ill intall graphene os, i just need my carrier to unlock it first. for now though, what can i do to make it as private as i can?

  • paradox2011English
    00·
    9 months ago9 months ago

    • Keep WiFi and Bluetooth turned off while you’re out in public.

    • If you have the ability to keep the phone connected to a guest network or VLAN on your home network while it still has stock android that is a bonus. Google scoops up data regarding the other devices on your network.

    • Use a privacy oriented DNS service like NextDNS to block all the google requests. They have a block list just for that, blocking them is as simple as clicking a button.

  • shortwavesurferEnglish
    00·
    9 months ago

    Download fdroid and start switching to open source apps

    • milkytoastOP
      00·
      9 months ago

      not gonna set it up, as I won’t be staying. I already use 99% foss

  • milkytoastOP
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    9 months ago

    so im basically stuck on pixel os for 3-5 days. im purposely not setting up my phone, just installed frdoid and qksms, might add fennec, but thats it. declined everything during setup, but theres definetly more i can do

  • h3ndrikEnglish
    00·
    9 months ago

    Install GrapheneOS, don’t install the Google services package. Install as few proprietary apps as possible. Use free and open source apps, for example from the F-Droid repository.

    • milkytoastOP
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      9 months ago

      can’t install graphene until my carrier unlocks it. only temporarily using pixel os

      I already use graphene normally on my old pixel

      • h3ndrikEnglish
        00·
        9 months ago9 months ago

        Ah, I thought you were asking a general GrapheneOS setup question. I somehow missed the “for now”. Now I get it, you want to know what you can do in the meantime… Well phones come with a load of bloatware. And I don’t think you can get rid of the Google stuff on a normal phone, let alone on a Pixel. Not connecting it to a google account is a start. But it pings Google every few minutes and transfers data anyway. You can go through all the settings and disable all targeted advertising and cloud services. Apart from that I’m afraid there isn’t much you can do. As far as I know the google services run with more privileges as “system-apps”. And unless a phone is rooted, there is nothing that can be done on the device itself to prevent such an app from talking to the internet. Well you could use Wifi only and block everything with the firewall of your router. I don’t now your threat scenario / what you want to protect against… Disabling everything and not having a google account tied to it might be enough. If you absolutely need privacy, disconnect the device from the internet, use it just to call people and use a Linux computer to access the internet… I think you have to compromise.