Whenever people ask about ways to make their smartphones more private or which is the most privacy-respecting phone to get, there’s always a few people confidently asserting “all smartphones are spy tools, get a dumbphone with no apps if you want to be private”. Which is ridiculous advice for a few reasons

  • Dumbphones usually run either proprietary operating systems or outdated forks of Android. They’re almost never encrypted. They rarely get security updates. They’re a lot more vulnerable than even a regular Android phone

  • With dumbphones, you’re usually limited to regular phone calls or SMS/MMS messaging. These are ancient communication standards with zero built-in privacy. Your ISP can read any text message you send and view metadata logs of any phone calls you make. In lots of places (like Australia where I live) ISPs are actually required to keep logs of your messages and phone calls

With even a regular Android phone you at least have access to encrypted messaging apps like Signal or Session so your conversations aren’t fair game for anyone who wants to read them. Of course there are better options. iOS (not perfect but better than most bloatware-filled Android devices) and a pixel with GrapheneOS (probably the best imo) are much better options; but virtually anything out there is going to be better for privacy than a dumbphone

Edit: Thanks everyone for giving your thoughts. Some really good points I hadn’t thought much about

  • Stillwater@sh.itjust.works
    45·
    27 days ago

    You can make a smartphone (more) private, but out of the box and loaded with standard apps (eg Google), its a privacy nightmare. So I get where they are coming from. Sure using SMS isn’t private, but dropping all that app addiction is.

    • PowerCrazy@lemmy.mlEnglish
      352·
      27 days ago

      It comes down to the hostile actor you are trying to defend against. If you are Jason Bourne and you have been burned by your agency so multiple nation-states are looking for you, then you have to go fully off-grid and live a quiet life without ever communicating with anyone in your prior life again. It doesn’t matter if you are using Signal, or SMS, or even a dial-up BBS. If you are communicating with people that are also under heavy surveillance, you cannot hide.

      If you want to reduce your “digital footprint,” then not using google/facebook/other social media is the most worthwhile thing you can possibly do. Your phone doesn’t matter. Use iOS, never install any of the social apps, use Safari in incognito mode, and you’ll never be tracekd across websites again.

      • frongt@lemmy.zip
        16·
        27 days ago

        This. A dumbphone is private in the sense that it’s not collecting and transmitting a whole lot of data to Facebook, Google, etc., which is what most people are concerned about in this community.

        If you also want encrypted communications, use something built for that purpose. But keep in mind, the other person will also have to have a compatible device, and probably isn’t as concerned about maintaining hygiene.

        • PowerCrazy@lemmy.mlEnglish
          17·
          27 days ago

          It’s the most private and secure phone OS you can get today. You have to have minimal trust in Apple that they won’t change the terms, but that is miles better then using google who will explicitly use your data for anything they want.

          • artyom@piefed.socialEnglish
            81·
            26 days ago

            It’s absolutely not. It requires extraordinary trust in Apple.

            The most private and secure OS is GrapheneOS, without a doubt. Google cannot use data they do not have.

        • sigmaklimgrindset@sopuli.xyz
          51·
          27 days ago

          What happened with Firefox?

          I think OP meant use Safari with the Apple’s Privacy Relay thing that hides your IP and generalizes location data into a larger area, not just regular “private mode” that Safari has. Too bad it’s subscription only on iCloud+, and who knows if it actually works as well as Apple claims it does.

          • PowerCrazy@lemmy.mlEnglish
            2·
            27 days ago

            I wasn’t referring to the privacy relay, though if you want to use it that’s fine too. More of just easy ways to reduce your digital footprint.

    • Godort@lemmy.ca
      18·
      27 days ago

      Switching from a smartphone to a dumbphone is usually not about increasing privacy in the first place.

      People tend to make the switch for mental health reasons, rather than privacy ones. When your phone goes back to being a direct communication tool rather than a passtime, you tend to realize just how much time you spend during a day doing basically nothing.