Free Your Phone
In August’s Tech Talk, one of our engineers delved into the pervasive issue of mobile phone tracking and presented practical solutions to enhance privacy. The session titled “Free Your Phone” provided an eye-opening exploration into the hidden trackers embedded within our everyday apps.
The talk revealed that the average app has five companies tracking users, with one in six apps having over ten trackers. This underscores the importance of being vigilant about app permissions and the need for privacy-conscious alternatives.
To combat these privacy intrusions, the speaker highlighted several resources. IzzyOnDroid and F-Droid are repositories offering a variety of open-source, privacy-respecting apps. Specific replacements for commonly used apps, such as Buienradar, were recommended to reduce dependency on privacy-invasive applications.
Despite removing such apps, the underlying issue of Google tracking remains. For those looking to escape Google’s ecosystem the benefits of custom ROMs were discussed. To restore access to services lost by removing Google from devices, useful tooling like Aurora Store and microG were discussed to restore some of the functionality. Compatibility checkers like Plexus and Sapio were also mentioned to help users find out how viable using a custom ROM is for them
The session concluded with a comparison between Apple and Google, noting that while Apple tracks less, both companies still engage in user tracking. Exodus Privacy was recommended as a useful tool to identify the most privacy-invasive apps, and Droid-ify and Neo Store were highlighted as the easiest ways to access privacy-friendly apps on Android.
Overall, it was another great Tech Talk that provided deep insights and practical steps for anyone looking to take control of their digital privacy.
Would you like to join one of our Tech Talks, as speaker or attendee? Let us know and we’ll get in touch with you.
