The most used operating system on cellphones is Android. If you are coming to the site because of DeGoogle(ing), then Android what is a core of Google is a big problem. So to think, at least!
Music has become a power business, so have podcasts. Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and even YouTube Music/Premium are charging money if you want no ads. But you also pay with your data because data is money as well. So, what can you do when it comes to music or podcasts.
https://privacy.do/music-and-media-streaming
What are you looking for? Are you someone who has already invested heavily in Apple? Are you comfortable with the trackers Apple and/or Google gives you? Are you on Social Media, and, most of all, are you afraid of what happens down the road with your data? Remember that what may be totally OK in today's world might be not OK (or even legal) 10 years from now.
https://privacy.do/identity-preservation/threat-levels
When it comes to cellphones, let's be blunt, you will never be private. We have covered iOS and Android in the past together and I've even covered how to get maximum security out of your Samsung phone by deactivating, via ADB, applications that are pre-installed. However, whilst these are all a really good direction in which to go, it will never be possible to be fully private on these devices.
https://privacy.do/identity-preservation/a-new-setup
Google’s main strategy is to give you great and easy to use products for free and at the same time have you pay with your data!
https://privacy.do/degoogle
CalyxOS is great for privacy-oriented people, but also works for the soccer mom who just wants to use her phone and at the same time values some privacy. CalyxOS has a setup which comes with or without MicroG pre-installed, in other words it can use Google Play Services and push notifications, but is open-source and doesn't connect to Google's privacy invasive servers, just to the necessary ones!
https://privacy.do/android/calyxos
**Security at the core, but with privacy in mind!**
First things first, when people talk about replacing the OS on an Android phone, they think you need to be a geek to actually get it done! Not so with GrapheneOS. The installation is dead simple!
https://privacy.do/android/grapheneos
Privacy is not likely going to be an 'all or nothing' approach. You need to figure out for yourself what works best for you and, at the same time, attempt to find ways to make your device trustable but usable.
https://privacy.do/android/samsung-android
**Hiding in Plain Sight**
Let's suppose that you really do want to be anonymous on the internet, so perhaps you have chosen to go with Linux, with a secure setup, ditching Windows and all the other data collection services from your hard drive, or at least found the right browser, maybe even gone with the Tor-browser so at least being on your way to being less traceable.
https://privacy.do/identity-preservation
More than a few people around me are waking up and realizing that the simple cellphone is the weakest link when it comes to privacy.
Two of the best known privacy respecting alternative operating systems on Pixel phones are CalyxOS and GrapheneOS. I have tested both and made GrapheneOS my daily drive. But it is a matter of taste and threat level. Yes, threat level, as not everyone needs the same protection, or privacy. Some chose convenience or a camera as their buying point when choosing a phone. The mighty pen on a Samsung S22 Ultra, perhaps. Yet, when it comes to deGoogle a phone, you have Lineage, GrapheneOS and CalyxOS as the ultimate options.
https://privacy.do/android/calyxos-or-grapheneos
EXPOSED! is a weekly series of articles run here on decentralize.today where we seek to reveal the corruption and wrongdoing of individuals, corporations and governments. The latter are charged with 'controlling' the activities of the former but so often get it wrong...as shown with today's piece from the Particl Project blog.
This is really shocking. Add calyx vs grapheneos dramas and you wonder why the privacy community is not working better together. I love both sites, and I think they both have great value, but man…
In recent chapters I've shown you how to set up your new persona on Apple and how to make a Mac more privacy-friendly. When it comes to mobile, the best approach to 'degoogling' is a Pixel phone with GrapheneOS on it. Fullstop!
The question is even you removed the apps (via agb) or freeze it, what other apps calling home and what apps can communicate to each other, then sending data to google
iOS is collecting for Apple, Android is Google, but Google is a advertising company. Our of the box iOS is probably better (keep in mind Apple is a closed garden and you cant really see the code). I run GrapheneOS for my daily driver. But I also have an iPad. With Adguard you can block a lot, including with the right host file Apple domains. You can also via ADB degoogle a Samsung or any other android device.
So android gives you more options when it comes go blocking trackers, apps, etc. iOS is probably out of the box a little better, but you have not much ways to lock things down.
I personally use the pixel 6 with GrapheneOS. Battery is great, and privacy wise nothing comes close. The sandboxed Google services could also be helpful if that is something needed. I personally don’t need anything Google.
In 2016, we started running the messenger review series on decentralize.today since we anticipated how significant they would become in the mix of communication options and the impact on privacy.
If you are an avid Apple user, you are probably locked (trapped?) in the 'closed garden' of Apple. However, over the course of chapter 19 (this is 3rd piece in the 'apple pie') we have learned that you can anonymize yourself a little.
Two weeks ago, I started with "Apple - a new Persona", which was designed as the first step toward privacy and security on your Mac. Sadly, even if you start over with a new persona, you still need to do more to protect yourself from Apple. The "Privacy, this is Apple" does not fly very high when it comes to their (off the shelf) products.
So far, works as expected ;) great job as usual