How Google Tracks and Scans Everything on Your Android Device

Comments

• mjr@infosec.pub ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  De-googled phones exist, but they’re rooted or using a custom firmware. Usually, these phones spoof Google Play Services, replacing that layer with something called MicroG.

  So root and flash your phone today!

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  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Is that a quote from the article? I feel compelled to add that it is possible to survive (mobile device-wise) without Google Play Services.

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• planish@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  The article seems to go directly from “this piece of software talks to all the sensors and isn’t well sandboxed” to “Google has directed this software to profile and surveil users” without actually providing evidence to support that leap. Is Google Play Services sampling your location so that it can send it in to Google HQ, or so that it can detect if the device has been stolen by the cops and activate anti-theft mode to protect the user’s privacy?

  If we can actually show mismanagement of user data by Google Play Services, we need to shout it to the hills, because those sorts of scandals are important arguments for increased privacy protections. But we need to actually find that mismanagement occurring, not just assume it must be because Google wrote the code and it isn’t open source.

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  • RightEdofer@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Why would you ever give the benefit of the doubt to the largest ad company to ever exist whose entire existence and history depends on tracking user data. They literally just had too settle a lawsuit for tracking users when they said they wouldn’t in incognito mode.

    There are plenty of little hints in Android that they want to enable tracking (eg. Bluetooth and exact location permissions being linked despite there being no real need to). Y’all need Graphene yesterday. And we all need a new total alternative since Apple is quickly chomping at the bit for ad income.

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  • LodeMike@lemmy.today ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Part of the problem with this stuff is that the corporations using it are very hush-hush about what exactly they use it for. The privacy policy just lists what they may collect (everything) and what they may use it for (anything).

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    • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      And the very few valid reasons for data collection are drowned in this. You consent to either all or nothing. Some consent that is.

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  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Is Google Play Services sampling your location so that it can send it in to Google HQ as part of a secret location tracking operation that runs without user consent or knowledge, or so that it can detect if the device has been stolen by the cops and use its proprietary ML model to activate anti-theft mode to protect the user’s privacy?

    They’re the same picture.

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  • chillpanzee@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Is Google Play Services sampling your location so that it can send it in to Google HQ as part of a secret location tracking operation that runs without user consent or knowledge

    Yes they track your phone’s location and movement constantly, but it’s not a secret.

    For an example of the evidence you seek… Google SensorVault location data was how they identified and convicted the January 6 terrorists. You might argue that complying with warrants isn’t misuse of the data, but I’d argue that both the data itself, and the level of precision and detail, shouldn’t be captured and logged in the first place. And I’m fairly sure that most google customers have no idea how pervasive and extensive the tracking is.

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• CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Holy shit this is rage bait. What a title.

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  • KuroiKaze@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Yeah this is what passes for tech journalism nowadays

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• tabular@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  It bitches very often when you disable Google Pain Services.

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  • TheBat@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Google Pain Services

    Not sure if typo or intentional joke

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• the_q@lemmy.zip ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  From a strictly privacy standpoint is an iPhone a better option for non-techy folks?

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  • hendrik@palaver.p3x.de ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I’d say that depends on exactly what you’re trying to protect. They’re both large American companies with control over your data and your data and metadata will end up in their respective clouds.

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  • chrash0@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    i’d say so. i was a professional Android dev for years, and security and privacy are definitely one of the reasons i prefer iOS. i don’t have time to play with my phone so much for my personal device. Apple is the lesser of 2 evils since their business model doesn’t depend on this kind of tracking (even if they do it as well albeit to a lesser extent)

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    • Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world ⁨40⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      Their service line was growing much faster than hardware was a big part of their business. So their business model does depend on data collection.

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  • Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    You’re just changing the bucket which the data is dumped into and the interface used. It’s an unfortunate reality that you need to research and be willing to take charge of your devices to proactively prevent spying.

    GrapheneOS, /e/ OS, and other ecosystems are mandated to have complete data security. Google and Apple will never directly grant you the permission to turn all the data taps off.

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    • planish@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      But if a Graphene device takes a non-malicious approach to data management out of the box, can’t you just buy one of those instead of doing research and taking charge of your device to proactively prevent spying? Why not just let a trustworthy organization like the Graphene project manage it for you, instead of an untrustworthy one like Apple?

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  • cabbage@piefed.social ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    There are some user friendly Android based alternatives out there, since it’s based on open source. Personally I’m running a device with /e/OS, which you can either install yourself or buy a phone with it pre-installed. There are also some other user friendly options out there such as the Volla Phone.

    But yeah, iOS is probably a better bet than stock Android, as Apple has a history of being abusive towards their customers in other ways than by selling their data. But crucially both Google and Apple are American companies, so you should avoid depending on their cloud services to whatever degree possible. There’s no such thing as safe data if it is stored by an American company.

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  • chillpanzee@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Looking just at location… Apple is actually better at location tracking precision than Google, and you can’t turn it off (even powering off your phone doesn’t shut it off). Disabling location services doesn’t prevent the data collection by Apple, it only blocks apps from using it.

    Apple is probably better at not sharing your data with others than Goolge, but that’s a position of faith, not fact. If you trust Apple and are diligent about blocking location access to 3rd party apps, it’s better. But you should expect that if you’re giving location access to a free app (like Google maps, a weather app, a ride share app, a streaming app, etc.), you can bet they are selling your location data.

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    • Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world ⁨42⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      The last time I read the Apple privacy policy it sounded like they pretty much collect everything and let themselves share this data with whoever they feel like.

      There was a lot of calming language, but it didn’t sound convincing to me.

      That being said, if you like the Apple ecosystem and UX, it’s a solid option.

      I personally believe their statements about privacy are nothing more than PR.

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  • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Yes, but Graphene is even better. The downside is that Graphene doesn’t currently support non-Google devices.

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• merde@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  easiest way to stop that ☞

  pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.gsf
  pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.ims
  pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.vending
  

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  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    This is a good tip, but what will stop working or start acting up and is this guaranteed to survive reboots/upgrades?

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  • Sarothazrom@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

    Doing this Bricked my phone.

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• suff@piefed.social ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Trade paranoia against backdoored custom roms? Hm… 🤔

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