Summary: My father, who has over 30 compromised accounts, tells me not to install Ironfox (aka one of the most secure browsers for Android) and F-Droid.
Background: I discovered that my father has a phone with LineageOS and asked if I could use it. He said yes because he no longer used it.
Today I started using it, saw what it was like, and it wasn’t much different from Android.
I was having some trouble putting some songs on that phone, so I asked him for help.
He went to the Google Play Store and installed Files by Google after logging into my account.
My account has parental controls, so that phone had parental controls too.
I was supposed to use that phone maybe to use once or twice a month and see what a phone without Google services was like (which I couldn’t disable now because it had parental controls).
So, after finding out what that phone had become, I tried to do a factory reset, but I couldn’t.
Then (somehow) I managed to convince my parents to remove the parental controls, but my dad started saying, “Don’t be surprised if your information ends up in strange places because you installed browsers from outside the Play Store (in this case, it was Cromite and Ironfox) and for running FTP servers (which I was only using to transfer some music I had on another site).”
Sorry for the long text 😅
LineageOS and asked if I could use it […] He went to the Google Play Store and installed Files by Google after logging into my account.
Ugh… sorry to say but if your goal is “what a phone without Google services” then your father did not understand that. He might be able to help you but he might not. The point though is that have to clarify with him WHY you want to try that. Only then can he help with the how.
Anyway for music I recommend
VLC, it even has an option to become a Web server to receive file. If you do exchange files often with your Linux desktop I also recommendKDE Connectwhich helps for SMSes too and more, you can even define custom commands. I recommend removing thePlayStoreentirely and relying solely onF-Droidand on a case by case basis potentially on.apkfrom sources you trust, e.g.SignalWebsite.Cool, I’ll try VLC
KDE Connect seems to send identifying broadcast packets constantly (just like gapps), not the best for privacy on public bing chilling router WiFi. Android itself technically does too, but you can just change your device name to " " (space).
reinstall lineageos, if it has gapps i consider it compromised
And me over here wanting to use parental controls to protect my elders haha
A win for you getting parental controls lifted, hopefully you can eventually prove to them that the phone is just fine (or even better) with your apps of choice.
Isn’t Google Files the same thing as AOSP Files?
I think it has drive integration but haven’t used it.
if he’s such a boogle fan, why even did he have a phone with LOS?
Lol, idk. The phone probably wasn’t used in more than 10 years 😂
LOS can also be a good way to get updates way longer than what the phone’s manufacturer will provide them for.
My uncle has worked many years in IT and sometimes lectures me on digital privacy and security. But I got a glimpse of his phones and computers, it was disappointing. Bogus security apps and optimizations and a refusal to update Windows. Probably different situation with OP’s father, but quite emphasizes the importance of continuing education.
digital privacy and security
I bet there is an amalgamation going on there.
People who wants to maximum amount of security might not care as much about privacy, thinking relying on a famous actor which spends a ton on security (and runs ads to say so) give them privacy, typically Google or Meta, while ignoring their interests in using private data for profit.
The other way around some people claim they cherish privacy, which sounds like your uncle, yet can not realistically achieve it by using outdated systems leading to poor security and thus potentially bad privacy.
The 2 go hand in hand yet are different.
Well it sounds like you have things back in control with the parental controls gone, so if you haven’t already I would uninstall the play store, and Files by google. You can check out a file manager such as Fossify File Manager as a replacement.
The last part does sound a bit concerning though, you aren’t running an actual FTP server from your phone are you? I would recommend not doing that if you are, as FTP famously doesn’t encrypt traffic. If you need to move files between your phone and a computer, I would recommend using sftp instead and having the sftp server run on your PC.
You can use something termux on android to connect to your pc over ssh, as well as sftp.
Well, it was from a phone to another phone. I know that FTP servers aren’t the most secure things in the world but I needed something fast, and at the end of the day my threat model isn’t even against people.
Your pop has a lot to learn. Freakin hilarious.
