DeGoogle Yourself

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A community for those that would like to get away from Google.

Here you may post anything related to DeGoogling, why we should do it or good software alternatives!

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Who owns your shiny new Pixel 9 phone? You can’t say no to Google’s surveillance (cybernews.com)

submitted 1 month ago by gytrash@feddit.uk to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

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Google's latest flagship smartphone raises concerns about user privacy and security. It frequently transmits private user data to the tech giant before any app is installed. Moreover, the Cybernews research team has discovered that it potentially has remote management capabilities without user awareness or approval.

Cybernews researchers analyzed the new Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone’s web traffic, focusing on what a new smartphone sends to Google.

“Every 15 minutes, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL sends a data packet to Google. The device shares location, email address, phone number, network status, and other telemetry. Even more concerning, the phone periodically attempts to download and run new code, potentially opening up security risks,” said Aras Nazarovas, a security researcher at Cybernews...

... “The amount of data transmitted and the potential for remote management casts doubt on who truly owns the device. Users may have paid for it, but the deep integration of surveillance systems in the ecosystem may leave users vulnerable to privacy violations,” Nazarovas said...

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[–] cm0002@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (12 children)

do you have root access to YOUR phone?

Yes. On a Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Ironically, Google Pixels are among the few (US available) brands that still let you fully unlock the BL

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (11 children)

Yes. On a Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Not if you run the stock OS you don't.

My comment was generic. The vast majority of Android users don't unlock their bootloader and install a custom ROM. The people who do that are fringe users.

My point was that when the normal state of affairs is Google controlling YOUR property that YOU paid with YOUR hard-earned, and you have to be technically competent and willing to risk bricking your device to regain control, that's full-blown dystopia right there.

[–] vikingtons@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (10 children)

out of interest, what use cases do you have in mind that require root access?

I used to use a root based solution to block ads system wide via hosts but now I just use ublock origin in Firefox.

[–] MasterBuilder@lemmy.one 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That only blocks for the browser. What about your apps? I never see add banners or popups in apps as i use adaway. Further, I can customize with well maintained blocklists that include other categories like malware and harvesting sites.

[–] vikingtons@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I'm aware, I used to use adaway several years ago.

I had the same feelings as you, in that I needed to have system-wide ad blocking, but I revaluated that requirement a couple years ago and realised that I don't use any apps featuring banner ads and such.

Several of my apps will just fall back to system webview and Firefox (+uBo) will power that too.

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