5 ms·

> virtually every mobile app Reminder to readers to use F-Droid

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
sfmike 4y ago
naive question, if you use f droid and you have location services on, use a bunch of social apps, have google maps on it, use it normally, what extra layer will f droid have with all of those leaks anyways?
- Z_I_F_F 4y ago
  Also curious of this
- kornhole 4y ago
  F-droid is an app store that carries only FOSS apps that do not have any Google API's. These apps are generally safe. Some may require your location such as maps to function. The difference with most of these mapping apps based on OSM.org is that they do not transmit your location anywhere. You can still install other proprietary location harvesting apps on your phone. If you do so, you are just minimizing the number of data harvesters. To ensure nobody but you knows where you are: 1. Have only safe apps installed. 2. An OS that does not send your location to Google, Apple, or others 3. Your SIM must not be transmitting to the Telco's. This means no SIM or airplane mode.
  - taneliv 4y ago
    You can make emergency calls without a SIM card. The phone identifies itself to the network (with IMEI), even if there is no SIM. The telcos, obviously, map IMEIs to SIMs. (Perhaps needless to say, but for basic operational purposes they have to quite efficiently triangulate your position, to know which cell tower to instruct your phone to use.) Having no SIM does not help you conceal your phone's location at all, only perhaps to make it harder to map it to your identity. I don't know if any location data might leak in airplane mode, but I would not be surprised if some did, for example, through NFC or Bluetooth.
    - Semaphor 4y ago
      > I don't know if any location data might leak in airplane mode, but I would not be surprised if some did, for example, through NFC or Bluetooth. Not sure about NFC, but at least BT gets disabled in airplane mode.
      - nvrspyx 4y ago
        Bluetooth stays enabled on iOS in airplane mode. You have to disable Bluetooth separately.
        Semaphor 4y ago
        Weird choice for a "stop all radios" toggle to not stop a certain radio.
    - kornhole 4y ago
      This depends on what airplane mode means on your phone. With GrapheneOS, airplane mode blocks baseband transmission, but you can optionally still turn on Bluetooth and/or WIFI. If you dial 911, airplane mode is immediately turned off for the call to go through and stays off until you turn it back on. WIFI triangulation or bluetooth mesh can be used for location tracking in particular areas. MAC address randomization and generic phone ID makes this more difficult, but broadcasts of known devices in WIFI or bluetooth scanning can give you away. Others may know more than me on this.
      - mab122 4y ago
        > If you dial 911, airplane mode is immediately turned off for the call to go through and stays off until you turn it back on. I didn't know that, that's really smart and so simple. I like it. I don't know why such trivial thing is so amazing to me.
    - fsflover 4y ago
      > I don't know if any location data might leak in airplane mode, but I would not be surprised if some did, for example, through NFC or Bluetooth. Which is why hardware kill switches are the future (see Librem 5 and Pinephone).
  - juunpp 4y ago
    You forgot the IMEI. Unless you wrap that phone in a Faraday sleeve, what you mentioned does not prevent tracking.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  None. F-Droid is just an app store whose apps tend to be very safe. It isn't a program to protect you from apps that you installed from other stores, or from google.
- fsdffvsdsdfb 4y ago
  It Depends. Any f-droid app that depends on location uses the standard android location APIs. That means you're submitting what RF networks (mobile and wifi) are visible, and Google then passes back an approximate location. Once you have a good GPS lock, the same data is submitted to Google again for inclusion in their database. If you avoid installing Google Play services, you'll have to use a framework like microG that re-implements the Google APIs. microG lets you plug in a number of backends, with a default of sending the same data to Mozilla Location Services instead of Google. You can easily turn this off and use local-only location providers that either build their own database any time you have a GPS lock, or use downloads from opencellid.
  - Ruthalas 4y ago
    Unified-nlp is another option to replace the Google location backbend. It similarly allows you to select location options or build your own local database.
pretext-1 4y ago
Are the apps different if I download them from F-Droid? For example if I download Signal, is it different then the Play Store version?
- avhon1 4y ago
  In the case of apps that are available on both f-droid and on the play store, the difference is that the f-droid versions will be compiled without google play services. This can limit functionality (for example, receiving notifications while the phone is asleep), but does increase privacy somewhat. Significantly, there is very little overlap in the apps available on f-droid and the apps available on the google play store. Most play store apps siphon data, and most f-droid apps don't.
mmerlin 4y ago
F-Droid then DNS66
hzmixi 4y ago
i suggest you download netguard and block all apps from accessing internet https://netguard.me/ https://netguard.me/
5350-uiop-1130 4y ago
i think a state level actor would find it much easier to compromise f-droid and its app then the play store. at least with google play you know they're selling your data so can adjust your behaviour accordingly.
Broken_Hippo 4y ago
And now you are the weird outlier that doesn't have the same data spewing forth instead of Average Joe making Average Data.
- juunpp 4y ago
  Exactly. Bruce Schneier - Data and Goliath.
janandonly 4y ago
Or on iPhone, switch "location services" off.
- feet 4y ago
  I don't trust Apple either

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

naive question, if you use f droid and you have location services on, use a bunch of social apps, have google maps on it, use it normally, what extra layer will f droid have with all of those leaks anyways?

