Questions tagged [privacy]
For questions related to enforcing you privacy on Android devices
444
questions
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29
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Got recommend YouTube videos that my friend is watching from his offline laptop
So, my friend was watching a movie. His laptop was offline for the last 2 days. When I opened my YouTube, I got recommended a scene from the same movie. It is highly unlikely to be a probable incident....
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26
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About Data safety section in Play store?
In the "Data safety" section of apps in Play Store, when it shows
Data collected: photos and videos
or
Data shared: photos and videos.
What does it mean? Or if some apps do not show it, ...
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0
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39
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How do I physically remove the radio chips on a phone?
I recently dived down into the world of privacy and looked at how many privacy advocates would physically remove the microphones and cameras on their phones by desoldering them.
However, when I ...
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0
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33
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Unsual Firewall Traffic from Phone and Messaging Storage Group
I'm using Rethink DNS to monitor traffic.
I'm curious as to why the 'Phone and Messaging Storage' group would be reaching out to google domains in addition to app.hubspot.com.
Attached are the ...
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3
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0
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105
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Why does Firefox app connect to Facebook sites very often according to TrackerControl?
I noticed for a while using the app TrackerControl that Firefox connects to Facebook sites very often while I surf the web, for example a simple search on Google, or a search on Startpage.com which ...
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3
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1
answer
30
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Remove devices from 2FA of Google sign in
I have 7 devices (mostly tablets and smartphones) where I am logged in with my Google account. However, 4 of those devices I usually take to shows/concerts and I am afraid of someone stealing them or ...
batata004
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0
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37
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Blocking specific app notifications access is cleared after app update
This behavior is consistent both on real Pixel devices running the latest version of Android 13 and on emulated devices running Android 13 in Android Studio.
A specific app, let’s call the app “X”, ...
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62
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What are some ways to prevent an application from getting a device "fingerprint"?
Despite using a VPN, an application natively running on an Android device can get lots of information about its host (like hardware IDs or SIM card information) which defeats the whole point of using ...
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41
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How to give an app permission to see a subset of contacts
Some apps require access to my contacts list in order to function (e.g. WhatsApp). I am concerned about the privacy implications of giving permission to apps to see my entire contacts list, which may ...
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96
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"Read phone status and identity" privacy issue
Multiple apps released in my country require the android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE permission which means not only they get to know my phone number, they also get my IMEI. My second concern is that ...
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52
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DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection
As you might be aware duckduckgo recently launched there app tracking protection to block hidden trackers account apps in the device.
Link: app-tracking-protection
Now, I have been running this ...
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2
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200
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Firefox for Android: How to specify timezone ≠ UTC with `privacy.resistFingerprinting=true`?
I use Firefox for Android (Mull). I have "resist fingerprinting" (privacy.resistFingerprinting in about:config) enabled. That results in Firefox being forced to report its time in UTC to ...
- 201
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1
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75
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Local contacts only under Android 11?
I'm using Android 11 on my rooted Pixel 5 phone. It turns out that the Contacts app under this OS does not allow access of device-only contacts. I can only access contacts via a shared Google account.
...
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1
answer
765
views
Can an app access my browser history from other apps?
I've always thought that if an app has to get access to certain information on your phone, you have to give it permission in the "permissions" settings in phone settings.
However, on Google ...
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41
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The Android system can access the microphone when it is used?
The android blocks multiple aplications using the microphone at same time, for example, but the internal apps or the system can have access to it even on use?
I'm asking this question because I want ...
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1
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650
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How to completely remove Google from an Android device?
So tired of Google running in the background even when I block it. Installing unauthorized apps. Monitoring and snooping. It's involved in many places and not security minded.
I am for privacy and I ...
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2
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0
answers
604
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How to revoke all authorizations (to private data) given to Xiaomi in MIUI?
On Xiaomi Mi Note 10 there are three prompts asking for authorizations:
When opening Bereinigung (the stock cleaning app; I tried using that because I still can't delete caches with Xiaomi Mi Note 10)...
