To app or not to app? That is the privacy question for those who own a degoogled phone.
Did you know that most apps give you a free service in turn to tracking and data mining you? For example, let’s look at TextNow, one of the worst tracking apps I’ve seen. Have a look at their privacy policy:
https://www.textnow.com/privacy/
Now, checking the exodus-privacy.eu.org website for their findings on TextNow, they show:
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.enflick.android.TextNow/latest/
That’s a heck of lot of tracking and spying on you! Is this app worth it?
. . .
On the other hand, let’s look at the Facebook app. The Exodus-privacy.eu.org report shows 0 trackers! Would I install the FB app on my degoogled phone? Heck no!
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.facebook.katana/latest/
. . .
If you can access the services you need by visiting the app’s webpage and can bear the inconvenience of sigining into your account, then I would go that route, rather than install their app.
If an app looks like it’s not tracking me, comes from the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community, then most likely I will install it.
But why worry about trackers on a degoogled phone? The Internet Privacy Guy, Rob Braxman, at one point, said he doesn’t worry about them because there is no Google account that the tracking can be filed under. I’m not at the same level of understanding and comfort as he is with trackers. So until I have the additional knowledge to understand his statement, I’m playing it same by not installing tracking apps at will and installing apps with have no or very little tracking.
He has some recent videos on tracking: