I created a google takeout and in that zip file I found some files containing a ton of data about me. It has logged every single page I visited while using the google search engine and chrome browser. It even logged every single time I opened an app on my old android phone. It even has VOICE RECORDINGS of me and a log of every time I used google assistant. This is just some of the data and I’m very sure there is even more data they have.
How do you think they are able to pay the bills of those expensive af services for free?
Fortunately you can degoogle many Android phones. And stop using big tech products in general. They have a lot of issues, not only a complete lack of privacy
I might be looking into a new phone soon, what do you suggest?
A pixel, if you buy into GrapheneOS being the pinnacle of security. Otherwise, anything with an unlockable bootloader and LineagOS support.
It’s actually quite ironic that the best phone to degoogle your life is sold by google.
Dont forget CalyxOS. IMHO better than Graphene
CalyxOS has pretty bad security. They install F-Droid and microG with root privileges, don’t release updates regularly and lack many security features of GrapheneOS.
Different strokes, but I personally dont think yge Graphene devs are trustworthy, and much prefer Calyx.
I’m also not afraid of root. Its how I harden my device (eg firewall)
GrapheneOS has a built in Firewall that doesn’t require root privileges. Also, you don’t trust the GrapheneOS devs who arguably create one of the most secure operating systems on the planet, which is open source and can be verified by everyone, but you trust Calyx devs who regularly go months without releasing any Android security patches and include highly privileged third party apps in their operating system. Makes a lot of sense.
Of course it requires root.
Ironically enough, Google Pixels are great phones if you need to de-google with GrapheneOS.
I just can’t buy it and support them
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GrapheneOS is amazing
Can you use banking apps on it?
Yes. Check out this list: https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compatibility-with-grapheneos
Will this still be true after safetynet is deprecated? Not trying to be difficult, just don’t want to get my hopes up.
Edit: ah its adressed in the link lol
Why would you want to use a banking app on something as insecure as a phone??!?
A phone is more secure than most desktop computers. https://youtu.be/Wd4Pa03LvLk
GrapheneOS even significantly improves Android’s already pretty good security model.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/Wd4Pa03LvLk
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Riiight, someone’s phone with a 4 digit pin that they tap out 100x per day in public in plain view of others (that I can easily pick out of your pocket) is more secure than a laptop with a 20 character passphrase that never leaves my house.
Do you even think about what you’re saying?
I’m talking about the security model of the platform, not the way you use your devices. If you do your online banking in a browser on your computer and your system gets infected with malware, that malware can access all the files on your computer. Including application data of your browser. It can access your cookies, which your bank’s website uses to store your login information. Such an attack is impossible on a mobile device, since apps can only access their own data, and inter-process communication is heavily restricted. Additionally, mobile operating systems like Android have complex permission systems, as well as kernel-based mandatory access control like SELinux/SE for Android. Your typical desktop OS has none of that. Android also has a strong implementation of Verified Boot, which makes sure that malware can’t persist on your system partition, even after your device gets infected. I recommend this video if you want to learn more about mobile device security: https://youtu.be/yTeAFoQnQPo
As long as you don’t use some shady, unofficial ROM on a phone, most phones are actually vastly more secure than your typical Linux/Windows OS.
How long is your passphrase on your phone compared to your Linux/windows OS?
A phone is designed for quick usability, which is the enemy of security.
Sure, if you have a 20 char password on your phone and never install any sketchy apps, then it might be ok. But the whole phone ecosystem is just less secure because its designed for convince, not security.
What’s even scarier is that takeout is probably only the data they want you to see, or are legally obliged to share.
I would be willing to wager they have lots more on you that you’re not even aware of.
including everything they see through our front camera and rear cameras 😱
Idk about that. What data could they get with that, that they can’t already get through other (cheaper) means, that would justify all the network traffic and storage space?
Have you been under a rock?
I’m really not a fan of such gatekeeping rhetoric.
Congrats on already knowing stuff, I guess. The vast majority of people don’t have the ability, will or exposure to engage with most technical stuff, especially since the concept of (digital) privacy still is surprisingly controversial.
We all benefit from more people caring about privacy. Comments like yours achieve the exact opposite and don’t provide any value at all to the conversation.
don’t forget if you have location enabled in your phone it tracks every single place you’ve been to
It does that even if you turn it off. The setting just controls location access by third party apps.
