Is it worth unlocking the bootloader on my phone? It’s a Samsung with One UI 7.0 (I’ve been avoiding upgrading to 8.0 since they don’t let you unlock it after that). I just want to avoid having Google Services and AI installed. I use my phone to take photos of my art / send it to friends on signal and hate the idea of it being scanned by AI. I use a camera and gallery from fdroid but somehow the default photos app still has access (I know because it makes GIFs of pictures I took even though I marked permissions as “not allowed”). I also would love to get rid of the default apps I don’t use. While I can unlock the bootloader (for now), I can’t install a custom ROM because there are none compatible with my phone, so will I just be forced into using 8.0 at some point anyway? :( ATP I’m pretty much ready to give up smartphones and get a digital camera for anything I don’t feel comfortable feeding to tech companies.


Like saying it’s useless to use Tor if you are not on Tails…
I suggest that you just admit you don’t want to help people improve privacy within their means. If they can’t have it all, they should have nothing.
We can spread Tor without lying about Windows or macOS being private or crying over comments showing libre system software.
Do you really block the word “improve” in your head? Not fucking once I claimed commercial OS could be private so you are arguing against your own imagination here.
Yeah, if someone got a phone and he doesn’t have the means of getting one compatible with a better OS, I really hope he manages to IMPROVE his privacy with better programs and workarounds. If you however don’t give a fuck and think it’s useless to try to improve his privacy because the OS is still shit, well, either buy that person a device that can use a better OS or move on, because telling that person to just buy it isn’t helping.