ungoogled phones

Sector11 · 2023-09-26 14:21:56

Martin wrote:

Job phone is a Samsung S5 Mini but I only use it as a login device (MS Authenticator, BankID etc). Surfing? Calling? Nope.
/Martin

Now that's Smart!

Martin · 2023-09-26 17:45:39

Sector11 wrote:

Martin wrote:
Job phone is a Samsung S5 Mini but I only use it as a login device (MS Authenticator, BankID etc). Surfing? Calling? Nope.
/Martin
Now that's Smart!

I would like to agree but it is simpler than that:

Why surf on a device with a 4 to 6 inch screen when I have a 24 inch screen on my desk?

Surfing while driving or bicycling or walking or sailing? OK, surfing while sailing works but that does not involve electronics :-)

When on commuter trains or subway trains I am fascinated by the fact that I am virtually the only person not completely absorbed by an electronic device.

Calling? Teams has taken over that completely at work and when I am out and about my Nokia 700 is much easier to take along (much smaller and lighter).

/Martin (checking out TrackerControl as we speak)

Martin · 2023-09-26 21:37:21

What about this DivestOS list of recommended apps?
https://divestos.org/pages/recommended_apps

/Martin

glittersloth · 2023-09-27 08:00:56

Martin wrote:

What about this DivestOS list of recommended apps?
https://divestos.org/pages/recommended_apps
/Martin

Depends if you're running DivestOS or installing them on your Sony flavour of Android.

For the latter, with your limited usage in mind, then I suppose all you need is a replacement keyboard. FlorisBoard, Simple Keyboard or OpenBoard should suffice.

If you need a web browser (when you eventually realize most places will not allow you to bring your desk along) then Cromite (fork of Bromite) is probably the best on Android. You can add their repo to F-Droid.

Shelter should be useful for separate work/life profiles, if needed.

You will need a F-Droid client first and foremost to install all of the above. I suggest ignoring the stock F-Droid app (because it looks and operates like it was designed before fire was discovered) and install Droid-ify instead.

Martin · 2023-09-27 20:10:30

I already know about F-Droid but had never heard of Droid-ify.

The question I had in mind was this: If I find I would want a, hmm, unit converter (or whatever), is the suggestions in that list likely to be safer (less snoopy) alternative than what I can find in Google's regulars app store?

/Martin (Will check out Cromite)

Sector11 · 2023-09-28 01:45:23

Martin wrote:

Sector11 wrote:
Martin wrote:
Job phone is a Samsung S5 Mini but I only use it as a login device (MS Authenticator, BankID etc). Surfing? Calling? Nope.
/Martin
Now that's Smart!
I would like to agree but it is simpler than that:

Still smart.

Me: I very 'rarely' have 'data' turned on and never have WiFi on when out of the house. My phone is for phone calls when out. And I'll use WiFi in the comfort of my computer chair. Well relative comfort.

Just recently discovered 'scrcpy'. That make things a bit easier on these old eyes. → LK-K40

hhh · 2023-09-28 13:21:59

I'm skeptical that using a different OS adds very much at all in the way of security. The US government has access to all data from any device (Android, iOS, Blackberry, etc...), both domestic and international, thanks to 9/11 and the Patriot Act. That finally expired in 2020, but you can't tell me the US isn't continuing the practice covertly. Hell, they've been doing it legally since Clinton signed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, an act that has never been repealed...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communica … cement_Act

Same with Germany, France, the UK, Japan... they all keyword monitor communications, your phone calls, text messages, emails, etc... no matter what device or OS you use. They don't need to do it via your phone, they can do it by scanning satellite traffic or tapping into cables...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_ … rveillance

https://theintercept.com/2018/05/19/jap … ce-agency/

https://apnews.com/article/france-surve … 55f5ec0019

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/06/24/ger … y-concerns

So really you can only attempt to prevent malicious behavior from private companies via the apps you use. Any social media app or online game, for instance.

Or am I talking out of my behind?

Sun For Miles · 2023-09-28 19:44:03

hhh wrote:

So really you can only attempt to prevent malicious behavior from private companies via the apps you use. Any social media app or online game, for instance.

