this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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DeGoogle Yourself

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Who owns your shiny new Pixel 9 phone? You can’t say no to Google’s surveillance (cybernews.com)
submitted 2 months ago by gytrash@feddit.uk to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
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Google's latest flagship smartphone raises concerns about user privacy and security. It frequently transmits private user data to the tech giant before any app is installed. Moreover, the Cybernews research team has discovered that it potentially has remote management capabilities without user awareness or approval.

Cybernews researchers analyzed the new Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone’s web traffic, focusing on what a new smartphone sends to Google.

“Every 15 minutes, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL sends a data packet to Google. The device shares location, email address, phone number, network status, and other telemetry. Even more concerning, the phone periodically attempts to download and run new code, potentially opening up security risks,” said Aras Nazarovas, a security researcher at Cybernews...

... “The amount of data transmitted and the potential for remote management casts doubt on who truly owns the device. Users may have paid for it, but the deep integration of surveillance systems in the ecosystem may leave users vulnerable to privacy violations,” Nazarovas said...

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[–] Chulk@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

In my country, it's the law that a cop is allowed to examine a phone during a traffic stop.

One underrated feature of the Graphene OS is that you can set a duress PIN that wipes your entire phone when entered.

[–] Tazerface@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I have the duress pin/password set, the pin is written on a post-it in the case.

I should clarify, the cop can give the phone a once over but not connect to a machine or clone the phone. Cloning is a bit more involved - legally speaking.

[–] Chulk@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh, I was mostly leaving the comment for other people who might be interested in the feature.

the pin is written on a post-it in the case.

That's not a bad idea. If someone steals the phone, they might inadvertently erase it for you if they find that post-it.

[–] Tazerface@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

I have a new strategy on the Duress. If a thief can easily reset the phone, which is what the Duress password does, they can sell the phone at a pawnshop. I now use a Duress pin that the cops will have access to but a thief wouldn't. Examples of this are date or birth, s.i.n.