🚨 #Google is collecting phone numbers /SIM from your phone by default now without asking for consent, here is how to disable it

I have a test phone with stock Android (and hence Google services) to test how the apps I develop behave there etc.

The other day I woke up with a notification in that phone, out of the blue Google was telling me they "verified my phone number" basically they stole/collected my phone number from my phone and sent it to their servers without any consent.

I know the trust bar is very low, but even then I didn't expect Google to do this.

Here is how you can disable the collecting of your phone numbers which is on by default:

Go to Settings -> Google -> All services -> Privacy & security -> Phone number verification. See attached screenshot.

Or even better: switch to #GrapheneOS #LineageOS or other #degoogled systems

Please boost and spread with your not-so-techie friends that might be using stock Google phones

EDIT: corrected typo: it is "all services" not "all devices"

#boost #boost4reach #security #privacy #android

I respect the work that Signal has done, and Signal has been a great leader in pushing e2ee over the past 15 years. Signal can also do better on push. It is not a binary choice, other options provide much improved privacy with smaller hit on battery usage. @unifiedpush does that and falls back to Google push for devices that don't have #UnifiedPush built-in. @fdroidorg is also helping to get it integrated into #CalyxOS #LineageOS etc https://f-droid.org/2022/12/18/unifiedpush.html

1/

UnifiedPush: a decentralized, open-source push notification protocol | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository

A modern Android smartphone relies on a lot of services, from app stores andcalendars to messaging and push notifications. Most of them have openalternatives...

^f-droid.org