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0
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299
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How do I know if files have been copied from my phone to a laptop via USB. Knowing I gave permission for file transfer
I connected my phone to someone's laptop so they could give me a certain file but I'm suspecting they used the opportunity to copy files from my phone to their device. Is there any chance a log is ...
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1
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62
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Why does this app from F-droid ask for location?
I find Syncopoli interesting for backup of own data. It's like rsync for the phone. But it asks for location and I wonder why would the app need it? I'm not terribly paranoid, I'm just privacy aware.
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4
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0
answers
568
views
ADB/PM command to disable data and wifi access for Apps
Is there a way via adb shell to disable an apps access to WiFi and Data? I'd like to turn off internet for all apps and then selectively turn it on for required apps.
I know the manual way by going to ...
- 141
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0
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90
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Turn off section called "new" in Google Photos app
When I want to show pics to people, Google Photos first shows whatever is "new", for instance "Screenshots" below:
It is often unflattering.
Question: How to remove the "new&...
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1
answer
1k
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Why does Phone Link require internet access?
I noticed that Microsoft's Phone Link app does not work without an internet connection. Some other apps discover and connect directly to your mobile device via your local Wifi or USB.
I am concerned ...
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3
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1
answer
3k
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Is it safe to give accessibility permission to an app?
So I use the app from Cleanbrowsing and gave the accessibility permission to it and saw that it can view my screen, action and inputs, perform actions and control the display.
Is this app even safe to ...
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2
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53
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What are all those different localhost domains that apps connect to?
I'm using the Blokada adblocker on my phone, which acts as a vpn and can show me all the domains that apps request to connect to and let me switch them between an accept list and a deny list. Whenever ...
- 21
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1
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291
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Rescind 'find my device' location permission in Google account
I had lost my phone somewhere in the same room I was in. To make it ring in Google's find my phone feature, I had to give it full permission to process it's location data. How do I rescind these ...
- 111
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1
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1k
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How do Android apps access phone's simcard and determine the location/country without permission?
I noticed there are apps like Shazam or Tiktok that can find my location/country and offer local content even when I use VPN. my VPN doesn't have any IP/DNS leak.
When I remove the simcard or make it ...
user376694
2
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0
answers
74
views
How is Google Assistant listening all the time without a notification?
In Android, if an app wants to run in the background, it usually needs to create a service that runs in the background (and/or after boot is completed). So, if the app wants to listen to the ...
- 121
2
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0
answers
37
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Web browsers' privacy - how much does the OS know?
TL;DR: When using 3rd-party web browsers (e.g. Firefox), how much does the OS (Android) know about the user's activities?
Most information on the internet about privacy-focused web browsers focuses on ...
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1
vote
0
answers
13
views
Does a bank see email address of a Google account if I add a credit card to google pay
If I add a credit card to my Google pay what Google account details is my bank able to see if any?
1
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0
answers
98
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Encryption and deleted data
I have a galaxy S8 using "default password" meaning no startup password or secure start up.
The device is still encrypted by default so all data should not be recoverable after a factory ...
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1
vote
0
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121
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Do Google & OEMs always have backdoors in Android devices?
In a helpful comment on this Android Stackexchange question, prominent contributor alecxs states:
google and OEMs will always have own backdoors in propritary [sic] blobs for baseband/modem etc - you ...
4
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answers
224
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Privacy of in-app purchases: how much user data does the app developer get?
When a you do an in-app purchase like buying a feature or subscription the the app and the developer is getting data on your purchase.
I searched a bit the Google documentation but I wasn't able to ...
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276
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How to prevent network connectivity after a phone restart before the NetGuard firewall starts blocking apps' traffic?
There seems to be a major vulnerability in Android: even when using firewalls these aren't active immediately after a restart.
The seconds before the firewall (NetGuard) starts can be used by apps ...
- 290
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314
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Facebook whitehat settings
I am trying to enable Facebook whitehat to test the Facebook Android app. I
went here:
https://facebook.com/whitehat/researcher-settings
I click "Enable the Whitehat Settings menu for your ...
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1
vote
0
answers
538
views
Suspicious data usage by apps
Here are a list of apps that I found on my phone:
Now all of these apps seem to be preinstalled as they aren't device administrators and are impossible to disable or uninstall.
They all seem to be ...
1
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0
answers
26
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Do keyboard apps which are enabled but not selected have access to input text?
I installed a keyboard app on Android 6 and when enabling it, the OS showed a warning that the keyboard app has access to input text.
Since the warning appeared on enabling, not selecting, this ...
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55
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What info/data can a fresh installed app without permission gather?
If I just install an app BUT DON'T OPEN it, can it do/get something? Maybe during installation process, even if I didn't open it yet?
If I didn't give the app any permission, what can it do/know? Can ...
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51
views
Update linking path
How do I add a new directory to linking path? Meaning add a directory to where the dynamic linker will look for shared libraries.
In Ubuntu you can create a .conf file under /etc/ld.so.conf.d and ...
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1
answer
75
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How to obtain real VPN connection status (it claims to be connected in airplane mode / without internet)?
My Google Pixel 5 claims to have a VPN connection, although I enabled the airplane mode. How can I ever be sure that the VPN connection is really working then if I have an internet connection?
I would ...
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2k
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How to stop Gboard from trying to 'update your typing experience'?
Since a recent upgrade, Gboard started to show notifications saying "Updating your typing experience".
I have all network access of Gboard blocked with the NetGuard firewall, have all data-...
- 290
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51
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Is it possible to "freeze" applications so that they do not run unless "unfrozen" - essentially make them work only when they're in the foreground?
What it says on the tin.
I'm used to a work partition, but since recent android versions don't support the required storage permissions (which means that I can't get data out of the work partition ...
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25
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Can one add a virtual background with Cisco Webex and Google Duo with a Samsung Galaxy S21?
I read on https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s21-custom-backgrounds-video-calls-duo-teams-webex-zoom/:
Galaxy S21 smartphones offer custom backgrounds during video calls via Cisco Webex, Google ...
- 2,356
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29
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Is there a way to unaccept WhatsApp's new terms and privacy policy?
As you may know, WhatsApp's new terms and privacy policy are currently optional, as "we currently have no plans for these reminders to become persistent and to limit the functionality of the app&...
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41
views
What are the limits/powers of android device policy?
I work in a university and when we want to login in our university email id, we go to gmail
So we can also use our official email for creating account on android,but when i try to create account using ...
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179
views
Application Isolation and access control
I want to prevent an app from knowing whether certain files or directories exist on a device. For instance, if the application have some code like:
if (/system/lib/libJohnDoe.so){
print("yes&...
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0
answers
470
views
Launch app in chroot environment
I want to setup a chroot environment on my android x86 installation in which I can perhaps run or install various apks.
Is there any way to launch an application in a custom chroot environment?
0
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0
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49
views
Can one add a virtual background with the latest version of Microsoft Teams on Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (US version)?
I read contradictory statements.
E.g.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msteams/forum/all/background-effect-on-samsung-s21/8ecfca7a-d025-47ee-9cb7-abcea99fa68f:
Hi, I just got my new Samsung S21 ...
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23
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rooted lineageos: mount /sdcard as ext4 with support for ownership/permissions bits [duplicate]
It seems the partition corresponding to /sdcard is formatted as a FAT variant in android. As a result, it does not support ownership/permissions:
/sdcard/Signal $ ls -lrth
total 116M
-rw-rw---- 1 root ...
1
vote
1
answer
110
views
Connection to DoT server is not retried
I'm running my own DNS-over-TLS server under my domain (dns.example.com). On my Motorola G100, which is running Stock Android 11, I can set the private DNS to this domain and it works.
This works on ...
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What kind of smartphone should I be buying if my one and only use is going to be "BankID"? [closed]
In Sweden, there's a bunch of very confusing "e-id" things, but it basically boils down to this: you need something called "Mobile BankID".
In theory, there are other solutions, ...
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