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Hello.
I am buying a new smartphone these days.
Which one do you think is better for privacy?
I prefer Android os. I know it is a contra sense somehow,  I am open to suggestions (but apple , I don't use their products)

You may not use Apple, but this doesn’t mean you can’t start using it now. :D

I was a Android fag once, but I’m full on Apple’s ecosystem now. And I really like it.

I don't use Apple's products too because they are expensive (compares to my funds) but the fact is their products have good life-span.
Maybe you have different reasons but I don't like Apple because I want to use products with open-ecosystem.

For Android Os smartphones, if I have to choose between companies out there, I would like to choose Samsung. That is always risky to use smartphones from China, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, etc. Another choice is Sony but the truth is Sony has nearly been fallen behind in the smartphone industry. Generally, I would prefer to use products from Japanese and South Korea, if not the USA. because they are reliable.

Hello, active Reddit r/privacy dude here.

Your best bet(in my opinion at least) would be to look for a phone, preferably a Pixel or an older Nexus device, that has good support for custom ROMs(check xda-developers). As if you really want decent privacy, you're going to need to install a custom ROM like CopperheadOS or LineageOS, which are far better privacy-wise. Not sure if you want to go this far, but yea.

Note: rooting and unlocking the bootloader of your Android phone can cause you security problems though. So I suggest doing a lot of research first before going on with this if you choose to go this path. Also, depending on what phone model you're using, certain custom ROMs can be unstable and have some hiccups here and there. So again, do your due diligence.

If you're not willing to spend some time into doing some tinkering though, probably an iPhone. As far as I know an iPhone is still better than stock(and untinkered) Android privacy wise.

I am not an Android fag or even a fan, I just need an open ecosystem.apple doesn't even have a proper USB cable, no deal for me.
If they charged half the price I could consider, but not 5x the price.


Their life span is bad as well. My last one, which I am using now, is a Motorola g4 from 2015. Apple customers change their phones every year or so.

I am not using or even considering Chinese phones. I know the price is better, However I prefer to give my data to Google than to Chinese because there are still some laws in the us to protect privacy , but none in China.


The problem with iPhone is that is does almost everything I need much worse. Can't connect to anything, price is absurd, reduced life span, software incompatibly after few years and so on
Rooting device is not in my options as well, as I think security>privacy.

I can see we are still lacking any option for privacy when it comes to smartphones....

I will probably get another Motorola or Samsung

If you really want really great privacy, probably an old  90s Nokia phone. Which is something obviously you don't want.

As for rooting, that's true. Rooting can definitely make you a lot more vulnerable. But this completely depends on the user. But in general, yea it's definitely more risky security wise. Yeap, unfortunately there are compromises for everything.  :-\

Best of luck in deciding. You just gotta decide on which aspects you can sacrifice for better privacy.

From security perspective, apple devices are comparatively safer than others.

However, if you decide to settle for android — make sure to choose stock android, custom skins are prone to privacy flaws, make sure model you are buying has guaranteed next few years of updates or at least security updates. Avoid Chinese brands, they have been accused of backdoors on many occasions. Avoid rooting your phone.

You may want to avoid Motorola if you're going for privacy. It's owned by Lenovo (https://qz.com/172207/why-google-just-sold-motorola-to-lenovo-for-3-billion/), a Chinese company, which may be compelled by the CCP (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/05/huawei-would-have-to-give-data-to-china-government-if-asked-experts.html) to hand over user data by law.

It's true that we don't have a lot of options with the Android/iOS duopoly, but Apple is probably the lesser of two evils privacy-wise. I would also argue that they have longer lifespans, considering they update their devices for up to five years unlike Android OEMs, most of which only update for two. They have competitive battery life now too, contrary to their past reputation. I don't even think they're necessarily overpriced anymore, with the iPhone 11 being even cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S10. You should probably give them a second look, and that's coming from someone who has primarily used Samsung phones for the past 6 years or so.

