#android-privacy — Public Fediverse posts

Hi.

I use @localsend between macOS and GrapheneOS. My Mac can detect my phone, but my phone cannot detect the Mac when @mullvadnet “Local network sharing” and Android’s “Block connections without VPN” are both enabled.

Disabling “Block connections without VPN” immediately fixes it. Is there a way to keep VPN lockdown enabled while allowing LocalSend to work over LAN?

#LocalSend #MullvadVPN #GrapheneOS #AndroidPrivacy #VPN #Privacy

Android 17 seems the least consequential OS update that I’ve seen in years

I installed a whole-number release of Google’s mobile operating system on my phone Wednesday, and about the only way I can tell that I’ve gone from Android 16 to Android 17 is when I clear my notifications.

Instead of the old “No notifications” confirmation, the new version of Android gives me a little pep talk: a “You’re all caught up” message below a trophy icon. Which is nice, even if being free of new app notifications is an exceedingly temporary condition for me.

I expected a little more out of Android 17 because I’d written as much in a series of posts for PCMag over the past six months chronicling this release’s progress through a series of developer preview and beta releases.

Google hadn’t been promising anything epic, but the reality of Android 17 as shipped is so much less that my PCMag colleague Flo Ion borrowed some journalistic lingo to convey how many advertised features have yet to ship: “Android TK.”

While I wait for Google to deliver Android 17capabilities like Gemini Intelligence and Pause Point, what do I get from this release?

Google’s post announcing 17 leads off with bubble multitasking, an option to open an app into a smaller window you can condense back into a floating app icon. But my Pixel 9 Pro’s screen isn’t big enough for a feature built for the larger displays of foldable phones and tablets.

With the second feature highlighted in that post, Screen Reactions, the problem isn’t my phone’s screen but the person using it. I almost never post video and have never even thought about posting a clip where I’m offering some value judgment about what’s on my phone’s screen. (Maybe I should now?)

Android 17’s security and privacy enhancements are less fun to talk about but matter more to me. I can now limit an app’s request for my location to only my current session with that app, the Advanced Protection option and default device-theft countermeasures offer additional defenses against somebody attempting to break into my phone after taking it from me, and this release features Google’s first Android support for post-quantum-computing cryptography.

But the privacy upgrade I was most looking forward to using–a new Contact Picker interface that will let you respond to an app’s request for your contacts by letting it see only the contacts of your choice–requires app developers to support that feature first. WhatsApp, which won’t even let me enable backup to my Google account without contacts access, desperately needs this… but I’m not exactly expecting Meta to drop everything to enable it in its messaging app.

I know the story is still being written with Android 17; Google plans to follow the pattern it set with Android 16, where a secondary update late in the year brings additional features. In the meantime, I suppose this unassuming release offers one other modest benefit: When so much of the tech universe is overrunning with drama, I don’t have to worry about that here.

Privamatic is out on F-Droid. 🚀

It audits your Android privacy settings — 45+ automated checks across security, tracking, and surveillance app detection. Scores your device from 0 to 100. Fully offline. No internet permission. No accounts. Built it for myself. Figured others might find it useful.
→ https://privamatic.app/

#Android #Privacy #FOSS #FDroid #GrapheneOS #AndroidPrivacy

FMD (»Find My Device«) ist eine quelloffene Alternative zu Googles Geräteverfolgung – ohne Google-Dienste, ohne Tracking, mit Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung. Per Fernzugriff lässt sich das Gerät orten, sperren, klingeln lassen oder auf Werkseinstellungen zurücksetzen. Steuerung per SMS, Signal, Matrix oder Webinterface. Self-Hosting möglich. Verfügbar über F-Droid, kompatibel mit GrapheneOS. 👇

🔗 https://fmd-foss.org

#FMD #GrapheneOS #Privacy #OpenSource #AndroidPrivacy #DigitaleSelbstbestimmung

/kuk

Think you’re invisible in incognito mode? Think again. Meta found ways to track Android users through browsing patterns and app interactions 📱🔍 Learn how it works and protect your privacy. #AndroidPrivacy #MetaTracking #DigitalSecurity

https://bdking71.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/how-meta-connected-browsing-activity-to-real-people-on-android/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Your Android knows everything about you 👉

❗ Where you go

❗ When you go to sleep

❗ What you search for 

❗ Your habits

... and more! 🙈

Take back your privacy & change your Android settings!

Find out how: https://tuta.com/blog/android-settings-increase-privacy

#Android #AndroidPrivacy #AndroidSettings

The Fight for Android's Open Ecosystem (F-Droid Interview)

https://techlore.tv/w/qHetqo141QKU4k3WC3DTp1

Your Privacy, Reimagined 🔐

From open-source Android privacy apps to encrypted DNS, decentralized search engines, secure browsers, firewall-based app control, and more — we've just launched a curated Privacy & Security Portal designed for every level of user.

💡 Whether you're privacy-curious or a hardened infosec veteran, our new resource hub gives you vetted tools and services that respect your data — not exploit it.

🌐 https://apps.netwk.pro

#FOSS #Privacy #Infosec #AndroidPrivacy

GrapheneOS is finally ready to break free from Pixels and it may never look back

https://www.androidauthority.com/graphene-os-major-android-oem-partnership-3606853/

#HackerNews #GrapheneOS #AndroidPrivacy #OpenSource #TechNews #MobileSecurity

👉 Before you download any app, ask yourself:

📜 Have you actually read what the developer says about data collection and sharing?

Most users scroll past permissions — but that’s where the real surveillance begins.

🔍 Awareness is defense.

#PrivacyFirst #DataTransparency #CyberwiseCircle #AndroidPrivacy #ConsentMatters #DigitalMinimalism

📱 Android’s Digital Wellbeing tracks your app use, unlocks, notifications, and sleep patterns — all controlled by Google.

⚠️ It’s built to keep you hooked, not truly help.

🔒 Disable it, revoke usage access, or try de-Googled ROMs like GrapheneOS.

🗝️ True digital wellbeing is about control — not silent surveillance.

#AndroidPrivacy #CyberwiseCircle #DeGoogle #PrivacyMatters

Ars Technica reports that Android phones might someday warn users about those sneaky Stingrays. 📱🕵️‍♂️ Because what better way to protect your privacy than relying on the same device that eagerly reports your every move to Google? 😏🔍
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/06/future-android-phones-could-warn-you-about-data-stealing-fake-cell-towers/ #AndroidPrivacy #StingrayDetection #ArsTechnica #UserSafety #TechNews #PrivacyConcerns #HackerNews #ngated

Brave Adds Custom Element Blocking on Android
Brave now allows Android users to block specific web page elements via a new "Block element" feature in Shields. Accessible under Advanced Controls, it lets you tap and remove unwanted content. You can manage or reset blocked items and even add custom filters via brave://settings/shields/filters.

#BraveBrowser #AdBlocking #androidprivacy

New updates on our website! :android:

Helping people switch to floss on android
Setup, Settings, Apps,Tricks to smoothen the process of switching.

Have you done these?

☮️

https://tradelessearth.wordpress.com/screens/

#switchtofloss #switchtoopensourcesoftware #beginnersguide #floss #foss #androidprivacy #PrivacySettings #switchtoandroid

#ActuLibre Google and Apple Plan to Turn Phones into COVID-19 Contact-Tracking Devices -> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHackersNews/~3/HURY0mDRCSM/iphone-android-coronavirus-tracing.html #Coronaviruspandemic #SmartphoneTracking #Androidtracking #Androidprivacy #CoronavirusMap #iPhonetracking #iPhoneprivacy #locationtrack #calltracking #Coronavirus #COVID-19