Android without Google: Take back control! (Part 1)

1. android without data octopus

The article series "Your phone your data" from 2014 has played a major role in the success story of this blog. Many thousands of people wanted to learn how to get rid of Google and regain control of their Android device.

After now five years it is time for a new edition of the article series. Much has changed. Partly for the positive, partly also for the negative. Also the article series "Take back control!" requires a lot of patience and the willingness to say goodbye to one's own comfort - and of course also to the indoctrination of the manufacturers.

The ambitious goal of the article series "Take back control!" can be summarized in one sentence: You as a user should regain control over your Android device and your data. Step by step I will lead you towards this goal. Because it must finally be an end to proprietary apps and (Google) services that merely fool us into believing our independence and self-determination over our data.

2nd Google has long been evil

Directly after switching on our android we are asked to create a Google account or to link the already existing one with the device. We are pushed into the cloud and should not worry about our data, but rather trust the providers or Google "blindly". In return, so to speak, we receive a perfectly coordinated eco-system that can hardly be surpassed in terms of simplicity and convenience, but also in terms of perfidy.

Google's strategy of conquering the market with user-friendly products and services has therefore paid off. Success proves them right. But with this success story, the price paid by the actual users must always be borne in mind. They pay and pay with the data they "produce". However, they are not aware of this "paying with data" because they lack the transparency to see what is actually happening "behind their backs" when using smartphones.

Google is like a junkie, constantly on the lookout for new data sources that will allow the already accumulated data treasures to continue to grow. Google wants to know everything. In an interview with James Bennet, supervisory board chairman Eric Schmidt said:

"With your permission you give us more information about you, about your friends, and we can improve the quality of our searches. We don't need you to type at all. We know where you are. We know where you've been. We can more or less know what you're thinking about."

This remark, already made in 2010, is now more relevant than ever. Android and other Google products and services are perfectly interlocking gears that give the user an illusion of control over his data. Google relies on dark patterns or nudging to hide data protection settings, to mislead users or to prevent them from protecting their privacy with misleading formulations.
...(...)...
Regardless of these "restrictions", we want to achieve the following with our project:

✅ Complete control over your own data

✅ Independent and self-determined use of the device

✅ The decoupling from the Google eco-system

✅ The exit from the advertising machinery of the manufacturers

✅ Protection against advertising profiling

Read the full guide

🇬🇧
https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/156

German (original)

https://www.kuketz-blog.de/android-ohne-google-take-back-control-teil1/

#android #NoGoogle #guide #part1 #kuketz
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LineageOS - Take back control! Part2

1. release from the embrace

With the article series "Take back control!" you as a user should regain control over your Android device or your data step by step. A first step towards independence is the change of the manufacturer's own Android system. This will not only get rid of the manufacturer's bloatware, like pre-installed apps and services, but will also free us from Google's close embrace.

We manage this liberation with the free Android operating system LineageOS - a modification of Google's Android and the direct successor of the successful CyanogenMod. With such a custom ROM or alternative system we disconnect ourselves from the manufacturer's own Android systems. The use of LineageOS should bring us one step closer to our goal of regaining data dominance on the Android.

Read the full article (part1) in english:
https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/156

Read the full article (part2) in english:
https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/273

Source and more infos / read in german:
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/android-ohne-google-take-back-control-teil1/
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/lineageos-take-back-control-teil2/

#android #NoGoogle #LineageOS #guide #part1 #part2 #kuketz
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📡@cRyPtHoN_INFOSEC_ES

AFWall+: Digital Door Controller - Take back control! (Part 4)

1. firewall

In the last part of the article series "Take back control! we got root rights on our Android system with the help of Magisk. This step was necessary because apps like AFWall+ and AdAway require root rights. https://www.kuketz-blog.de/magisk-bei-der-macht-von-root-take-back-control-teil3/

At this point, we should remember that switching to an alternative operating system like LineageOS does not necessarily protect us from the unwanted outflow of sensitive data. Rather, further adjustments are needed so that we can use the Android smartphone "self-determined". An important component of our defense strategy is the use of a firewall to control the Android's data traffic. Originally, firewalls were primarily intended to protect us from "dangers" from outside. However, this primary purpose of firewalls has changed more and more. Firewalls on client systems now increasingly serve to monitor and control outgoing data connections.

Various firewall solutions exist for Android - but only two are worth mentioning: NetGuard and AFWall+. In this article I present the installation and configuration of AFWall+.

2nd AFWall+

AFWall+ is a front-end for the firewall iptables known from the GNU/Linux world. It enables control over which app or system service should have access to the data network via 2G/3G/LTE/5G, roaming, WiFi or VPN. In my opinion it is an essential part of any rooted Android device to control the unwanted outflow of information.

AFWall+ is relatively easy to use in its basic functionality, as long as you have understood the concept of a firewall. It becomes complicated only with special use cases, which are represented by CustomScripts. If you are looking for a user-friendly alternative to AFWall+ or if you cannot / do not want to root your device, you should take a look at NetGuard.

Source and more infos / read in german

https://www.kuketz-blog.de/afwall-digitaler-tuervorsteher-take-back-control-teil4/

Read the full guides in english:
(Part1: https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/156)
(Part2: https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/273)
(Part3: https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/322)

#android #NoGoogle #guide #part1 #part2 #part4 #AFWall #kuketz
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F-Droid: Free and Open Source Apps - Take back control! (Part 5)

1. app store with class

By installing LineageOS, we have abandoned our proprietary Android systems and taken control of outbound data traffic with AFWall+. But our journey is far from over, because to get rid of Google and to regain control we have to break away from the Google Play Store.