Lineage os and F-droid is the better solution. It has the advantage of being bloat free as well
You can also use GPS location without any google services running, it just takes a bit longer to find your position when you first connect. OsmAnd or Organic maps from f-droid, which are actually superior apps to google maps in a lot of ways, particularly OsmAnd.
These apps cannot find addresses in the US. Just a heads up so anyone that sees this doesn’t pull their hair out trying to figure it out. No, it isn’t you, it’s the app.
It’s not the app, it’s the lack of volunteers mapping addresses in the US.
Don’t pull your hair out, install StreetComplete and take a walk around your neighborhood.And if you find that fun, editing Openstreetmap in the browser isn’t all that hard, either.
If you add addresses you are missing, you can increase the apps utility for yourself directly. Pretty fun seeing the stuff you entered appear in the map. And it doesn’t require any coding skills.Something you can’t do with missing info in Google Maps.
this is such a good post. everyone who wants to learn about privacy should do a google takeout FIRST. to get hit with a huge epiphany
Friends don’t let friends use Google and meta. show those you care about what you have discovered. don’t lecture them just make them aware, share your findings.
One thing people seem to forget is that even though Google is a real enemy of privacy, it’s far from the worst company. Companies like Google collect and use your data. While there are many companies that collect data only to sell them to any customer they might have.
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dont panic. you can protect yourself. dont depend on others. you can use random email aliases for everything. always take the mindset that anything you say outside your home is public information. use throwaway phone numbers like jmp.chat if you have to use phone numbers at all. etc etc.
take the approach of compartmentalizing your identities and contact info, and take the approach of protecting your SELF first, dont depend on others. sorta like a shady arms dealer or something, but you’re not dealing arms :P!
Today you learned a valuable lesson:
When an online service is free it generally means you’re the product.
It’s not even online only anymore. You can’t do the setup process of Android OR Windows without connecting to the Internet, and I doubt Apple’s products are any better in that regard.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. It’s the same with all the big data companies. Everything you type, say or do gets logged and never deleted.
That’s why I’m still in doubt wether to use my fingerprint to unlock my phone. Would be convenient, but where is it stored, who can access it?
Stored locally
are you sure about that?
I don’t see how your fingerprint could be used for advertising
I just deleted my google account. Bye YouTube comments.
Wish I could do that too but my email is still tied to some accounts where I can’t change it
You can’t change the email you use? Are you open to deleting those accounts, and maybe making new ones? Or saying goodbye to those platform’s for good? Customer service could help you change emails, perhaps.
I really don’t understand why you find this surprising. We’re you expecting like…42% of all that to be saved?
Don’t be so harsh we all gotta learn eventually. His moment is now brethren!
I gave up caring years ago when I realized it was way too late to undo it all. If Google really cares that I’m a gamer then oh well, at least my ad blockers work just fine and I use Firefox so that’s good enough.
It is never too late. Free yourself from this abusive relationship, it feels fantastic.
Free yourself from what exactly? I think you’d be surprised at how much everything else is tracking you still.
All for what, avoiding ads you’ll get anyway?
Legitimate question. Targeted ads feel obvious to many, but it is more about control.
- Google knows more about you than your partner or you yourself know about you. And they know how to use that knowledge. The scariest part: this control over you is for sale.
- Google controls how you use things. By being the defacto standard in so many things, they have the power to control how things look, feel and are beeing used. We are missing a lot of innovation because of that.
- Google can basically decide, which business survives and which doesn’t. It’s not the one with the better product, it is the one which pays more money to Google. By that it helps to promote big companies, small businesses have a hard time to establish themselves. Even in my small citiy: if the new barber doesn’t pay for Google placement and begs for useless 5-star-ratings, he won’t survive.
- It is hard to get out! You are getting lulled in with convenience and you unlearn how to use the internet outside of Google. Google takes prisoners and puts them in a plushy cell.
I think you’d be surprised at how much everything else is tracking you still.
You are absolutely right, I am surprised again and again. But I do my best to avoid it, if I find something that tracks me. And I am surprised that so many people let themselves being exploited, and even defend this exploitation.
Free yourself! It is work. But it is worth it. And it is not too late.
How do you do this?
I have a few dozen google accounts, but most of them I’m locked out of. Even if I enter the correct username and password on the first try, google says I can’t login because I never associated a phone number to the account.
How can I get this data?
Have the same issue on one of my accounts. I can login but when I try to do anything, I need to verify by getting a code over SMS. The thing is, the phone number on that account is an old one I don’t have access to anymore. There is no other verification option, I can’t delete it from my account without verification and I’m definitely not adding my actual number.
