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ThunderIdeal

basic phone browser privacy

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I'm getting a bit tied of my activity being tracked, evidenced by targeted advertising.

how do you deal with the fact that your phone is linked to a gmail account, an what apps can tighten your browser? What kind of permission changes make all the difference?

in depth answers are welcome but I'm not asking how to encrypt storage and communications or have some kind of nsa immune device, just how to keep google and co at bay

thanks

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A linked gmail account? Basically just gotta deal with it.

(Requires android and root) https://free-software-for-android.github.io/AdAway/ will block 99% of traditional ads on your device. "integrated" ads like sponsored tweets and shit in the twitter app are not (as far as I'm aware? feel free to let me know if I am though) removable. Lots of apps will also profile you based on other apps you've installed.

https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/ads/authenticated?hl=en Will allow you to "Opt out" of interest based advertising. Honestly not sure how effective it actually is.

 

 

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Android is a Google product, so if you've registered an email address on an Android phone, you're basically giving them access to your usage activities unless you opt out -- but who knows if opting out is really honoured.

Using a fake email won't stop Google from establishing a profile of your behaviour to show you targeted ads anyway.

And besides, if you've ever paired personal details like an email on the same phone with the same phone number, chances are Google can link you with a certain degree of confidence anyway. This is because lots of things can be used to identify you: your phone number, SIM card number, phone IMEI number, email address(es), successful regular logins on sites with particular user names, etc. -- all of which can be captured by software on phones and sent to Google, Apple, so on.

As at0m said, you stand little chance of not being tracked, but can ask them to opt out of advertising if this is bugging you.

You can also install an ad blocker which seems to work quite well: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adblockplus.browser&hl=en

Although I notice that some sites are catching on to people using this, and are actively blocking content if they find you blocking ads, like news sites.

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You can also install an ad blocker which seems to work quite well: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adblockplus.browser&hl=en

Although I notice that some sites are catching on to people using this, and are actively blocking content if they find you blocking ads, like news sites.

Use uBlock origin instead. less resource heavy than adblock plus.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/

 

And if you an encounter a site like that, close the tab and never go back :) The internet is big enough that you can still find what you're after and not give in to their bullshit.

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