There will be first blockchain phone (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5189616.0) released in 2020. Maybe changing your "new mobile, that you are buying these days" to this Function X will be a good future option? Right now there is a pre-order period.

Correction: CopperheadOS is no longer open source, and was taken over by a third party who are attempting to exploit its users and monetize it. It was forked in to GrapheneOS, which is the original product and still open-source. Available here: https://github.com/GrapheneOS and https://grapheneos.org/. I'd also add Ubuntu Touch (https://ubuntu-touch.io/) to the list as a potential OS to consider.

Regardless of which phone you choose, I'd look in to downloading and using both Orbot (https://guardianproject.info/apps/orbot/) and NetGuard (https://www.netguard.me/). Orbot lets you choose which apps to route through the Tor network (or all your traffic, if you desire), while NetGuard lets you individually block apps from accessing the internet at all, preventing them from "phoning home" or tracking you.

Samsung SX models are overpriced as well, but they have products with better costxbenefit. However, I will try to avoid Samsung (because of its price, as I don't like to pay for a brand) and Motorola because they are owned by chinese.

The problem with apple is the incompatibility and the price (which is 2-3x the price comparing the same hardware with other brands). The incompatibility is also a no deal for me, no USD, not even a headphone connection...  I need compatible devices and gadgets.

Edit: I  was thinking about an Asus (about 250 usd), but Samsung S9 is relatively cheap in brazil (about 370 usd).
An Iphone 11 is about 1100usd LOL.

Well, with Android, whether you like it or not, Google will be forcing you give up some privacy. And in time it may be more than only Google (Facebook and Dropbox may be another examples).
And I think that Apple phones are not really better privacy-wise.


Then maybe using your laptop for sensitive info would be the way.
Smartphones just give too many opportunities to the "curious" ones.
And with your phone's tethering you can allow your laptop go online basically anywhere you want.

So you want a cheap smartphone on which privacy is at a high level, and you also discard any such device manufactured in China? You have to know that it pretty much narrows your choice and that privacy is something that you will have a hard time getting with your smartphone. These devices are actually little spy boxes, and you can only choose the lesser evil, or whether you prefer to be spied on by Chinese, American, or some other country.

Apple manufactures its devices in China, and Samsung is just recently close his factories there although they now claim to continue manufacturing in that country. China is main player in this business, and it is almost impossible to produce a competitively priced smartphone if they do not participate in it.

I can only say that I bought the Huawei P30 a few months ago and that it is a premium phone which has superior design, excellent performance and in my opinion a great user experience. Of course, that comes with the price which is now some 550-600 EUR in Europe.

Good question. As far as I know, there is no really good privacy focused phone
Personally, I'm Android fan, so I will suggest to buy device with this OS. I really don't know in what aspects Apple is better in terms of privacy.
So, I suggest to look at Android One devices. It comes with stock Android and almost no bloatware pre-installed. Now in market you can find Nokia, some Xiaomi, Motorola and LG models with Android One.
Huawei makes really good phones, but I doubt they are good at privacy. And in general, there is no really good option if you're looking for privacy. Offcourse, you always can buy legendary Nokia 3310, it not only gives privacy, but it's also dangerous gun :D
So, now seriously, best thing what you can do now - buy Android phone and use some apps which can help to improve privacy.
Yeah, phone with such hardware and characteristics doesn't looks like good investment. And I think that phone without Google services may be not very convenient to use daily. But you have to choose in this case - privacy or convenience.

iOS is not good in terms of privacy in my opinion. I would advise you to go for an Android. Get a Xiaiomi, it has a lot of features including guest mode. Guest mode is just like running two different devices on one device.

I doubt you can buy any real privacy oriented smartphone,
but you can customize it and install F-droid, to prevent google recording everything.

Latest Samsung also have integrated blockchain wallet, so that would be my selection.

At the end, I decided to buy a Samsung a30 model. Very good cost benefit in my country.

