I wouldn't trust any of these companies. Are they better than android? Sure but... Privacy is an illusion. Everything is hackable. Aliens see everything. God sees everything.
Get a dumb phone if you're that concerned. For real.
If you want to get half way there, use Degoogled Android (ASOP). It'll be a lot harder to use without Google Play Services (GPS), but it's doable. You can get apps from F-Droid or something. Just know that the more apps you get, your attack vector goes up.
Personally, I use Android with GPS. As does my wife. And we use Google Maps. There's just nothing better for navigation and such.
As far as videos out there about them always tracking... they did it wrong. AP mode doesn't exactly turn everything off. Nor does turning off location. A lot of the things that remain on are for other services. YOU CAN turn them all off tho. Just be careful with FUD. It's everywhere about literally everything.
GPS tracking is going to be within feet or yards. Triangulation via radio path to the SIM card is going to depend on location, but worst case is probably a couple miles. Best case can be pretty accurate, just not quite as good as GPS.
Indoor tracking via high frequency (4G or 5G) could be a seat location in a stadium if properly implemented.
Also you can use Google Maps without Google Play Services. Just can't sign in.
It will only use GPS though (unless you have MicroG with a different wireless location provider enabled) which just means it will take longer for the route to get mapped like an old school gps.
Turning of GPS doesn't exactly make you hidden location wise anyway, all it takes is 3 cell towers and the exact time it takes packets from each of them to get to and back to them from your phone and a simple piece of software to run those packet times through and they have your location to within a few feet...
if you want to hide, physically turn of your phone and put in a faraday cage/bag(leaving it on will drain your battery in no time through the phone constantly trying to connect to a network it can't get to), hell a few wraps of alu-foil or rolling it up in an empty chips-bag(mylar with metalized inside) would give near 100% guaranteed signal blockage, a metal can with a metal lid with a good seal(overlap joint rather than a typical paint-can seal)would also be likely to work.
There's tracking on literally anything that can communicate wirelessly. And probably even a few things that "can't" (think I've ready about wirelessly injecting stuff into a computer very close by; but not sure about going the other way).
If you want ASOP, probably the best way is to get a developer phone or a Google Pixel, which is by Google, but will work with ASOP (bootloader locked). With anything related to ASOP, you'll need to know at least a little using terminal commands.
You can find other devices.
As with anything, hardware can be hacked too. And if you go down that rabbit hole, you probably wouldn't want to have a single tech device in your home. 🙃
so keep your current phone (disconnected) for just your work apps if you can't live without them, and use a burner for your actual phone calls and text messages, and a real camera for pictures.
Intelligence personnel avoid iPhones like the plaque and they ALL use Android phones with the right software and patches(some of which I believe are publicly available...), a system you can actually get into and examine in detail(android is open source) can be made secure, to a point.....
Your privacy is only as private as you make it. Don’t expect or trust anyone else to keep your private data private, regardless what phone or operating system you’re using. Let’s start with a few privacy concerns…
Don’t download shady content
Stop visiting shady and untrusted (SSL) websites
Stop using virtually the same password (or 2 or 3 passwords) across the board
Purge unused or redundant data often
Store ALL files locally and backup locally often
Use add blockers, webRTC blocks, HTTPS everywhere, and various other trusted browser addons
If you don’t use a VPN, you’re a fool
I can go on and on and on about this. May make a YouTube video on it as well
Why use the fuckin interwebs then?
And if you think dsl is safe then you don't understand many nefarious players have trusted keys anyways.
Sandboxed Linux with a few vpn over your neighbors wifi.
Shit, my post edits are not saving for some reason. I was just listing some easy basics people could use every day. There’s obviously A LOT more but what I listed is a good start. Need to start building awareness rather than bombarding a person who doesn’t know any better.
VPN, (Kali) Linux or any other Virtual machine, modified MAC address, High gain directional WiFi antenna, use McDonald’s WiFi, disable everything except essentials. Probably missing some things but that’s a good start
The majority of my recreation is online video gaming with friends. A VPN would make gaming intolerable due to lag. Any recommendations besides cold turkey?
