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Maximizing privacy on Android without custom ROMs? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago by TheTwelveYearOld@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.world

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I've had a Galaxy S22+ for 2 years and still want to use it. When I look up how to maximize privacy on Android, many results say to install custom ROMs which I can't since its a US model and the bootloader is locked. I just want to minimize tracking and sharing of personal information. I could use a firewall app like RethinkDNS to block trackers, but could I completely block tracking from Google and Samsung? Are there any lists of packages to uninstall to improve privacy? (I've used ADB to remove a bunch of bloatware. Ex: pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.samsung.android.arzone)

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[–] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Without being able to root, it's a challenge.

I've had Verizon Samsungs for years and dealt with this.

Start with the Universal Debloat Utility. . Note what it says about disabling some things isn't advisable. The recommended list is safe - I've used it extensively on Samsung.

After that, yea, something like RethinkDNS will help. I'd use it, but chose to run No Root Firewall to control network access (there are others, this is the one I'm familiar with). It acts as a VPN to provide the firewall functionality. You could then use another DNS provider that blocks ads and such (since ReThink also needs to run as a VPN).

I've disabled most factory apps, and several Google apps. You can disable Play Store and it'll work OK. If you disable Play Services you'll get error pop-ups frequently.

This is about the best you can do without being able to unlock the bootloader.

I'd start with a reset. Then setup the phone without a Google account, then run the debloater.

After that, do what you like.

[–] muntedcrocodile@lemm.ee 5 points 2 months ago

It's an exercise in futility, but there are some things you can do. removing packages with ADB is a good start. I just copy pasted a list of all the packages I had installed and I asked chat GPT what each one did and went through and decided which ones I wanted to keep.A DNS filter is also a pretty good. That should filter out some of the tracker. But if you've got any meta apps or similar, then pretty much pointless to try doing anything to be honest. I moved to Grpheneos a while back, absolutely love it, it's beautiful.