I tend to agree with this statement, but I would like to separate (possible) surveillance vectors into few separate categories.

Hardware

In mobile phones there is a separate chip used to communicate with cellphone towers. It's called baseband processor, it typically has it's own separate RAM, firmware and OS with access to common memory and processor of the phone.

Why is it a surveillance vector?
Because it comes with it's own memory running any flavor or a real-time operating system with access to phone's user OS. It is never open-source in case of any commercial manufacturer.

OS (user)

//Case of Android//

The whole OS platform together with package repository (Play Store) owned by the same company is obvious source of huge amount of metadata scraped from billions of devices.

Why is it a surveillance vector?
Obviously, with owning whole OS platform comes incredible power to scrape user data. Instead of focusing on that, I would like to point out something that is really telling in my opinion: Google does not reveal exact revenue numbers generated by Android OS business itself, leading me to believe they obviously do shady things like selling user data gathered from OS to third parties (most probably NSA or other state actors approved by NSA).

//Case of any alternative OS//

I will not mentioned any alternative OS in particular. It boils down to you trusting those organizations, knowing their background, knowing where the alternative app store's metadata goes, etc.

Applications

This is where companies scrape the barrel (compared to Google) for user attention and money, and sligthly different rules apply compared to OS and base app stores.

Why is it a surveillance vector?
If you give any app enough permissions, nowadays you can almost be certain that it will scrape all the metadata/data from your phone it can. It's up to you to decide whom you want to gift your data on top of base OS.

Transport (via network)

It seems to me that this one is the most mentioned when it comes to surveillance, possibly because this is where the story initially started few decades ago. It is the most primitive of the bunch (again imho), and boils down to implementing MITM boxes.

Why is it a surveillance vector?
Obviously, your internet traffic goes via certain ISP and internet exachange nodes, and corporations or non/government entitites could (in theory) record or alter it at any node or interconnection point.

Martin · 2023-09-28 20:16:45

Hiding from governments is not what I am worried about. That would be futile to combine with any cell phone use unless you are prepared to pay for use-once throw-away phones paid for with cash.

Yes, Google, Facebook etc are selling data about us and that is more likely to harm you than government abuse of snooping unless you live in a dictatorship. A former colleague once told me about a previous position he had with a really small company. Among other things he was their contact person in job adds. Sales persons for the aforementioned companies and others of their ilk contacted him with the following offer. If we get the names of your applicants we can create personality profiles based on their internet use.

So, your next job application, your insurance fees and a lot of other stuff may depend on half cooked statistical models and your track through cyber space.

If you work for the military or a defense contractor you should worry about states. Otherwise Google etc are more likely to cause you harm -- no it's not their intention.

Enough of this and back to my question.

Is K-9 Mail likely to be a better option than the email client supplied by Sony?
etc

/Martin

hhh · 2023-09-28 23:46:48

Martin wrote:

Enough of this and back to my question.

Fair enough! Rule #1 of Off Topic is things WILL go Off Topic!

Martin · 2024-04-21 07:07:32

I just stumbled across this: https://volla.online/en/index.html

/Martin

Sector11 · 2024-04-21 15:55:45

Now that looks good.

Martin wrote:

I just stumbled across this: https://volla.online/en/index.html
/Martin

Hey that looks good.

#21 2023-09-26 14:21:56

Re: ungoogled phones

#22 2023-09-26 17:45:39

Re: ungoogled phones

#23 2023-09-26 21:37:21

Re: ungoogled phones

#24 2023-09-27 08:00:56

Re: ungoogled phones

#25 2023-09-27 20:10:30

Re: ungoogled phones

#26 2023-09-28 01:45:23

Re: ungoogled phones

#27 2023-09-28 13:21:59

Re: ungoogled phones

#28 2023-09-28 19:44:03

Re: ungoogled phones

#29 2023-09-28 20:16:45

Re: ungoogled phones

#30 2023-09-28 23:46:48

Re: ungoogled phones

#31 2024-04-21 07:07:32

Re: ungoogled phones

#32 2024-04-21 15:55:45

Re: ungoogled phones

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