I am increasingly conscious of security and privacy. I don’t want my data or telemetry being sent to google or Facebook, and I want to make sure my device is encrypted and not readable by anyone other than me.
Is there a standard go-to guide on securing an android device with these types of goals in mind? Is true privacy possible without having to install Graphene?
“True” privacy is up to you and what you do with your phone. By default Android uses some Google services impossible to remove without changing ROM, like Google Play Services, SUPL and PSDS.
What you can do for other apps and services is what I’ve done with my old phone (not GrapheneOS compatible):
- Use TrackerControl to block apps’ network requests
- Use alternative to Google Apps and other not so privacy respecting apps
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- Aurora Store and F-Droid instead of Google Play Store
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- OsmAnd instead of Google Maps
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- LibreTube instead of Youtube
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- Always prefer foss apps to closed ones (see F-Droid)
- Try to uninstall pre-installed apps with ADB
- Lock down your web browser with privacy addons
not sure about standard, but privacyguides.org has some nice resources for getting started. I recommend their “threat model” resource in particular; it shows you what direction you should work towards depending on your privacy goals.
Privacy Guides has an Android page as well.