I think it is better to be spied by Google and Samsung than spied by Chinese lol

I'm an Apple guy myself. I don't know what some users are saying that it's not private but what I know is that the personal information that is gathered on the phone is going not going to be used depending on what you are doing if everything is legal, I think you have nothing to worry about [1] (https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/). The optimization of applications is what I like about Apple, and even after a few years, it still supported. They support up to 4 years of the models, so you don't have to worry about software incompatibility (supports iPhone 6s with the latest version of iOS)

Anyways, I don't think you would buy an Apple anyway, so there's no point of convincing. I want to share what I think about it.

If I have to pick, I'll choose Pixel (if Apple is not included), but on this list that I searched for, Blackberry is #1. Maybe it's worth checking out. [2] (https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/5-best-phones-for-privacy-security-0176106/)

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A30 is a good model too, not bad for the price also. I don't think the depreciation rate of the phone would be reasonable, unlike the flagship phones.

Between android and apple, I pretty much like android a very user-friendly smartphone and cheap but Apple devices are more secure but quite expensive.
why not have both if you can afford, there is an android app that is not available on apple and vice versa,  have an apple for your important sensitive files and android for compatibility with others and gaming stuff.

@op since you now have bought the phone and if you arent't looking for any (more) opinions, should this thread be closed?

That's it. At least there are transparent rules in the US and the South Korea, where locals can raise their voices and contribute to build up better laws over time. In China, there is no transparency and all things controlled and manipulated by the governments.

I think the smartphone is the best Android smartphone for privacy based Android smartphones include Xiaomi, Samsung these phones protect their privacy and are very cheap in price. Most people use it There are also Apple phones but many are not used because they are expensive Xiaomi, Samsung, these phones are risky and very safe.

Must say I'd go for pixel too. Especially for a mid-ranger, probably Pixel 3a. Not only it's much cheaper than Pixel 3XL, but most of the internal hardware was also retained including the Titan M chip which helps you protect your sensitive data.

Based on my experience, Samsung's non-flagship phones are really a no-no. The phone would only last a year or so then you'd feel how slow your device is. With Pixel, you won't need to worry about the depreciation of your device because google keeps you updated for at least 4 years. +++ Pixel's camera is a beast.

In my opinion I think it's a very solid phone, with pretty good specs, certainly a good value for money. I hope you still buy a model that has 4B RAM, because I see that there is also a model that has 3GB RAM, and I have to tell you that RAM is very important, especially since the operating system alone takes at least half of it.

Regarding spying, if Samsung is using some parts from China, it is possible to spy on users through hardware as well. In my opinion this is not too important anyway, such things simply cannot be escaped in the modern world. Good luck with your new phone ;)

Android isn't bad to protect you privacy but it's not good as Apple because thet've proven a lot in protecting their user's privacy by not allowing stolen device be acessible via trying to crack it with computers. Anyway, if you really know howto protect yourself with windows computers, you can apply it in using android too because they have a lot of similarities in terms of priacy approach.

I think this thread might be important for future users who wants to buy or discuss about privacy on smartphones. Look at how many good replies after yours.


For some reason, there are no pixel models in Brazil, so I can't buy one. I can, but i will have to pay a higher price which is not worth.


Thanks. I had a Samsung (an S4) and I liked it very much, it worked for years. My old motoG4 was almost 5 years old, I was pretty satisfied with the durability and it was in good shape, except for the camera (which is much worse than the current smartphones) and the glass broke (so i decided to replace my smartphone.)

most of the latest Samsung Android has adopted Knox Security System which encrypts data that can only be accessed manually by each user, they are quite good with privacy, especially Samsung S10 which has implemented the Samsung Blockchain keystore. I believe nothing is really safe for smartphone privacy, they still have a policy to spy on their users, who are already part of the tracking system policy. But so far their OS has always guaranteed the user's financial activity.

lol
Why do you think it is 'better' to by spied by anyone?
Google is Not good, just because it's name starts with a letter G  :P

One guide how to reduce tracking:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2019/02/14/your-smartphone-tracking-you-how-stop-sharing-data-ads/2839642002/

That´s so obvious, and if you read posts in this thread before writing you would know, because we talked about it already here.

