Open up your Android phone’s Settings app and you’ll find dozens of different options with little guidance on what those options do. Some of these settings have a serious impact on your privacy and security, altering what data gets shared automatically with apps, data brokers, and Google itself.
What sorts of changes you should make depends on how you use your phone and your security plan. There is no one-size-fits-all collection of recommended settings to change. Instead, we’ll explain what settings do to help you decide if they’re worth altering. This guide cannot cover everything, so for a deeper dive, check out our Privacy Breakdown of Mobile Phones guide.
they do this every few years or so. they hire more than they need, wait a bit, then fire the "low performers". rinse and repeat as desired