What are the most privacy respecting smartphones to buy, I am also looking for the one which respects your privacy the most. So far going to privacy communities esp on reddit, I often see Google Pixel + GrapheneOS being recommended.
But the thing is I don’t really trust Google with privacy, as we have seen they are last one to respect privacy. What if Google has some backdoor in the hardware that cannot be changed? And the problem with the more privacy respecting OSes for mobiles like GrapheneOS, CalyxOS etc are that they are only supported for Google pixel phones.
So I am really confused here.
Yes removing Google Play services will reduce the spying that Google does on you but the mobile company can still possibly spy on you. How do I check that my phone has a randomized MAC address or not?
The easiest way is to use the admin interface of your router to see connected devices. Turn on plane mode on your phone, then connect again. See if the device is “recognized” (with the same MAC) on your router or not.