Right now, for the wider population, it it a heaven sent option compared to Whatsapp, FB messenger etc. Break those bonds first and keep the wheel turning.

Chants of “aye aye… AI” resound

Ah, thank you. I’ve been a twit and not realised.

There are different levels to the approach. I went through each class of ermissions to see which app used them and stopped LOTS. I thought I was going to make my phone useless, but everything works just fine.

Not yet showing on search of F-droid

Please can you support the honeypot comment? Both Privacy Tools and Privacy guides and others recommend it. There is a reasonable free tier and a paid tier. I don’t see the honeypot.

Just get the f out of gmail. Almost anything else is better. Dont hold off for perfection as it doesn’t exist. I use Proton and Tuta. I won’t renew Proton because CEO is a wanker. Migration to Tuta was good and they have Tuta calendar.

As we say in my home town, “Wankers!”. I need to have this WhatsApp BS as its the only way to stay connected with older relatives and work groups. I’m using RethinkDNS on my phone and have blocked as many Meta DNS and network links as I can find online. Exactly none of them show up on my firewall logs! The connections in/ out appear to be via “safe” routes, which if blocked then break wider functionality. To use yet another completely unheard of home town phrases, “Bastards”.

For Android:

1. Use ADB (or similar tools) to remove Facebook, Meta, Twatter, Instagram, etc., from all your Android devices.
2. Use a tool like RethinkDNS or other firewall to block block block. If using RethinkDNS, apply good blockers too.
3. If using a firewall that uses your VPN slot, setup wireguard to use your VPN host
4. Have different browsers on your device e.g. Brave, IronFox, Cromite. Follow online guides to set up.
5. Use DuckDuckGo, SearXNG or Mullvadleta to search
6. Never access Facebook, Insta, Twitter etc. from your mobile device. In fact, if you have the right firewall / blocking set up, you simply cannot.
7. Do as much online shopping from a laptop / PC with a secure browser. Also, have about 3 different browsers there too.
8. If you MUST use Facebook etc., only do it from a browser on your laptop / PC.

Just my personal strategy. My firewall logs show its quite effective but not fully impervious.

This is the way

I use Cromite and Brave (yeah yeah) plus IronFox via Accrescent.
Brave may well have undesireables like the CEO, cryptocurrency etc., but so easy to switch off. Use your device with RethinkDNS (with or without Wireguard configured) to remove further wrinkles.

Aimed entirely to appease and impress the many MAGA / Trump voting dumbasses.

Definitely have multiple browsers. IronFox is a great option. I use Brave as it simply works with the onboard filters and hardening. There are a few easy guides to walk through the settings changes that improve the picture.

That works for me, but how do the browser builders achieve that privacy AND retain at least reasonable useability for normal / majority users?

I’ll he RethinkDNS for its firewall. It took me a while to work out how to use it (not very skillful at these things), but ever since, I’ve felt much safer. Rightly or wrongly

I’ve been using LibraWolf on desktop for several years now. It’s just far simpler than modifying standard Firefox. for my personal needs.

Here in the UK, many typical phone users already assume that their data is shared anyway. Every person that i spoke to about this today asked why I think it’s a problem as they have nothing to hide. A worrying position.