20
Remove the SD Card and SIM Card, and then do a Factory Reset.
If your device doesn't use full disk encryption, and you are worried about someone using advanced forensic tools to recover your data, you might want to overwrite the internal storage area with random data. You can do this by creating a file containing random data that fills up the entire free ...
18
This question has been bothering me quite some time. So now, finally, I decided to get to the bottom of the issue.
The Playstore has an app named permission.READ_PHONE_STATE, which requests READ_PHONE_STATE as the only permission, and does nothing else than printing out all data it can access with or without using it. I've installed that on my LG Optimus 4X, ...
18
tl:dr; addressing OP's question - sorry, no way AFAIK. From Android 10 onwards normal apps can't access IMEI number.
Revised answer with additional inputs from Izzy (thanks)
How do apps (Google or third party) identify you?
Apps identify a device using:
Some or all of device identifiers, mainly Android ID, GSF Android ID, build serial number, and ...
16
Verification by OTP uses a different API which doesn't need read SMS permission. You can read more here Perform SMS Verification on a Server
Hence, the app isn't reading your SMS but using a separate channel to read specially formatted text messages
I learnt of this when an Xposed module to block permissions did not work as I expected (similar case) and ...
14
XPrivacyLua is a module for Xposed framework which does exactly what you need. It is free and open source. Works on rooted devices. It's the successor of XPrivacy.
Install Xposed from here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
You can then download the XPrivacyLua module from the Xposed repo through the Xposed Manager app, or manually ...
13
Yes, it can, but only on Android 4.3 and lower. This is used for example in Whatsapp. When you activate the app, Whatsapp sends an SMS to the number you reported, and the app intercepts it quietly and reports to the servers that it has received the SMS. This is how the account is tied to your number.
Of course, this can be used in harmful apps also. If an ...
12
In Windows, if you open Manage password in Chrome, then it asks for a master password (i.e. Windows Admin password) to view and manage your passwords. But that's not the case in Android. So for security purposes, Chrome for Android doesn't reveal the password.
From Greenbot: Saving your passwords to your device presents some obvious security
issues. ...
12
Configuring captive portal behaviour
captive_portal_detection_enabled (<= Android 7.1.1)
works as described in question body
captive_portal_mode (>= Android 7.1.2)
works as described in question body
Setting captive portal URL(s)
captive_portal_server (<= Android 6.0.1)
The server that holds a generate_204 page, used to internally craft a URL ...
11
Not exactly matching your description (using the "last known" position if not GPS available), but still a good alternative:
On two of my devices, I completely got rid of all proprietary Google services, replacing them by alternatives. In detail, I've described this in Android without Google 5: Free your Droid!¹ (update¹). In short, this is what I've done:
...
10
As things stand
Android 4.3 and below without Hangouts app : Any app with
SMS_RECEIVE permission can read/abort an incoming SMS (ala Whatsapp)
Android 4.3 and below with Hangouts (SMS mode turned on) : Any app
with SMS_RECEIVE permission can read but not abort an incoming SMS
Android 4.4 and above : Any app with SMS_RECEIVE permission can read
but not ...
10
A factory reset reformats the phone's user-data partition, but it's not a "secure" wipe; it doesn't overwrite everything with zeroes. If you want to be sure everything is erased, you can encrypt the phone first (which overwrites all the data with encrypted versions of itself), then do a factory reset (which sets up a new unencrypted filesystem).
(Update: ...
10
You could try this app: GPS Aids.
It tries to provide a quicker and more stable fix by providing a couple of GPS aids (GPS Aiding Data like LTO Long Term Orbits, gpsOneXTRA and AGPS), and it caches your last known GPS data.
It will run without root, but some options require root access.
8
HOW DELETED DATA IS RECOVERED?
Data (un)deletion strongly depends on how a storage media (HDD, SSD, eMMC etc.), filesystem (NTFS, FAT32, ext4 etc.) and OS save and delete files.
File carving / signature search / content-aware recovery identifies standard signatures values in the headers of deleted files (as file command and antivirus programs do to ...
7
Note: This method requires root access.
