Questions tagged [privacy]
For questions related to enforcing you privacy on Android devices
419
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How is Google Assistant listening all the time without a notification
In Android, if you want to run the app in the background you usually need to create a service that runs in the background (and/or after boot completed
So if you want to listen to the microphone all ...
- 121
2
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17
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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 ...
- 21
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15
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What data does an app I bought paid content in via Google Play store received
When I make a payment/buy a paid subscription via Google Play Store what data is being shared with the app I bought content in? Does it include:
email address associated with the Google account;
...
1
vote
0
answers
9
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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?
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51
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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 ...
- 11
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52
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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 ...
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14
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How can I change change privacy settings of a calendar on the Google Calendar app for Android?
One of my Google calendars is shared with a few people. How can I remove someone from the calendar on the Google Calendar app for Android?
- 1,902
3
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45
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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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31
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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 ...
- 261
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25
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How do i prevent my phone from giving my name when i call people?
I don't want strangers to see my name when I call them. I want them to see my number not my name. I use *67 if I want to block all my info. I've removed my name from my contact info. And my Google ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
30
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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 ...
- 63
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64
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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
vote
0
answers
24
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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 ...
- 121
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28
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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 ...
- 111
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22
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Can an app be installed AUTOMATICALLY and SILENTLY without popup/confirmation of install? How can this be possibile?
Is this behaviour doable? How? I have an app which keeps reinstalling.
How can I track what is causing the installation? Are there any logs that I can check to see what is really causing this to ...
- 111
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20
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There's this app that keeps installing automatically from Google Play Store
The app itself is a bank app. It's also a famous bank (Relax Banking by BCC).. The notification says installed from Play Store, and if I open Play Store and go to the page app, says in fact installed.....
- 111
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28
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How can I stop someone from remotely accessing my device
They are using the find my mobile app using the Samsung account..I deleted the Samsung account and it still doesn't work, I just want whoever it is to stop, it leaves a very uneasy feeling with me, to ...
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24
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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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30
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Is Instagram app camera record/send data if not taking a photo?
Does anyone know if swiping to the Instagram camera part of the app automatically records or sends any data if no photos or videos are being taken?
I see the camera indicator come on, but I don't know ...
0
votes
1
answer
31
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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 ...
- 133
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867
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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-...
- 261
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22
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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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23
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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 ...
- 1,902
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21
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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&...
- 225
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36
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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 ...
- 101
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100
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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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answers
190
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?
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101
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How efficient is the Dr Fone eraser ? Is there a way for someone to recover data from an android phone after using this eraser method?
To definitively delete data on an android phone.
May you know how efficient is the Dr Fone eraser solution before or after a factory reset ?
https://drfone.wondershare.com/android-data-eraser.html
Dr ...
- 11
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43
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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 ...
- 1,902
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60
views
How to disable camera and microphone completely from operative system?
Is there a procedure to disable camera and microphone completely from the operative system, and make these hardware features unavailable to any app or process ?
It can be useful for privacy reasons or ...
- 113
0
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34
views
Does Android Auto permanently store any data in the vehicle?
Let's say I paired up my Android smartphone with the Android Auto system in my car.
While my phone is on and is inside the car, I can access - from my car - my maps, contacts etc. stored in my Google ...
- 684
1
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21
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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
41
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 ...
- 121
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47
views
Mobile Apps and Users Privacy
Is the below a true or false?
When a user download an app from Google play store, and agrees to give the app the permissions like taking pictures and videos, access to the studio and the storage, and ...
1
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0
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45
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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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answers
21
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Can the Samsung contact app be configured not to show suggestions when entering a new contact?
Can the Samsung contact app be configured not to show suggestions when entering a new contact? The default behavior of showing suggestions is not ideal from a privacy standpoint when someone is ...
- 1,902
3
votes
1
answer
561
views
How to access texts on rooted Android device from terminal
How do I access text messages on my rooted device using the command line?
I specifically want to extract a text transcript, without using any cloud services and thereby exposing sensitive or personal ...
- 161
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38
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Android app can see what kind of app installed on my phone
I privacy concern about my android 9 phone, my employer ask me to install app on my personal phone.
Can this app see what apps installed on my personal phone.
If I allowed to this app camera access ...
- 1
0
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0
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51
views
Can I give an app the permission to see my calls without allowing to read all my notifications?
I bought one of these cheap smartwatches (Xiaomi Mi Band 4c). To use it, I need to install the Xiaomi Wear app.
I really like the option to notify me when I get a call. This way I keep my phone in ...
- 51
2
votes
0
answers
88
views
Check for the existence of files without root privileges
How do apps check for the existence of files and folders on /data and /system partitions without having root privileges?
I know some games and apps do this for anticheat and security reasons.
0
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247
views
Auto IMEI randomization in Android (like WiFi MAC randomization)
How do I set the IMEI number to automatically randomly change every time I connect to a cellular network?
Android 9 introduced a feature that was a huge boon to the privacy of Android users: WiFi MAC ...
- 243
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My kids see my phone's location on Google Maps
Yesterday my kids showed me that they can see my Android phone's location in the Google Maps app on their phones. Their phones are managed by Google Family Link because they are under 13.
They can ...
- 259
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101
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Play Store Verification on Oppo Realme Q
I am currently using an Oppo Realme Q (RMX1971) which I got myself last year due to its good hardware.
Not so long ago, I was able to simply download and install apps from the Google Play Store. ...
1
vote
0
answers
141
views
How is Google Play services still running after disabling?
A while ago I disabled Google Play services, Google Play Store and lots of other Google apps in my phone.
Below is a screenshot.
One can see that Google Play services is still having cached ...
1
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0
answers
101
views
Are my personal files safe after factory reset?
I am planning to sell my phone Redmi Note 7 running Android 9 which is already unlocked bootloader but no root access, is my data can still be recovered through Android software recovery? I don't want ...
Roxas
0
votes
1
answer
137
views
How secure are Pixel Recorder files?
I noticed that the files stored on Pixel's Recorder app (if not backed up/synced) cannot be easily imported from other apps.
They are stored in /data/data/com.google.android.apps.recorder/files/...
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2
votes
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answers
36
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Accidental Whatsapp privacy breach
I exported my chat history with my friend, JJ, to my Google drive. Somehow a chat history between JJ and someone else (Meg) was exported. I have no idea who Meg is and i have no record of her in ...
- 21
3
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1
answer
793
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How to prevent an app from sharing its data with Google?
The changelog of a popular SMS/MMS app, Textra, states:
Textra is now backed up automatically [emphasis added] using the built-in Google Backup service. Makes it so easy to swap devices or uninstall /...
0
votes
1
answer
108
views
Can an app that has permission to access the photos copy them?
i'm really wondering and can't find answer. Google Play from the store every downloaded apps want to access photos. Permission content read the contents of your usb, modify or delete the contents of ...
1
vote
1
answer
63
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Privacy effects of disabling notifications through Android settings
Assumption
My question assumes the following situation, that is what I could understand about Google's push notifications system. If I misunderstood anything, please correct me here.
When a web ...
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