Most apps from the Google Play Store contain an above-average number of tracker and advertising modules. In the foreseeable future, this business model will probably not change because Android is a self-service data store with which (questionable) developers make a lot of money. Indirectly, Google also earns a lot of money - so Android users can wait in vain for an improvement.

In this article I would like to introduce you to the alternatives App-Store F-Droid. F-Droid is a consumer-friendly alternative to Google's Play Store, which only offers "free" and "open source" apps for download. The two properties "free" and "open source" mean basically nothing else than that the app source code can be viewed, used, changed and further developed by anyone. With its strict "Free Open Source Software (FOSS)" concept, F-Droid clearly sets itself apart from the Google Play Store and other comparable stores.

Source (german) and more info:
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/f-droid-freie-und-quelloffene-apps-take-back-control-teil5/

Translation (english):
https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/357

#android #NoGoogle #guide #part1 #part2 #part4 #part5 #fdroid #kuketz
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AdAway: Advertising and tracking blocker - Take back control! (Part 6)

1. data collection frenzy

In the last part of the article series I introduced you to the F-Droid Store, where you can get free and open source apps that don't track you or display advertisements. A general recommendation of the article series "Take back control! is therefore:

💡Get apps only from the F-Droid Store.

However, this advice cannot always be put into practice 1:1. Many users are still dependent on apps from the Play Store or cannot find a viable alternative in the F-Droid Store. Unfortunately, apps from the Google Play Store are not exactly known for their data economy - but rather the opposite. Most apps from the Google Play Store contain third-party software components that display advertisements to the user or track his activity every step of the way. As a normal user, however, you don't have any insight into the app or can't "see" from the outside whether this poses a risk to security and privacy.

Since the apps from the Play Store are often accompanied by a "loss of control", I will introduce you to the AdAway app from the F-Droid Store in this article. With this app, the loss of control can be minimized by putting a stop to the delivery of (harmful) advertising and the outflow of personal data to dubious third-party providers.

2nd AdAway

AdAway is an open source advertising and tracking blocker for Android, which was originally developed by Dominik Schürmann - currently AdAway is developed by Bruce Bujon. Based on filter lists, connections to advertising and tracking networks are redirected to the local device IP address. This redirection prevents the reloading of advertisements or the transmission of (sensitive) data to third parties.

By the way, AdAway cannot be found in the Play Store because Google no longer allows ad blockers - they simply violate Google's business model. Or to put it another way: Google will not tolerate an app that effectively protects your privacy and security by preventing the reloading of (harmful) advertisements and the outflow of personal data.

Source (🇩🇪) and more info:
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/adaway-werbe-und-trackingblocker-take-back-control-teil6/

Read english translation on TG:
https://t.me/BlackBox_Archiv/376

📡 @NoGoolag 📡 @BlackBox
#android #NoGoogle #guide #part1 #part2 #part4 #part5 #part6 #AdAway #kuketz

Shelter: Isolate Big Brother apps - Take back control! (Part 7)

1. Big Data

The collection, processing and analysis of as much information as possible is Big Data’s core business. In this non-transparent data processing, which is determined by algorithms, personal rights are hardly taken into consideration. This dilemma becomes particularly clear in the Android world: Apps access personal data uninhibitedly and send it unsolicited to the most diverse protagonists. This is exactly what the article series “Take back control!” wants to protect against.

Another piece of the puzzle to achieve this goal is the App Shelter, which locks selected Android apps in a sandbox, depriving them of access to phone books, calendars, images and other data. Curious apps can thus be denied access to sensitive user data.

💡 This article is part of a series of articles:

✅ Android without Google: Take back control! Part 1

✅ LineageOS - Take back control! Part2

✅ Magisk: By the power of Root - Take back control! Part 3 (not yet translated)

✅ AFWall+: Digital Door Controller - Take back control! Part 4

✅ F-Droid: Free and Open Source Apps - Take back control! Part 5

✅ AdAway: Advertising and tracking blocker - Take back control! Part 6

✅ Shelter: Isolate Big Brother apps - Take back control! Part 7

2. Shelter

Shelter is an open source app for Android that can be downloaded from the App-Store F-Droid. Alternatively the app can be downloaded via GitHub or the Google Play Store.

To separate apps, Shelter uses the Android work profiles that Google introduced as early as 2015 to separate private data from business content or apps. The work profile is a specially isolated area in which, for example, data-hungry apps can be stored. In addition to the normal environment in which all apps are normally located, Shelter creates another workspace that is logically separated from the other workspace. From this bunker (Shelter) apps can not access data which are in the normal environment - but all data of apps which are also stored or locked in the Shelter.

👉🏼 Read the fully translated guide:
https://rwtxt.lelux.fi/blackbox/shelter-isolate-big-brother-apps-take-back-control-part-7

👉🏼 Source 🇩🇪:
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/shelter-big-brother-apps-isolieren-take-back-control-teil7/

#android #NoGoogle #guide #part1 #part2 #part4 #part5 #part6 #part7 #kuketz
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Reasons not to use GOOGLE
#NoGoogle #Surveillance
#Censorship

https://stallman.org/google.html

Google accused of secretly feeding personal data to advertisers

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/google-accused-of-secretly-feeding-personal-data-to-advertisers-1.4007629

https://www.ft.com/content/e3e1697e-ce57-11e9-99a4-b5ded7a7fe3f

https://brave.com/google-gdpr-workaround/


#NoGoogle #Surveillance #data #gdpr #google #why

Google exempts its own websites from Chrome's automatic data-scrubbing feature, allowing the ads giant to potentially track you even when you've told it not to.

https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2020/10/19/google_cookie_wipe/

#google #chrome #nogoogle #youtube