Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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What phone should I buy for privacy? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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My current phone is 7 years old, does not support recent android versions, and battery life is becoming atrocious. This feels like right time to change my phone.

Currently, I know of & am considering 3 options:

Google Pixel
iPhone
Samsung Galaxy

I heard that Pixel is the best choice for privacy, despite it being Google^TM. Should I go with it, and install Graphene OS or similar options? The very fact that the name "Google" is attached makes me nervous. Also, I don't think I can trust android, so I would have to install Graphene OS or the like. In the case, app support would be lacking, though.

I am considering iPhone as well, since it has "reputation" of being secure. Of course, Apple can access my data, but that might be a good enough compromise? Honestly, I don't know. It's the best supported option as well - lots of apps support iPhone.

Galaxy is just the one that I am the most familiar with (my current one is Galaxy S8). I don't trust it, though. Do they even make good hardware nowadays?

EDIT: Turns out, Pixel phones are poorly supported by local telecomm companies. It is relatively cheap though. Still worth it?

EDIT2: I heard that data & message is fine, but the call quality is impacted by lack of VoLTE compatibility.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (11 children)

While this tends to be true, the vast majority of the banking app incompatibilities are overcome with a simple app-specific toggle.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (10 children)

Which toggle is that and does it work with cash app?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Exploit Protection Compatibility Mode. It's a setting that relaxes this particular security enhancement for a given app.

It's worth knowing that NFC payments do not work with Graphene currently.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh I didn't know NFC payments were not working. No workaround?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not currently. It will require Google to'allow' tap-to-pay on Graphene. Other NFC functions work fine.

For my use, it's not a big deal. Tapping my card is easy enough

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks for the explanation. Unfortunately this is a major feature for me. I just don't carry cards anymore

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

That's fair. Privacy and security generally come at some cost of convenience. Everyone has their own personal balance.

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