how do I make my new phone more private (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 days ago by sleepycapibara@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Hi. I just got a new phone (Motorola) and spent a bunch of time manually removing access to location etc. I hate Google so much, "don't do evil" my ass. I'm just looking for my blindspots. Im not in tech so, what should be disabled to keep my phone private?

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[-] shrek_is_love@lemmy.ml 42 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Here's what I've done:

Delete your advertising ID in the system settings
Disable the other ad-related settings
Disable tracking in the keyboard app (long-press , to get to settings, then click "Privacy") or switch to HeliBoard
Avoid the Google Play store when possible
Use F-Droid and Obtainium instead
Install the DuckDuckGo browser and enable DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection (I only use the DDG app for app tracking protection and email protection; I don't browse the web with it)
Install Firefox with uBlock Origin
Set DuckDuckGo as your search engine in Firefox
Make sure your next phone supports GrapheneOS and install that instead of normal Android
Wait for real Linux phones to become viable and use that in a couple years

Stuff I haven't done yet but probably will eventually:

Replace the default home screen app (your home screen is an app, btw)
Replace the Google keyboard app

I haven't looked for good alternatives for these yet so if anyone has suggestions, I'm listening!

[-] 64bithero@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

I dont think we are ever going to see a third consumer level production phone with an alternative Linux based OS. There aren’t enough people out there in the main stream to make a product like this truly viable. Maybe Fairphone or a equivalent. But that’s a tall maybe. Definitely not a flagship level phone.

What’s more realistic is seeing graphine gain availability on more devices.

This is the one place I haven’t taken the plunge. My experience with Linux desktops over the years leaves me a little concerned being stuck without making calls in an emergency situation. I’m also using MVNOs and I worry they won’t be compatible with a different OS.

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this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026

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