They don't support that many phones yet. LineageOS is de-Googled, because if you want Google, you have to download and intentionally install OpenGapps.
https://download.lineageos.org/
Better yet, there are versions of Android in the form of custom ROMs which can be run without Google's influence. Most Android phones these days have some form of custom ROM support, and short of migrating to a Linux based phone OS, this is the best solution for privacy, and it still maintains mobile app support.
I'm a guy who will absolutely sacrifice speed and performance for security. It doesn't matter too much to me that it may have low "performance". I just want the phone to do basic shit, and that's all. We need to all IMO come back from technologys grasp and realize moderation is important in the digital world too. We honestly don't NEED 75% of the digital life we have. That's why a phone that underperforms compared to today's standard but still performs in areas I want it to is the one I'll buy.
Does one need to arbitrarily moderate their use of a screwdriver despite the situation calling for one? Technology is a tool meant to serve the user whenever needed, just like a screwdriver. Just because it's been diluted from serving that purpose by bad actors doesn't change anything.
I have debian linux on my computer its so much better than windows, my only regret was not switching sooner. I use it for gaming and software development and have no complaints. I keep windows on my laptop tho so the glowies can see me using my sweet linux setup :)
My next phone will likely be linux based provided they ever make something good under 300 but who is Mehedi Hasan?
You can Degoogle and remove a lot of the carrier's shit on many android phones now with ABD.
Now you just got to have data, a good VPN, and convince everyone else to do the same and to primarily communicate with you using Signal, Matrix, Tox, Jitsi, or with some other encrypted decentralized messaging program...
The sim card doesn't need to be compromised. Such a method could be discoverable and pointless. The government has access to all cellular logs and locations. If you didn't buy the sim card with cash or registered it, they know who has it. If you don't turn it off when you go home or to work, they know where to look for you.
Not to mention the processors are broken from the factory too. So even if you run TailsOS off of a disc, they can still see what runs through your processor...
I wish I still had my old motorola razr. Don't want anyone to know where you are? Remove the battery before you head out. I might look for a dumb old flip phone. Ill keep my current phone, but only for use at home. Non-removable battery makes it tough to disable. Probably by design
For the record, there's no such thing as a privacy phone, burner phone, etc anymore. That went away when ALL the major carriers fully switched to 4G. Even the new flip phones are tracked.
You're correct, so the privacy here is mainly on the phone, not the carrier side. There not much we can do about that...think about he money and engineering effort that would have to go into a whole new privacy focused carrier.
I’ve been researching this for the past few weeks. Pixel 5 phone loaded with your preferred flavor of Linux seems to be the way. Fairphone looks pretty dope but not so sure about the hardware specifications.
I wouldn't trust any of these companies. Are they better than android? Sure but... Privacy is an illusion. Everything is hackable. Aliens see everything. God sees everything.
Exactly.
Get a dumb phone if you're that concerned. For real.
If you want to get half way there, use Degoogled Android (ASOP). It'll be a lot harder to use without Google Play Services (GPS), but it's doable. You can get apps from F-Droid or something. Just know that the more apps you get, your attack vector goes up.
Personally, I use Android with GPS. As does my wife. And we use Google Maps. There's just nothing better for navigation and such.
As far as videos out there about them always tracking... they did it wrong. AP mode doesn't exactly turn everything off. Nor does turning off location. A lot of the things that remain on are for other services. YOU CAN turn them all off tho. Just be careful with FUD. It's everywhere about literally everything.
https://microg.org/
https://calyxos.org/
GrapheneOS is also working on a sandbox for Google Play Services: https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-play-services
I don’t trust GrapheneOS. Too close to the graphene oxide in the vaccines
That's kinda stupid honestly. It's just a name and it came out long before 2020. Before that the guy worked on "CopperheadOS".
It's improved security over regular AOSP. It's extra strong. That's the point.
graphene is a critical technology that's going to revolutionize a few things. don't hate on it. just don't inject it
Also fairly easy to make yourself and quite a few DIY'able applications...
Im pretty sure tracking is via SIM, regardless of android or apple or what phone and so yeah AP and Loc off wont matter
GPS tracking is going to be within feet or yards. Triangulation via radio path to the SIM card is going to depend on location, but worst case is probably a couple miles. Best case can be pretty accurate, just not quite as good as GPS.