The credentials of the websites that you allowed Chrome to save are stored in the file Login data which is located inside the data directory of Chrome i.e. /data/data/com.android.chrome/app_chrome/Default/. Certainly, no app or even ADB can access that location and neither Chrome has any provision through GUI to ...
7
Yes, a device administrator only has permissions to do what it says.
If you change the permissions of the app that the administrator is associated with, the administrators permissions will not change
(Answer made from the following sources):
7
Yes! it does, when using Truecaller application or services you have already accepted their :
Truecaller - Privacy Policy
So, in this case you agree that :
Truecaller may use your personal information collected by their application to provide, maintain, improve, analyze and personalize their Services for other Users, partners and third party providers.
...
6
How about Chainfire's tool Pry-Fi which was announced over at XDA?
It works great and it is available via the official Google play-store at:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.pryfi
Here’s a screenshot showing the tool in action…
6
XPrivacy is not a stand-alone application. It's a module of the Xposed framework, and thus utilizes the latter to achieve its goals. So if the Xprivacy dev "reports in", he might just say: "Waiting for the Xposed team to show up"...
Oh, if you don't wanna wait: head straight to the Xposed thread at XDA for all the details. The intro over there states:
I ...
6
In contrast to the comment from Zlatty, I was very pleased to learn that the pro version of xprivacy can do just that. I use it to allow whatsapp selective access to contact book entries only if I know that the person in question is already registered with whatsapp.
Blocking contacts by default:
Allowing partial access:
6
There are low(er)-level commands that can be used in a shell to encrypt your user data partition. Disclaimer/Warning: the following instructions will wipe your data, ensure that you make a backup if needed.
Following these steps, you should be able to wipe your data partition and have it encrypted afterwards (similar to a factory reset):
Boot your phone ...
6
I would use firefox. It has an option to clear on exit. You do have to go to the menu (which you can access by tapping the menu icon) and hit quit every time, but seeming as there is no way I know of in chrome, It's better than nothing. Firefox does take some getting used to though, so switch with caution.
6
Google Partner Setup is an app that helps you run applications in conjunction with Google products. For example, with this application's help, you can use the calendar from your device with a ToDo app that you've just installed.
As for the intrusive permissions, you are right. I don't understand why it needs all those permissions, if all it does is ...
6
Cases that doesn't affect your current permissions:
Updating app from play store.(also maybe the same for apk install too)
When you disable/enable any app.
When you clear only app cache.
When you force stop and restart.
During uninstall updates of an app. (This action is performed automatically when you disable that app).
Cases that may reset your current ...
6
Requisites
Download Shelter - an open source app from F-droid or GitHub. Quoting the developer, use cases
Run “Big Brother” apps inside the isolated profile so they cannot access your data outside the profile
“Freeze” (disable) background-heavy or seldom-used apps when you don’t need them. This is especially true if you use apps from Chinese ...
5
There are a few points to note on this. Not all of them will help you on your issue, but at least explain things or point you to helpful information:
some devs explain in their apps' descriptions what they need those permissions for, others do so at least on the corresponding web sites (e.g. in the FAQ). If they missed that, contact them and ask to have ...
5
More than one year later, and no answer here. I've done some research myself – and though there was not much found, I'll share what I've got so far:
com.google.android.gm.permission.READ_GMAIL: A good guess is this targets the mail content. Protection level switched from "dangerous" to "signature" about the time Gingerbread was released (with Gmail 2.3.5), ...
5
Yes, you are justified and they are being sneaky. Once a set of permissions is allowed, it can install new permission into that same set without getting approved on update. But you can retake control.
If your rooted, you can download the Xposed Framework installer from the XDA forums.
Xposed Installer
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/xposed-installer-...
5
Apparently on the "Accounts" screen, one has to long press the account. Menu will pop up. Click on "Account settings". Another menu will pop up. Click on the "Cryptography" item at the bottom. The Cryptography menu will open. Click on "OpenPGP Provider". By default, "None" is selected. Click on the "OpenKeychain" and you're set!
Hope this helps!
5
For me, the original answer did not work as expected. It looked like it encrypted successfully, but the UI came back very quickly and the "Encryption" setting did not show that the devices was encrypted. I then applied the commands given in the update, but it still didn't work. I then reduced the size of the data partition and it encrypted successfully. ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible