Your location, contacts, nearby devices, nearby WiFi, search history, voice query recordings, which apps you install and use and when, a log of activity on your phone, your advertising profile, which accounts you set up on the phone, possibly facial recognition for photos you take, who you call and message (if using default apps) including which phone numbers you connect to, events in your calendar, browsing history (if using default browser) and YouTube activity (if using the YouTube app).
Those are the main ones that are usually mentioned in articles about this. Some of it won’t apply if you use only open source apps and no Google apps. But some of it is baked into the OS and the Play Services, and difficult or impossible to avoid.
Thank you! Location and search history are particularly troubling especially when a user is not even using Google to search. Can Google still see contacts if not using their contacts app?
Location and search history are particularly troubling especially when a user is not even using Google to search.
I dont think that’s what is happening. You said “no precautions”, so they gave you a list of what is collected by default. Google is the default search browser used by the default Google Assistant and the default browser (Chrome, Samsung Internet, etc all use Google Search).
Can Google still see contacts if not using their contacts app?
Probably. Android has a contacts database with which your contacts app interacts. And Google Play Services, which you can’t disable in stock Android, has access to everything, including this database.
Plus they can use location to see who you meet up with, and get their info and their contacts’ info from their phones. One way or another, Google can build up a pretty thorough profile of your social circle.
What are your “other precautions”?
Let’s say the user is taking no other precautions. What information is being shared to Google with stock android?
Your location, contacts, nearby devices, nearby WiFi, search history, voice query recordings, which apps you install and use and when, a log of activity on your phone, your advertising profile, which accounts you set up on the phone, possibly facial recognition for photos you take, who you call and message (if using default apps) including which phone numbers you connect to, events in your calendar, browsing history (if using default browser) and YouTube activity (if using the YouTube app).
Those are the main ones that are usually mentioned in articles about this. Some of it won’t apply if you use only open source apps and no Google apps. But some of it is baked into the OS and the Play Services, and difficult or impossible to avoid.
Thank you! Location and search history are particularly troubling especially when a user is not even using Google to search. Can Google still see contacts if not using their contacts app?
I dont think that’s what is happening. You said “no precautions”, so they gave you a list of what is collected by default. Google is the default search browser used by the default Google Assistant and the default browser (Chrome, Samsung Internet, etc all use Google Search).
To be clear I said “using F-Droid for all apps”.
Probably. Android has a contacts database with which your contacts app interacts. And Google Play Services, which you can’t disable in stock Android, has access to everything, including this database.
Plus they can use location to see who you meet up with, and get their info and their contacts’ info from their phones. One way or another, Google can build up a pretty thorough profile of your social circle.