Indoor tracking via high frequency (4G or 5G) could be a seat location in a stadium if properly implemented.
Also you can use Google Maps without Google Play Services. Just can't sign in.
It will only use GPS though (unless you have MicroG with a different wireless location provider enabled) which just means it will take longer for the route to get mapped like an old school gps.
Turning of GPS doesn't exactly make you hidden location wise anyway, all it takes is 3 cell towers and the exact time it takes packets from each of them to get to and back to them from your phone and a simple piece of software to run those packet times through and they have your location to within a few feet...
if you want to hide, physically turn of your phone and put in a faraday cage/bag(leaving it on will drain your battery in no time through the phone constantly trying to connect to a network it can't get to), hell a few wraps of alu-foil or rolling it up in an empty chips-bag(mylar with metalized inside) would give near 100% guaranteed signal blockage, a metal can with a metal lid with a good seal(overlap joint rather than a typical paint-can seal)would also be likely to work.
Very true.
There's tracking on literally anything that can communicate wirelessly. And probably even a few things that "can't" (think I've ready about wirelessly injecting stuff into a computer very close by; but not sure about going the other way).
If you want ASOP, probably the best way is to get a developer phone or a Google Pixel, which is by Google, but will work with ASOP (bootloader locked). With anything related to ASOP, you'll need to know at least a little using terminal commands.
You can find other devices.
As with anything, hardware can be hacked too. And if you go down that rabbit hole, you probably wouldn't want to have a single tech device in your home. 🙃
so keep your current phone (disconnected) for just your work apps if you can't live without them, and use a burner for your actual phone calls and text messages, and a real camera for pictures.
This is a shitty affiliate marketing ad
why is this stupid bullshit stickied
Intelligence personnel avoid iPhones like the plaque and they ALL use Android phones with the right software and patches(some of which I believe are publicly available...), a system you can actually get into and examine in detail(android is open source) can be made secure, to a point.....
Open source de-googled android operating system. Flash your own phone or buy on already setup.
https://e.foundation
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CgkuNbtoQc8
Your privacy is only as private as you make it. Don’t expect or trust anyone else to keep your private data private, regardless what phone or operating system you’re using. Let’s start with a few privacy concerns…
I can go on and on and on about this. May make a YouTube video on it as well
Why use the fuckin interwebs then? And if you think dsl is safe then you don't understand many nefarious players have trusted keys anyways. Sandboxed Linux with a few vpn over your neighbors wifi.
Ssl
Shit, my post edits are not saving for some reason. I was just listing some easy basics people could use every day. There’s obviously A LOT more but what I listed is a good start. Need to start building awareness rather than bombarding a person who doesn’t know any better. VPN, (Kali) Linux or any other Virtual machine, modified MAC address, High gain directional WiFi antenna, use McDonald’s WiFi, disable everything except essentials. Probably missing some things but that’s a good start
The majority of my recreation is online video gaming with friends. A VPN would make gaming intolerable due to lag. Any recommendations besides cold turkey?
Sign up for a fast VPN. ExpressVPN claims to be the fastest. Make sure you use their fastest DNS servers as well
Degoogled Android phone OS https://e.foundation/products/
They sell the phone with it already installed or you can install it yourself if you have a compatible phone.
They don't support that many phones yet. LineageOS is de-Googled, because if you want Google, you have to download and intentionally install OpenGapps. https://download.lineageos.org/
Thanks for contributing.
microg is a better alternative to opengapps.
Thanks. In the past I have simply used the pico or nano OpenGapps to save space and get the minimum.
Can you download/sideload the OS on newer android phones??
Better yet, there are versions of Android in the form of custom ROMs which can be run without Google's influence. Most Android phones these days have some form of custom ROM support, and short of migrating to a Linux based phone OS, this is the best solution for privacy, and it still maintains mobile app support.
I'm a guy who will absolutely sacrifice speed and performance for security. It doesn't matter too much to me that it may have low "performance". I just want the phone to do basic shit, and that's all. We need to all IMO come back from technologys grasp and realize moderation is important in the digital world too. We honestly don't NEED 75% of the digital life we have. That's why a phone that underperforms compared to today's standard but still performs in areas I want it to is the one I'll buy.
