Mobile Devices
Smart phones have revolutionized so many aspects of life and brought the world to our fingertips. For many of us, smart phones are our primary means of communication, entertainment and access to knowledge. But while they've brought convenience to whole new level, there's some ugly things going on behind the screen. Geo-tracking is used to trace our every move, and we have little control over who has this data- your phone is even able to track your location without GPS. Over the years numerous reports that surfaced, outlining ways in which your phone's mic can eavesdrop, and the camera can watch you- all without your knowledge or consent. And then there's the malicious apps, lack of security patches and potential/ likely backdoors. Using a smart phone generates a lot of data about you- from information you intentionally share, to data silently generated from your actions. It can be scary to see what Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook know about us- sometimes they know more than our closest family. It's hard to comprehend what your data will reveal, especially in conjunction with other data. This data is used for far more than just advertising - more often it's used to rate people for finance, insurance and employment. Targeted ads can even be used for fine-grained surveillance (see ADINT) More of us are concerned about how governments use collect and use our smart phone data, and rightly so, federal agencies often request our data from Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech companies. Sometimes requests are made in bulk, returning detailed information on everybody within a certain geo-fence, often for innocent people. And this doesn't include all of the internet traffic that intelligence agencies around the world have unhindered access to.
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| Done? | Advice | Level | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
Essential | In order to keep your data safe from physical access, use file encryption. This will mean if your device is lost or stolen, no one will have access to your data. | ||
Essential | When you're not using WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC etc, turn those features off. There are several common threats that utilise these features. | ||
Essential | Uninstall apps that you don’t need or use regularly. As apps often run in the background, slowing your device down, but also collecting data. | ||
Essential | Don’t grant apps permissions that they don’t need. For Android, Bouncer is an app that allows you to grant temporary/ 1-off permissions. | ||
Essential | Applications on Apple App Store and Google Play Store are scanned and cryptographically signed, making them less likely to be malicious. | ||
Optional | Juice Jacking is when hackers use public charging stations to install malware on your smartphone or tablet through a compromised USB port. | ||
Essential | SIM hijacking is when a hacker is able to get your mobile number transferred to their sim. The easiest way to protect against this is to set up a PIN through your mobile provider. | ||
Optional | To keep your details private, you can unlist your number from caller ID apps like TrueCaller, CallApp, SyncMe, and Hiya. | ||
Optional | Consider using an offline maps app, such as OsmAnd or Organic Maps, to reduce data leaks from map apps. | ||
Optional | You can slightly reduce the amount of data collected by opting-out of seeing personalized ads. | ||
Optional | To protect against an attacker brute forcing your pin, set your device to erase after too many failed login attempts. | ||
Optional | εxodus is a great service which lets you search for any app and see which trackers are embedded in it. | ||
Optional | To prevent applications from leaking privacy-sensitive data, you can install a firewall app. | ||
Optional | For Android, SuperFreeze makes it possible to entirely freeze all background activities on a per-app basis. | ||
Optional | Prevent permission-hungry apps from accessing your private data with Island, a sandbox environment. | ||
Advanced | Orbot provides a system-wide Tor connection, which will help protect you from surveillance and public WiFi threats. | ||
Optional | It is recommended to stick with your device's stock keyboard. If you choose to use a third-party keyboard app, ensure it is reputable. | ||
Optional | Restarting your phone at least once a week will clear the app state cached in memory and may run more smoothly after a restart. | ||
Optional | SMS should not be used to receive 2FA codes or for communication, instead use an encrypted messaging app, such as Signal. | ||
Optional | MySudo allows you to create and use virtual phone numbers for different people or groups. This is great for compartmentalisation. | ||
Optional | Stalkerware is malware that is installed directly onto your device by someone you know. The best way to get rid of it is through a factory reset. | ||
Optional | Where possible, consider using a secure browser to access sites, rather than installing dedicated applications. | ||
Advanced | If you're concerned about your device manufacturer collecting too much personal information, consider a privacy-focused custom ROM. |