I heard that both Verizon and ATT sell your personal information such as surfing habits and locations to the highest advertising bidder? So far I got Disconnect me and I vetted each app that request location services. What else can be done?
Located in settings: Bluetooth = off (only if you don't have a use for it) Passcode = Enable Privacy... Location Services = Off; if you need it on, specify what apps you want to auto locate (I do recommend always disabling Location Services for Photos and Camera, as you don't want location info attached to your pictures, especially when posting them to social media. Diagnostics & Usage = Don't Send Advertising / Limit Ad Advertising = Enable Safari... Search Engine = DuckDuckGo Search Engine Suggestions = Disable Safari Suggestion = Disable Quick Website Search = Off Preload Top Hit = Disable Passwords and Autofill = Make sure no information is saved. Frequently Visited Sites = Disabled Block Pop-Ups = Enabled Do Not Track = Enabled Block Cookies = Allow from Websites I Visit Fraudulent Website Warning = Enabled JavaScript = Enable or Disable (Optional) Notes: Also disable the fingerprint reader/scanner on your phone, only if you're not using it. Use a VPN, best free one is "BetterNet". When surfing in Safari, make sure to enable "Private" mode, via tab icon. Hope all this helps, take care
Smartphones are intrinsically privacy sucking devices. The companies that develop the devices, the apps that run on them and provide the bandwidth for data are interested in sucking your personal data and selling it to the highest bidder. The problem with the iphone is that you can run a VPN and browser but the weak point is that you cannot control the applications that run on your device because you require apps to be blessed by Apple and you require root level access to control your app behavior. Your best bet (other than bury the phone in a Faraday cage) is to use a VPN, Disconnect and carefully vet all of the apps on your phone as they will be your weakest point.
Smartphone app ecosystems (Android and iOS, anyway) are truly evil. Apps can do pretty much whatever the APIs let them get away with. Users have virtually no insight or control. And then there's the bloody radio firmware. It's hopeless
True. But maybe I was not specific enough in my question. I'm trying to achieve privacy from non-Apple related corporations especially ATT, Google, Facebook, and those who are known to sell personal information and engage in tracking on the web. So far I have done the following: - Common system tweaks such as disabling Location Services for certain apps, etc - Disconnect me premium which has both anti tracking and VPN (I am really unsure how the anti-tracking works...) - 1Blocker which is both adblocker and handles anti-tracking as well
Downgrade it to a tethering hotspot and use a hardened 'nix distro with VPN etc. I know, hardly that constructive (depending on your needs of course!) - but that is the world we live in. What bugs me even more is that they are sucking the info about me from people I associate with (contact lists and the like) - who have no concept of security or who don't care, or who can't be bothered to fight it. Disgraceful and should be illegal - I haven't consented for sure.
That is the position I have adopted as well. My hobby laptop is up and running many of the daytime hours. I use my phone only for real name stuff and I have given up fighting for privacy on a smartphone. The post above this one (deBoetie) says it clearly. ALL your friends and associates throw you into the "corporate data gathering system" even if you are careful to stay out. Unless you are a hermit your associates have you in the "system". Its just how it is! I will say that if YOU were going to fight for privacy during the use of a smartphone, your only valid option would be to root/jailbreak the device. You really must have root or Admin to gain control over many things. Example; would you attempt to maintain privacy with a Win computer that you ONLY had user level access to? Clearly, it would be futile and smartphones are no different.
Yes And so compartmentalization You just don't say anything to your friends and associates that you want kept private. Because that just ain't gonna happen. You have your private online life, and you have your meatspace life, and good OPSEC means keeping them as unassociated as possible.
True but to some extent you need access to internet when you are outside of the house. At work, even more so. Occasionally at work, your smart phone is a way to access your private email and other functions without exposing yourself to your IT department spying. My goal is really to limit data collection about me on the smart phone not to completely stop it. There are is a distinction from gov't data collection and corporate data collection. I think a lot of people in here over estimate gov't data collection and demonize it compared to what it really is and how much threat it realistic is to us (assuming you don't live in Europe/USA). I think the biggest problem to our privacy are currently corporations rather than the gov't. These are the guys that will sell your personal information. The gov't interest is to keep it private with perhaps sharing it with other 3 letter agencies in the fourteen eyes but these are likely to keep that information private too. My problem is facebook and google who will sell my info to oppressive countries such as China and other corporations. Less so Apple and Microsoft as their primary buisness model is selling hardware and software respectively. Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile data collection is quite scary too and they too probably know more about you than any 3 letter agency. So what I really want is set up my iphone to decrease internet tracking usage by the following: 1. Facebook 2. Google 3. ISP (ATT/Verizon/TMobile) I care less about these: 1. The big brother 2. Apple 3. Microsoft So far I had to stop using VPN because the battery life sucks. VPN drain battery like nothing else on a cell phone. Any alternative to a VPN on a smartphone?
Yes, that aspect is very frustrating. Particularly when it is an individual, or business, that does know better. However, there have always been some exposures that we can't avoid and which could result in secondary exposures and/or uses that we do want to avoid. Although the problem is exponentially worse than it used to be, I don't think the basic approach has changed. Eliminate existing, and avoid new, exposures where you can. Especially to businesses and other parties that are known to be a problem. For the rest, use data minimization and compartmentalization techniques to reduce the exposures and their severity. Be conservative in what you send AND be conservative in what you receive
Golly - does that mean I have to rule all those selfies out of my life Thankfully, not something the Nokia 6310i supports, in either direction, though it does permit you to talk with another person.
I don't use smartphones. But the VPN issue makes sense, in that the tunnel is always up and constantly pinging. Otherwise, I'm rather at a loss.