Z_I_F_F 4y ago
Also curious of this
kornhole 4y ago
F-droid is an app store that carries only FOSS apps that do not have any Google API's. These apps are generally safe. Some may require your location such as maps to function. The difference with most of these mapping apps based on OSM.org is that they do not transmit your location anywhere. You can still install other proprietary location harvesting apps on your phone. If you do so, you are just minimizing the number of data harvesters. To ensure nobody but you knows where you are: 1. Have only safe apps installed. 2. An OS that does not send your location to Google, Apple, or others 3. Your SIM must not be transmitting to the Telco's. This means no SIM or airplane mode.
- taneliv 4y ago
  You can make emergency calls without a SIM card. The phone identifies itself to the network (with IMEI), even if there is no SIM. The telcos, obviously, map IMEIs to SIMs. (Perhaps needless to say, but for basic operational purposes they have to quite efficiently triangulate your position, to know which cell tower to instruct your phone to use.) Having no SIM does not help you conceal your phone's location at all, only perhaps to make it harder to map it to your identity. I don't know if any location data might leak in airplane mode, but I would not be surprised if some did, for example, through NFC or Bluetooth.
  - Semaphor 4y ago
    > I don't know if any location data might leak in airplane mode, but I would not be surprised if some did, for example, through NFC or Bluetooth. Not sure about NFC, but at least BT gets disabled in airplane mode.
    - nvrspyx 4y ago
      Bluetooth stays enabled on iOS in airplane mode. You have to disable Bluetooth separately.
      - Semaphor 4y ago
        Weird choice for a "stop all radios" toggle to not stop a certain radio.
  - kornhole 4y ago
    This depends on what airplane mode means on your phone. With GrapheneOS, airplane mode blocks baseband transmission, but you can optionally still turn on Bluetooth and/or WIFI. If you dial 911, airplane mode is immediately turned off for the call to go through and stays off until you turn it back on. WIFI triangulation or bluetooth mesh can be used for location tracking in particular areas. MAC address randomization and generic phone ID makes this more difficult, but broadcasts of known devices in WIFI or bluetooth scanning can give you away. Others may know more than me on this.
    - mab122 4y ago
      > If you dial 911, airplane mode is immediately turned off for the call to go through and stays off until you turn it back on. I didn't know that, that's really smart and so simple. I like it. I don't know why such trivial thing is so amazing to me.
  - fsflover 4y ago
    > I don't know if any location data might leak in airplane mode, but I would not be surprised if some did, for example, through NFC or Bluetooth. Which is why hardware kill switches are the future (see Librem 5 and Pinephone).
- juunpp 4y ago
  You forgot the IMEI. Unless you wrap that phone in a Faraday sleeve, what you mentioned does not prevent tracking.
pessimizer 4y ago
None. F-Droid is just an app store whose apps tend to be very safe. It isn't a program to protect you from apps that you installed from other stores, or from google.
fsdffvsdsdfb 4y ago
It Depends. Any f-droid app that depends on location uses the standard android location APIs. That means you're submitting what RF networks (mobile and wifi) are visible, and Google then passes back an approximate location. Once you have a good GPS lock, the same data is submitted to Google again for inclusion in their database. If you avoid installing Google Play services, you'll have to use a framework like microG that re-implements the Google APIs. microG lets you plug in a number of backends, with a default of sending the same data to Mozilla Location Services instead of Google. You can easily turn this off and use local-only location providers that either build their own database any time you have a GPS lock, or use downloads from opencellid.
- Ruthalas 4y ago
  Unified-nlp is another option to replace the Google location backbend. It similarly allows you to select location options or build your own local database.

pretext-1 4y ago

Are the apps different if I download them from F-Droid? For example if I download Signal, is it different then the Play Store version?

avhon1 4y ago
In the case of apps that are available on both f-droid and on the play store, the difference is that the f-droid versions will be compiled without google play services. This can limit functionality (for example, receiving notifications while the phone is asleep), but does increase privacy somewhat. Significantly, there is very little overlap in the apps available on f-droid and the apps available on the google play store. Most play store apps siphon data, and most f-droid apps don't.

mmerlin 4y ago

F-Droid then DNS66

hzmixi 4y ago

i suggest you download netguard and block all apps from accessing internet https://netguard.me/ https://netguard.me/

5350-uiop-1130 4y ago

i think a state level actor would find it much easier to compromise f-droid and its app then the play store. at least with google play you know they're selling your data so can adjust your behaviour accordingly.

Broken_Hippo 4y ago

And now you are the weird outlier that doesn't have the same data spewing forth instead of Average Joe making Average Data.

juunpp 4y ago
Exactly. Bruce Schneier - Data and Goliath.

janandonly 4y ago

Or on iPhone, switch "location services" off.

feet 4y ago
I don't trust Apple either