…within reason. I know that the top answer will be to flash a different OS on your device. A lot of us are not at that point right now.

So I was texting with my wife in Spanish and suddenly a system bubble popped up, “would you like to translate this to English?” At a minimum, this means that Google is reading the words on my screen at all times to detect the language. I don’t know if this is possibly done on device, but translation certainly isn’t. I’ve already changed my system translation app to Translate You.

I’ve noticed other times that Google watches or listens in the background. It has a feature to detect ambient songs playing, for example.

What other standard settings should I check for to prevent Google from watching and listening to my phone in the background?

Edit: I was not using a Google messeging app at the time. It was detecting the text from another app. The specific setting in this case was to switch off “Live Translate,” in System settings.

  • rah@feddit.ukEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    If it’s Android with Google apps, it isn’t your phone.

  • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    …within reason. I know that the top answer will be to flash a different OS on your device. A lot of us are not at that point right now.

    As long as you know the real answer already.

    Do a factory reset on the phone, disable EVERY app you don’t want to use (app info, disable works in modern AOSP even for apps you can’t uninstall like youtube)

    Don’t link your google account to the phone.

    Test your phone by saying “OK Google” and making sure it doesn’t respond.

    Slowly install the apps you want / need, testing the “ok google” and spanish text to see if it triggers some data-scraping service.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 months ago

    Anything that runs the Android version that came with it will gather data on you and short of permanently disabling the data connection, you will not be able to escape it. Google gives back door access to everything it wants, constantly sends encrypted data packets to its servers that only they know what they contain and doesn’t give you the ability to stop any of it.

    If you have a Pixel phone installing GrapheneOS is incredibly easy. It gives you full control over what the apps installed on it are allowed to do on your phone, including Google’s if you wish to install them (unlike on other phones where the privacy options are grayed out for them and permanently enabled). Mind you, you will lose some functionality if you block everything. But you are empowered to decide which apps you trust to do what on your own phone and disable what you don’t need.

    If you have something else than a Pixel, LineageOS is an option, however the installation process might be more complicated.

    Mind you, with the FOSS alternatives you will sometimes experience some jank or advanced features that don’t work. But it is a tiny price to pay to know you’re not giving your data away. It has gotten far better in the last few years as well, at least from my experience with GrapheneOS

    • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 months ago

      Heliboard is excellent. I’ve been using the privacy focused FUTO keyboard, which meets my needs a little better. It’s not open source, but it is source available, so I trust it as long as that’s the case. Otherwise, heliboard would easily be my top choice.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    I don’t know how helpful it will be, but probably the best thing to do is to just find ways to decrease its use. For me, I made two big changes:

    1. Bought a step counter.
    2. Bought an alarm clock.

    Those two purchases mean I can turn my phone off at night completely and only have to have it on during the day when I’m actually using it.

    That’ll help cut down on the data collection. Technologically, I don’t think there’s a way to have it on 24/7 and completely turn off its native data collecting elements.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 months ago

      If you do need to have it on 24/7, the two biggest changes you can make are turning off location services and mic/content access on all of the apps you use.

      It’s not a 100% solution, but it’ll cut down on a lot of the nonsense.

      • meco03211@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 months ago

        Now if only there was a way to make it quit nagging me to turn on location every time I try to use maps. I fucking know location is off you stupid fucking “smart” phone.

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
          0·
          2 months ago

          I have mine set so I’m prompted to enable my location ‘this time only’, so I get a popup to prompt me whenever I open a maps app. The other options I have are to enable it ‘when app is in use’ and ‘always’, neither of which I like, personally.

          I’m not sure if that’s a universal thing though.

  • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    0·
    2 months ago

    I don’t care if I’m the most downvoted for this, and I read your disclaimer but… iPhone. I loved Android but switched to iOS after playing with my partner’s phone and I couldn’t be happier. All the weird privacy invasive things like Siri (which I aways have disabled), image recognition/search, FaceID, and all that are on-device and send no data out. My current phone is six years old and works perfectly, and I’ve never reformatted it.

    I know lemmy hates Apple, but if you want a phone where an advertising company isn’t constantly spying on everything you do and don’t want to fiddle with installing a different OS, it’s amazing.

    • hightrix@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 months ago

      This is the answer.

      Don’t buy a phone made by an advertising company if you don’t want everything you use it for to feed ads data.

        • GoogleSellsAds@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          2 months ago

          Are you seriously that dumb that you’re comparing selling ads in a store (the App Store) with selling ads on every other inch of the internet?

          There is quite some difference between selling ad-space in a store and having ads as your one and only business model. You wouldn’t know of course and that’s why you are a Google fanboy.

    • pop@lemmy.ml
      11·
      2 months ago

      I know lemmy hates Apple, but if you want a phone where an advertising company isn’t constantly spying on everything you do and don’t want to fiddle with installing a different OS, it’s amazing.

      Ignorance is truly bliss, isn’t it?

      https://searchads.apple.com/

      All the weird privacy invasive things like Siri (which I aways have disabled), image recognition/search, FaceID, and all that are on-device and send no data out

      Did you check their source code? monitored their network traffic with mitm proxy? or just believed what Apple told ya?

      Wanna try another talking point you “heard” to feel better about using Apple?

  • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    You could avoid Google messaging apps, avoid Gmail, avoid Chrome and replace the Google keyboard with something else. But I don’t think you can really stop Google watching and listening on stock Android. That’s why the replacement OSs exist.