[HN Gopher] Ask HN: How to preserve privacy while using smartpho...
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       Ask HN: How to preserve privacy while using smartphones?
        
       I currently use an Apple phone, with a special camera covering
       case. That's pretty much my setup, plus opting out of anything that
       can be opted out. It's long bugged me that there is no way to
       manually disconnect the microphones. Looking into it there only
       appears to be the Linux based PinePhone that offers switches for
       disabling camera and microphones. While that's great, the rest of
       the phone isn't so much.  I'm a casual smartphone user. I don't
       want to put months into jailbreaking, tweaking, monitoring
       connections etc. I know though that both iOS and Android call home
       to transmit a bunch of private data. And now Apple is going to scan
       our data as well, ffs!  Basically I'm looking for a setup that
       would give me the best privacy with a quality phone (something
       similar to a modern iphone) and ease of use. Of course that's
       contradictory, but what would be the best compromise in your view?
       What is your own setup? I'm open to any suggestions and am even
       considering extreme _solutions_ like getting rid of the smartphone
       altogether.
        
       Author : trompetenaccoun
       Score  : 6 points
       Date   : 2021-10-22 21:45 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
       | solarman5000 wrote:
       | Pixel phone with grapheneOS, nextdns.io private DNS, a good VPN,
       | and f-droid app store. Super easy, I've been using this setup for
       | 1.5 years
       | 
       | Be sure to donate to FOSS projects as well.
        
       | totoglazer wrote:
       | It's unclear what you're concerned about revealing and to whom.
       | Without a threat model it's hard to say.
       | 
       | For example, are you worried about location information? Who do
       | you want to avoid knowing if? What granularity is acceptable?
       | 
       | Your smart phone reveals a masssssive amount of information, from
       | checking access points and nfc devices to cookies on the web to
       | exif, to cell towers. If you really want total privacy you
       | shouldn't carry one at all.
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-22 23:02 UTC)