Anyone have idea about when Whatsapp close it's service in Windows 10 Mobile ?

[beman39]

My advice is do what I am going to do, get an android phone that is lineageOS compatible (from their lists), and install lineageOS with MicroG (which are open source APIs that spoof google services). MicroG has a non official fork of every form of lineage, that has MicroG bundled. It uses for eg, openstreetmaps instead of google maps.

It's not 100% compatible with every app, but close enough that most things with google dependancies will work. And at least half of your apps can have no google dependancies anyway.

It still contacts google servers when it has to but gives them as little info as possible (strips out the user data, email only). So the most google will know, is SOME of the apps you are using, but not HOW you are using them, or where you are travelling etc.

Then install as much software that doesn't use google APIs or software dependancies as possible (like from fdroid, or the amazon app store).

That's about as much control as you can get on android. It's a hassle, but it's what I'll be doing. Then you can install blackberry apps or microsoft apps or both, and get a fairly non-google experience, and some sort of encrypted chat software.

Another option is buy a blackberry. Most secure version of android, and a lot of it is geared to encryption. Although I don't think that's as private myself.

all good suggestions! but I find it shocking we have to do those steps to get some sort of privacy... and very alarming where the future is heading... gotta read that book george orwell 1984

 

[Drael646464]

all good suggestions! but I find it shocking we have to do those steps to get some sort of privacy... and very alarming where the future is heading... gotta read that book george orwell 1984

It is shocking TBH. I read half of that book. There's an apparently halfway decent movie version too.

I'm kind of hoping the cold tech war with China, and Huawei ban etc, busts open some google free opportunities in the form of a third party app store like aptoide getting much bigger. I mean if you needed any more proof that we are being spied on more than anyone knows, look at how China and the US treat each other's tech.

The list at amazon app store is halfway there (so long as you stay away from their creepy assistant!). So there's a window for that google free list to get big enough. PWAs also represent an opportunity if they grow enough.

Duckduckgo is a solid search engine. You really gotta make IMO, a conscious choice to support private and free alternatives where ever you can, or you are supporting a beast that goes nowhere good, along with all the 'slow boiling frogs' who don't see it.

 

[Drael646464]

But DuckDuckGo isn't as good as Google.

You're right, it's not 'as good as google search', it's 'better than google search'.

*You don't get artificially vetted biased perspectives on political topics w/ DDG (try a side by side search on anything controversial or politically charged, because if you do, you'll see googles results suck; even just search 'trump' DDG returns neutral results about the man, wiki, newsfeeds, twitter etc, google results a tonne of articles complaining about him, heck googles wiki article result is like 7th or something).

Basically, Google doesn't know how to just present information that you request, they want to deliver you their personal opinion.

*You also don't get a whole screen load of ads masquerading as results. In fact, you get basically none (they do use ads for revenue. but they don't dominate your screen, and often aren't there at all)

*Duckduckgo is private and doesn't track your data

Bing, isn't as good as google search (which is why I could never use it). DDG is better. Straight up, if it wasn't private, or I didn't dislike Google, I'd still choose it over google search.

If I search something I don't want instead five lines of ads, and someones personal bias. I just want the thing I actually searched for.

 

[Ryujingt3]

It is shocking TBH. I read half of that book. There's an apparently halfway decent movie version too.

I'm kind of hoping the cold tech war with China, and Huawei ban etc, busts open some google free opportunities in the form of a third party app store like aptoide getting much bigger. I mean if you needed any more proof that we are being spied on more than anyone knows, look at how China and the US treat each other's tech.

The list at amazon app store is halfway there (so long as you stay away from their creepy assistant!). So there's a window for that google free list to get big enough. PWAs also represent an opportunity if they grow enough.

Duckduckgo is a solid search engine. You really gotta make IMO, a conscious choice to support private and free alternatives where ever you can, or you are supporting a beast that goes nowhere good, along with all the 'slow boiling frogs' who don't see it.

Nineteen Eighty Four, I thought, was a fantastic book, and my favourite. The movie was good too. Everyone loves convenience these days, which is why the big tech companies can treat us like they do. We aren't the customers, we are the product.

 

[Drael646464]

About privacy, you should remember that if you're on the internet, you're being tracked. The ISP can track you. Private browsing mode isn't actually private, it only prevent browser from saving your browsing data but doesn't prevent websites from tracking you unless you using a VPN. Technically almost every websites tracking you.

Brave browser blocks website tracking. But yeah, you gotta do a lot of different things to minimize it. You can, for example, use the 1.1.1.1 DNS service, instead of your ISP's service, so they don't have a register of the IP's you visit. Then there are things like the e-mail addresses you use to register places. The more integrated you are in to say, the Google ecosystem, the more that tracks you, on Android or PC. If you use anything service like youtube, or facebook, it tracks your interests etc.

It's not so much that you can be invisible on the www/ip internet (well unless you use tor, or similar instead), more that you can be more or less visible, depending on how much you care, or are willing to do.

I think for a lot of purposes end to end encrypted messaging is a good start. Whatsapp, whilst it does store your contact info, is end to end, for messaging, attachments, and video calling. And it's popular. Add to that brave browser, 1.1.1.1 and a vpn, and you are pretty private, aside from the services/accounts you might use.

That said, most email isn't secure. And there is no widely adopted solution. And you'd have to use social media quite selectively, or focus on models without an advertising monetization.