If I disabled those, or removed all permissions from those, would it be equivalent to IOS? I'm an engineer in the business working at a major silicon valley company, and even with high expertise in the design of these things I'm finding it impossible to get basic understanding of what it actually going on. It is either trying to read through legalize of privacy agreements, or reading blogs and studies with claims such as 10x more data, while not providing specifics...

Privacy/"Conspiracy" thread [Discussion] (Re: Backdoors/security risks)

Not quite sure what to title this and its not specific to the note 9 but i recently seen an article saying that google admits they are able to track phone's location data even when location data is set to off. https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/21...g-cell-tower-data-android-os-firebase-privacy
My question is if there is and way for Dev's to create a custom rom that disables all these backdoors that google, The NSA etc. have access to? Sort of like some of the different linux distributions out there. Im not a terrorist or some sh*t but as a person who values their privacy, I dont like the idea of any corporation, governement or anyone being able to acces any of my data without my knowledge or permission. In an age where alexa records everything you say and alphabet agencies and corporations can access my phone mic even while the phone is off, i would like to have some protection and security against that unwarranted nonsense.

You should check out the Black Phone from Silent Circle:
https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/blackphone2/
It runs on their own custom version of Android:
https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/silent-os/
Not sure of all the details, but it's the only privacy focused smartphone I'm aware of - however some reviewers say that most of what they're doing can be replicated by installing a custom ROM and special apps on other phones.

This is what "Secret Mode" is for!
Coupled with a good VPN it's the best you can get right now.
Photo's[emoji2398] by Sully using SM-N960U or SM-870A

Kinsman-UK said:
You should check out the Black Phone from Silent Circle:
https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/blackphone2/
It runs on their own custom version of Android:
https://www.silentcircle.com/products-and-solutions/silent-os/
Not sure of all the details, but it's the only privacy focused smartphone I'm aware of - however some reviewers say that most of what they're doing can be replicated by installing a custom ROM and special apps on other phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, cool. Seems like the phones arent available anymore though. Do you think any devs may be interested in trying to develop a custom rom (preferably based on One UI v1.0) that focuses on privacy and trying to eliminate these backdoors google, the nsa and samsung may have access to? And if not in this area (referring to note 9 discussion), then where might i find some people whp may be interested here on xda?

Do you really think that you can scape from tracking of google and stuff? Maybe you could but they know everything about you... if you access from a pc they know it, if you use your credit card they know where you are, etc etc etc, if you pay taxes they know.... in my country when you update your ID on the gvermebt service they brings to you a little paper you all your data, and at the bottom of the paper says,,,, doing this you allow to the goverment tp share your identification information (phtos, finger pribts, etc) to another goverment departaments and third companies and blah blah blah... now is coming the blockchain tecnology and finally the mark of the beast.... maybe you can say that im crazy but just think about it.... soon or later you couldnt buy or sell if you dont have that chip, mark, serial, phone, id, or whatever it could be,,,, my bestregards
What im trying to say is: enjoy the top of technology until it be a curse or something like that to you.

Wow

Conito11 said:
Do you really think that you can scape from tracking of google and stuff? Maybe you could but they know everything about you... if you access from a pc they know it, if you use your credit card they know where you are, etc etc etc, if you pay taxes they know.... in my country when you update your ID on the gvermebt service they brings to you a little paper you all your data, and at the bottom of the paper says,,,, doing this you allow to the goverment tp share your identification information (phtos, finger pribts, etc) to another goverment departaments and third companies and blah blah blah... now is coming the blockchain tecnology and finally the mark of the beast.... maybe you can say that im crazy but just think about it.... soon or later you couldnt buy or sell if you dont have that chip, mark, serial, phone, id, or whatever it could be,,,, my bestregards
What im trying to say is: enjoy the top of technology until it be a curse or something like that to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im on the same relative page as you, technocracy is a B*tch. my hope is that if we have some dedicated enough developers, we might be able to limit the amount of information they can recieve or attempt to access.

my only move: is to install only apps that I need, disable and uninstall the rest ( adb remove bloatware) , revoke permissions, switch privacy buttons in your OS settings. USE DUCKDUCKGO,
Never store nudity or secret things that can be used to harass you on a machine that is connected to internet.