Check out afwall+ & brave browser if your rooted. fdroid FTW

Also your microphone is listening to everything.

Is there a good alternative android rom with privacy hardening? I have an acer zest if that helps.

I don't know. I have a Samsung rooted with xposed. I just lock it down as best I can. Can you get at the bootloader on that phone?

I've rooted my Galaxy S4 years ago, I just used a stock ROM, I'm more curious as to why there aren't more distros of android like there is with Linux. Are my only options to stick with a stock image?

I honestly don't play with my phone too much and not up to speed. I rareley carry it. /r/privacy probly has info you want.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development/rom-unlegacy-android-project-t3593425

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/development/secure-guardian-rom-t2316300

http://www.cryptophone.de/en/products/mobile/cp500/

acer zest

looks you can.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/help-how-to-root-acer-liquid-zest-3g-t3420325

https://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/orig-development/rom-unlegacy-android-project-t3593425

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-4/development/secure-guardian-rom-t2316300

http://www.cryptophone.de/en/products/mobile/cp500/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bettertomorrowapps.camerablock&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dcamera+block+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_L3faWYucE-SCjwT5l53oBw

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bettertomorrowapps.microphoneblockfree&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dmic+block+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_PHfaWfWwJoSCjwTFzYHQDw

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dfake+gps+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_SXfaWcmdJYzcjwSz2L6gAQ

Aldo adclear

That's one reason I leave location services off unless I'm using GPS. I mean, I've already gone through and disabled all that shit, but my Wi-Fi is only on at home, Bluetooth is NEVER on, and location only when I'm running GPS.

And if they wanna use my Mic to record everything, I hope they enjoy my conversations with my cats.

That's one reason I leave location services off unless I'm using GPS.

Disabling their location/tracking features looks something like this:

https://i.imgur.com/b3rE498.png

I know. But it at least makes me feel like I'm doing something about it.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bettertomorrowapps.camerablock&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dcamera+block+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_L3faWYucE-SCjwT5l53oBw

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bettertomorrowapps.microphoneblockfree&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dmic+block+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_PHfaWfWwJoSCjwTFzYHQDw

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dfake+gps+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_SXfaWcmdJYzcjwSz2L6gAQ

Man i laughed at your last sentence!!! Thankyou

To be fair, I use the tracking to figure out where I was and how my schedule is going. It's a great tool and you only draw attention by disabling it.. Which you can't really anyway. You think if they want to track you, you can just tick a box on your phone and stop them? Lol

I used it to find out my girlfriend got in a a wreck and was in the hospital. Logged into her account, saw her phone suddenly stopped and then went to a tow yard. Called them up and they said the person was in an accident and was taken by an ambulance. I hate being spied on, the cognitive dissonance is there everytime I check my history, but it has been an amazing tool.

Yes it can be great for such situations, and even totally minor ones. I couldn't remember what time I arrived and paid for my parking yesterday, just that I had paid for an hour of parking. I looked at my phone history and found out when I had arrived, so knew I had another 15 minutes before I had to worry about a ticket etc.

Uh oh, apparently some people aren't able to entertain the thought that the tool they don't like actually has utility despite us recognizing the potential malicious nature of said tool.

Yeah well you can't have your cake and eat it too. Don't get me wrong, I think google is definitely dodgy - but we get great benefits(to ourselves, not just our overlords) - IE real time traffic tracking so we can avoid traffic jams. If no one had GPS tracking, that wouldn't be possible. Everyone is far too paranoid.

I'd assume they still track everything for their own marketing analytics. But turning off these settings just makes it where you can't access it.

U can disable google from your android

Google play services

Google framework services

Google play

Google

Gmail

Google backup

Chrome

Maps

You will need to flash a new maps backend for play service apps to work. Xda is an excellent resource

Also. Prismbreak.org

my understanding is even if you disable all these settings, and block all their app permissions on your phone (assuming Android) they can still track with WiFi & your MAC address etc

On one of my phones have FDroid which allows all the Play Store apps to be sideloaded without the phone ever having to sign in to a Google Account.

I meticulously go through denying all permissions on the Nougat OS - I still think they can track through WiFi and triangulation however denying apps access to SMS, Phone (logs), Contacts, Location, Camera should make it a lot more difficult to those that are not woke.

I think voice call hacking will be a thing in the future - a hacker obtains all your voice searches from Google's servers and uses them nefariously to make a call to mislead friends/family for whatever purpose.

my understanding is even if you disable all these settings, and block all their app permissions on your phone (assuming Android) they can still track with WiFi & your MAC address etc

Where did you get this info?

They track you regardless

You know this for fact? Is there a way to prove that?

Having a smartphone in general means you're being tracked regardless of whether or not your location is available.

Everything you do is monitored and your data is constantly being collected and put into a database that creates a profile.

The idea that you can turn "off" location is just you make you feel like you have some control.

My head is spinning. This is so infuriating. I am totally ignorant and technically inept and have no idea how to work technology. Thank you so much for pointing this out. I can't believe how much information was being logged so simply. Thank you for the resources on how to be proactive in preventing at least some of this information. We're being used as literal advertising tools to make money. What an age we live in... Our information being sold a without our consent. But I had no idea some of these things could be switched off like this

If you have an iPhone, you have been tracked.

What’s a good alternative to help get off the Apple Kool-Aid?

There is none. Society is now set up so that you require a mobile phone. Just another way for them to own us.

:( flip phone burners?

Do you really think turning these off works? My guess is it'll turn off the history for you to see, but not them. They'll still track everything. The only way to 100% ensure that they are not is to take the battery out

When they want to track you, the setting will automatically change. This isn't uncommon already.

This has been around for years. Go on Google Maps and it will tell you when a venue is busy. That data is based on people's phones in that location. Same with traffic, google have direct access to traffic monitoring services but they will know by analysing device data as well.

I used to use Chrome full time because of all the extensions, but there is an app on Mac that I use called "Little Snitch" that monitors all connections to the Mac.

It started to make me aware how much fucking data Chrome was trying to send EVEN WHEN I WASN'T USING IT.

For example when I was using the computer for other things. Not only that buy it was logging in a poorly encrypted file on my hard drive because I set it up so it couldn't send the temp file to Google. So this file just kept building & building to massive size over about 2 months.

I deleted it after inspecting it at after several months & the file was over 7gb of text.

The faster people can switch over to distributed computing search & video browsing the better I believe because handing all this adwords money & filtered search power to Google/Youtube is insanity for world citizens.

That's one reason I leave location services off unless I'm using GPS.

Disabling their location/tracking features looks something like this:

https://i.imgur.com/b3rE498.png

Man i laughed at your last sentence!!! Thankyou