It stems from a blind hatred for GrapheneOS and its users as a whole.

I have wondered why they haven’t taken the opportunity to come out with a Graphene-lite for non-Pixels

The issue I see is simply a lack of developers to do so. Trying to split the team between two mostly different projects would most likely cripple both.

This spreadsheet is a very helpful comparison of the different messaging apps. I’ve been using SimpleX for quite some time now, and the only issue I have is some lag on the iOS client.

It’s open-source and recommended by PrivacyGuides

Very helpful, thank you! Raivo was, unfortunately, sold out to a company months ago. Many people, like myself, flocked to 2FAS. It’s nice to know that other options are popping up.

Aegis is Android only.

In terms of privacy, using a normal credit/debit card provides very little protection.

If you close that prompt it will ask to choose local/cloud storage and enter your master password. Once I did that all of my keys showed up.

Sadly they didn’t show up for me. Best of luck exporting your codes o7

Edit: I’ve been really happy with 2FAS as an alternative.

Correct, however this issue primary affects US citizens, given that driver’s licenses aren’t the only ID the DMV takes pictures for (e.g. the aforementioned Real ID)

Just because mass surveillance is already happening doesn’t mean we should accept it as our only option. While it’s true that governments and corporations are collecting data on us, there is still merit in pushing back against these practices. The point of privacy is not to hide everything and live in the woods, the point of privacy is to have control over what data you share, when you share it, and with whom you share it with. The problem isn’t facial recognition itself, the problem is living in the woods shouldn’t be the only way to avoid it. We should be able to opt out. What may seem fine to you is not always fine with others. That’s why threat models exist, after all.

Many people’s threat models, like my own, are against mass surveillance. This falls under that category, even if it’s being handled responsibly. The issue is people have no way to opt out, and there is a lack of transparency about the use of facial recognition.

Is this because I am using a free tier VPN? so it’s not functioning properly etc…

Free tier VPN services often come at the cost of some privacy and security features, but ProtonVPN will still protect you against IP address leakage regardless.

Else google fixed my location based on my previous location history?

Google stores location information indefinitely, so even if you are using a VPN right now it will still have a history of your real location.

Some other ways your location can get leaked to Google:

• Location access for websites
• Using stock Android or ChromeOS logged into that Google account
• Installing Google apps on your computer
• DNS leaks (e.g. through TunnelVision or a custom DNS over your VPN)
• WebRTC leakage (this is a technicality and your VPN should protect against this. The uBlock Origin extension also helps)

Hope this helps!

Cellular providers don’t want you being able to switch from carrier to carrier, and to prevent this they make sure you can’t change certain settings like OEM unlocking.

P.S. Android allows you to wipe eSIM data, but I’m not sure how securely it does that.

I’d looked into third party unlocking services, but I could tell that it was most likely almost never legitimate, and so I never tried any.

I’m aware that carrier unlocking and OEM unlocking are two separate things, but apparently I was under the misconception that (since OEM unlocking being disabled is due to a carrier lock) I would be able to OEM unlock after carrier unlocking. Thank you for informing me that that is not the case. Do you know specifically which carriers besides T-Mobile and Verizon disable the setting?

What would keep people from just taking a stolen phone to t-mo to have them unlock it without this?

Phones can be marked as lost/stolen by reporting the device’s IMEI number, but this one was not flagged under any suspicious activity. The owner simply didn’t carrier unlock it, for whatever reason.

You need to make sure the phone is unlocked before you buy it.

The reason I ended up with a carrier locked phone is because of miscommunication that wasn’t on my end. The phone I intended to buy was carrier unlocked.

Thank you, that helps a lot!

I have made it a point to avoid iCloud, and occasionally I will find apps that have been enabled to sync with iCloud that were previously disabled. I am the proud owner of a zero kilobyte iCloud account. (And the proud owner of a brand new GrapheneOS device. See you, Apple!)

What made you choose Booky McBookface over other apps? Have you tried other apps and found problems you didn’t like?

I’ve found I automatically compartmentalize my mobile accounts from my desktop accounts, so I have never had the need to sync my KeePass database. Do you have any concerns with KDEConnect I should know about?

Thanks for your suggestions! I guess I hadn’t checked if there was already a backup service built in. I checked out the Linux app for Stremio, and it’s largely just a privacy respecting catalog given that you need to pay for the underlying streaming service, unless you torrent of course.