Today I’m so excited to feature Hakeem Anwar from
for this weeks guest post Tuesday. We were connected by a member of this very community which I think is so cool.Hakeem is the CEO of a privacy focused phone company.
Today he’s giving us an open look inside with a breakdown of how to do phone privacy right.
So take it all in. Be sure to show some love with a like, a comment and a restack. Also if you choose to, please subscribe to his publication.
Enjoy the post!!
#The Operating System
The operating system (OS) is the brain of the phone.
Through it you access all of your phone’s features, its settings, and its apps.
There’s only one big problem with big tech phones.
Their operating system is a black box. No one can see inside of it. The code is hidden to everyone, except the company that built it.
We call this proprietary software.
So Google and Apple know exactly what’s happening on billions of phones they run. But you don’t.
Thankfully, security researchers from Trinity College in Ireland decided to help us.
First they got an iPhone and Android. They set each one up as ‘privately’ as possible, selecting the most private options when given the choice.
Then they set up a test, they tricked iPhones and Androids into thinking their network was an official big tech server, and so the phones began sending information to it - unencrypted.
They sat in the middle and passed these requests through to Google and Apple, and returned them back to the phones - the phones were none the wiser.
And from this test we realized several things:
First, the operating system doesn’t work alone. It connects back to dozens of big tech services.
Some you’d expect like updates, location services, and advertising.
And then others you don’t expect.
Your virtual assistant, web browser, music platforms, and video players all phone home. Even the alarm clock!
Almost everything on your big tech phone is logging and sending data back.
Second, is that big tech collects a TON of information every single day.
In this study, Apple collected 52KB every 12 hours. Google collected 1MB of data in 12 hours.
Doesn’t seem like much, but this is a lot of text. With an average word size of 5 characters, Apple would have collected a document of 10,400 words, and Google would have collected 200,000 words - every 12 hours.
Now imagine that for the billions of phones that are out there. No wonder these companies are investing billions into massive data centers.
Third, the data is all uniquely assigned to you through unique identifiers.
Hardware identifiers that uniquely identify your device, SIM identifiers that uniquely identify your cell service, and advertising IDs that … well, we already know what those do.
These unique IDs ensure they know exactly who is doing what.
And finally, we learned things that no one could have expected.
Both companies track the WiFi networks you’re connected to. And even the devices that are connected on the same network.
This is exactly how big tech can track you no matter where you go. It doesn’t matter which country you’re in or whether you switch SIM cards.
They even track you between devices.
And remember, the researchers picked the most ‘private’ settings during setup, so much for that.
And all of this happens because we choose from one of the two companies presented to us.
There’s a better option if you know where to look.
#Opening up the box
You can get more transparency by using an open-source phone. The code for these phones is available for all to see. Its not a black box, its an open one.
We call these phones “de-googled” phones. They run the Android operating system, which is maintained by Google.
At first this might seem counter-intuitive. But the Android Platform is actually an open-source base for others to build on. The code is available to all.
Companies like Google and Samsung take the open source base and add their own layers ontop that track you from every angle. This is what gets sold in stores.
On the other hand, independent developers take the open source base and build their own operating systems, stripping any tracking out and adding features that improve security and respect your privacy. You have to install these OS’ yourself.
My team and I have been monitoring these de-googled phones using the same methods mentioned in the study. There are many honorable projects, but we’ve found one that’s better than the rest.
Of course it makes zero connections to big tech by default.
Its not only private, it also tremendously improves Android with lower level security features. It gives you features you can’t find on a modern phone.
Things like only exposing certain contacts to apps. Or creating an encrypted sandbox within your phone. Here you can install apps that will be completely separate from your main phone.
So if you really need to use big tech apps, you can keep them separate from your personal life.
Its the most secure and private phone you can get today.
This operating system is called GrapheneOS, and we’ve built our private phone solution Above Phone on top of it.
We’ve helped thousands of people switch over, don’t worry - its not difficult.
It looks and feels similar to Android. Even iPhone users like it.
This phone works with any cell service (including eSIMs), runs most apps, and makes zero connections to big tech.
Its not just an alternative, its better than big tech.
#Going Above
Since 2021, we’ve been committed to making private open-source solutions easy for everyone.
We provide de-googled phones, Linux laptops, and important software services as part of Above Suite.
Its a whole ecosystem of technology that works well together and respects you.
Here’s some of the things you can do:
It just works: cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, Hotspot, Camera
Download apps from open-source app stores, and privately from official app stores
Control every single permission. Killswitches for your camera and microphone.
Navigate completely offline using downloaded maps & GPS. No internet required.
Run multiple phone numbers on one phone using an internet phone number
Use encrypted communications to chat, video conference, and make calls
Worried it might be hard?
Every phone comes with a free 45 minute support call with one of our support engineers. That’s right, a real person - not a robo voice.
Plus you get free email & chat support, access to videos, guides, and much more.
Use code FIREWALL50 for $50 off your new phone.
Shop here: https://abovephone.com/firewall
About us: https://abovephone.com/about
Want to learn more? Check out our monthly webinars on the phone at: https://abovephone.com/webinar
Thanks again for participating!!
If you’d like to be featured in the next Guest Post Tuesday please comment, message me or connect with me on Signal at - btfprivacy.87
Until next time…
Stay Informed. Stay Secure. Stay Curious.
 | A guest post by
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GrapheneOS?
What happens to my pics and music?