Does one need to arbitrarily moderate their use of a screwdriver despite the situation calling for one? Technology is a tool meant to serve the user whenever needed, just like a screwdriver. Just because it's been diluted from serving that purpose by bad actors doesn't change anything.
How about Grapheme OS? Much better than even Lineage OS
https://grapheneos.org/
GrapheneOS Review: Your BEST Secure & Private Mobile OS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDUOtWXGv8
LineageOS vs GrapheneOS – Which Degoogled ROM is Right for You?
https://privacytogo.co/lineageos-vs-grapheneos/
THIS is the most private and secure phone on the planet - GrapheneOS review and how to install
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIXAzA555xk
I plan on jumping to graphene OS myself.
Getting a laptop like that is a great start, but I suggest you also get coreboot with it.
I have debian linux on my computer its so much better than windows, my only regret was not switching sooner. I use it for gaming and software development and have no complaints. I keep windows on my laptop tho so the glowies can see me using my sweet linux setup :)
Dunno if this one’s mentioned, or if it’s any good, but here’s a link to Librem5.0;
https://puri.sm/products/librem-5-usa/
My next phone will likely be linux based provided they ever make something good under 300 but who is Mehedi Hasan?
You can Degoogle and remove a lot of the carrier's shit on many android phones now with ABD.
Now you just got to have data, a good VPN, and convince everyone else to do the same and to primarily communicate with you using Signal, Matrix, Tox, Jitsi, or with some other encrypted decentralized messaging program...
What about the sim cards? Any half decent spy agency would have compromised these years ago, which country makes them?
The sim card doesn't need to be compromised. Such a method could be discoverable and pointless. The government has access to all cellular logs and locations. If you didn't buy the sim card with cash or registered it, they know who has it. If you don't turn it off when you go home or to work, they know where to look for you.
Thanks for all the info, and comments too.
Thanks.
Still annoyed BlackPhone stopped baking phones.
I have a better time finding old androids at pawn shops and then formatting them & flashing GrapheneOS lately
https://grapheneos.org/
The intelligence agencies are undoubtedly tapped into all the carriers, so if they want your comms, they'll get it. No matter what phone you use.
Not to mention the processors are broken from the factory too. So even if you run TailsOS off of a disc, they can still see what runs through your processor...
Agree, good point
Thank God someone else is looking into this! Thanks.
Does anyone know of a TV I can get with enough computing power to stream but not set to easedrop?
I wish I still had my old motorola razr. Don't want anyone to know where you are? Remove the battery before you head out. I might look for a dumb old flip phone. Ill keep my current phone, but only for use at home. Non-removable battery makes it tough to disable. Probably by design
For the record, there's no such thing as a privacy phone, burner phone, etc anymore. That went away when ALL the major carriers fully switched to 4G. Even the new flip phones are tracked.
The only secure form of communication is to whisper in someone's ear.
And you never know when that ear is connected to a man who is punching a time card to listen to you and take notes.
Let them hear that Americans are not going to put up with a fraudulent Communist overthrow of our Constitutional Republic.
And let them know they will pay a heavy price for participating in treason.
Put on a party hat and shout that from the rooftops, and make sure they hear it loud and clear.
Don't forget you can also use your own phone and root them.
Mental Outlaw on YouTube did a video on 2 options of ROMS you can use, but remember are others.
https://youtu.be/6oHhA4inw9I
thank you.
Do they use different carriers? Im pretty sure its the SIM card that tracks us all.
You're correct, so the privacy here is mainly on the phone, not the carrier side. There not much we can do about that...think about he money and engineering effort that would have to go into a whole new privacy focused carrier.
There’s no such thing as a privacy phone.
I’ve been researching this for the past few weeks. Pixel 5 phone loaded with your preferred flavor of Linux seems to be the way. Fairphone looks pretty dope but not so sure about the hardware specifications.
Also be sure to check out c/privacy
Too much nerd talk going on here....
Just go back to a Blackberry... yes I have had a few lol there's no apps, text, email and talk that is all.
Yeah, no. All those phones r Garbo