Ofc being spied by different people is completely different. Do you prefer being watched by your mom or  by your boss??
Does it makes any difference for you being spied by a friend or by a criminal?

USA (Google) and North Korea (Samsung) have laws to protect individual rights and their privacy, while China doesn't.

Google and Samsung have more legal limitations about what they can spy and what they can do with the data collect.

I have used some lot of phones but for me, the best phone for privacy is samsung. There are lots of feature in samsung that can help you to locate your phone. To back up your files like iphone. Because there are account. You cannot off or reset the samsung without some of the password you set. That is why i am using samsung now.

If you want privacy you'll have to look elsewhere. Of course it will also mean a reduced app ecosystem, but then again it might be for the best, especially if you want a phone and not a gaming platform disguised as such :)

Try this:


https://itsfoss.com/pinephone/
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/11/pinephone-specs-price-release-date
https://news.softpedia.com/news/the-pinephone-open-source-linux-smartphone-is-now-available-for-pre-order-528169.shtml

They say its about 150$.

Thanks for te the suggestion
Unfortunately I could not find this one in my location and I have already bought it. But good to know.

It is sad to see that we cannot block all those trackers in our mobile phones, as they are built deep inside in.

I know you already bought a phone but: If you really value your privacy, use a Pinephone (https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/) or a Purism Librem 5. But the hardware is not that good and the software is worse.

I like to be free, so i definitely prefer Android. But I've heard apple ist a bit more private/secure.

So you need to set priorities ...

You can increase your privacy by rooting your mobile but has potential risks as well so if you are a techie the rooting will give you full access and can disable any access to any apps even for built in apps.

I believe the product is on pre-sale orders anyway, but its something to consider next time anyone wants to seriously go this path.

Indeed the hardest thing is, replacing the OS, and having the new OS recognize all the hardware components. I don't think Samsung is any good for that.

Rooting can help mitigate things somewhat, but it can also open vectors for malware, its a double edged sword. Android is rather poorly designed, but iOS isn't much better so never think you are better in there (perhaps its worse if you lower your guard).

Full free open source (Linux with corresponding userspace) is the only way to be sure. While Android does use Linux, it doesn't use free and open source userspace, and what good is a kernel surrounded by garbage? Its like Microsoft replacing their NT kernel with Linux (which some rumors about a plan for doing it actually exist). And Apple falls in the same category.

Besides Pine there is also Librem. There are not many projects oriented for secure and privacy smartphone/tablet, it needs hardware documented so people can use the software they want, something the likes of Samsung don't care or don't wan't.

One thing you could do when rooting, is remove all the garbage the phone comes with, proceed to install F-Droid and install free open source counterparts. Its also a good exercise, because if you ever get an alternative OS phone, you might find you have F-Droid but NOT Google's playstore, so either way its good to familiarize yourself with what is available in the free and open source app space.

For example in my phone i replaced the camera app with Open Camera. Its so much better, it isn't funny how people actually PAY for worse replacements out there... You can find apps for most basic things in there, including basic phone, sms handling and contacts.

Of course not all phones can be rooted, or are easy to. There is a specialized forum for that. And chance of bricking it is high.

I'm using android and xiaomi devices for a lot time.
I am pretty satisfied with the services they provide. However, I am not sure if you can achieve high levels of privacy any more. Smartphones are made to give access to many functions of your data.

Interesting.
I checked lineage site, it doesn't seem to be focused on features. I guess they are more focused on privacy, which is a very good thing.
The way I would handle this is to have a seperate phone for the Privacy ROM and another phone for feature-rich ROM. Will then use the privacy phone for security purposes and the feature-rich one for other things.

Data gives them more money than selling their mobiles but actually the one who gives access to the app store get more benefits from the manufacturer because they need to follow the terms mentioned in order to have play store on their mobiles.