I broke my phone a few months ago and I hadn’t use a phone since I didn’t need it until now. I’m willing to buy one that’s around under 500$. I’m thinking of getting google pixel maybe, any recommendations?

    • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.mlM
      11·
      3 years ago

      Chinese phone has American hardware and Chinese software, the latter which you will remove. Will you be able to get rid of the greater hardware threat? This is a game these people will trap you into.

      I suggest getting familiar with OPSEC and educating yourselves with 101 security and privacy instead of playing into this geopolitics, contemporary xenophobia and security theater.

      • Gwynne@lemmy.mlOP
        1·
        3 years ago

        hmm. what phone do you use personally then? I haven’t dipped much into privacy on phones. but I think you know more than I do. I’ll read your article later, I just want a good answer for now.

        • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.mlM
          21·
          3 years ago

          My personal threat model is avoiding 14 Eyes surveillance, so I use Huawei P30 Lite, as I noted in my smartphone guide (link I shared in a parent comment).

          Huawei’s hardware according to BlackHat Pwn2Own 2017-2020, has been largely safe on par with “secure” Pixels. See page 5 of PDF for phonemaker brands. https://github.com/secmob/TiYunZong-An-Exploit-Chain-to-Remotely-Root-Modern-Android-Devices/raw/master/us-20-Gong-TiYunZong-An-Exploit-Chain-to-Remotely-Root-Modern-Android-Devices.pdf

          I have de-corporation-ified it and the closed source apps WhatsApp and Discord are sandboxed into Work Profile. All other apps I use are FOSS, and the whole phone is tunneled through NetGuard with 1.3M HOSTS rules blocking. Android/AOSP’s VPN Lockdown feature stays on to prevent any traffic leakage.

          For VPN, I am part of Riseup Collective so I use that.

          This is not a comment to tell you that you should use Huawei, just an answer to your first question. As for your query here…

          I suggest going through my OPSEC and smartphone guides so that you can formulate your own threat model and enjoy a secure, private life without falling for FUD.