smartphone options (privacy content)

Say I want a smartphone (not entirely true) and I want this phone to be something I can use without Google or Apple making money off of my data.

Let's keep the discussion off of the relative merits of this idea. Let's just say I decided that's what I want. I found a phone, but it's not really ready yet and it's not going to be available over here.

https://jolla.com/

What are my alternatives in the US?

Don't use Google or Apple's cloud solution and turn off the GPS based app tracking and they won't have your data.

Your Cell carrier will still see your data along with the NSA, but that's true pretty much no matter what at this point.

Firefox phone? The only one I'm aware of being sold in the US is the ZTE Open.

Yep the easy solution is Android with no Google services and tracking apps disabled, and you'll have to use the F-droid app store instead of Google's. My "carputer" tablet is set up this way. Not hardcore-secure, but as private as you can easily get it these days. A Firefox phone is another good option if you can find one.

Not even sure how you could use an Android phone without any Google connection, since Google and Android are one and the same. Same using an iphone without any Apple connection.

So I'd say you'd need to go with the likes of Blackberry, Ubuntu, or one of the other fringe phones.

In reply to foxtrapper:

It's easier than you think. Android is an open source OS, and you do not need google apps. There are plenty of search apps (DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, etc) as well as using Firefox to search google like you do at home from the browser.

What you need is a phone with a defeatable bootloader so you can root it, and install own bootloader/ROM on it. It isn't as intimidating as it sounds but it requires a good bit of learning curve to get started.

In fact, if you can just acquire root you can use a tool like Titanium Backup to delete the apps that your current provider provided software won't let you and generally clean out all the spyware.

You don't even need to root to disconnect an Android tablet fully from Google - you need to root if you want to completely get rid of all the Google software rather than just disable/not use it.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

True - but I also like to toss out a bunch of other things like Knox and Samsung/Verizon spyware. Plus, I'm a control freak.

You can use Android without using Google services and that does make a difference.

However, some of the more recent analysis I've read seems to suggest that the big issue on Android is third-party apps (usually free ones) that data mine you/your phone something fierce in the name of serving you ads. From what I've read the underlying suggestion seems to be that it's worse than in the Apple ecosystem as Apple's guidelines seem to be less lax in that regard. Of course that still leaves the data that Apple like to grab, not to mention the data that your cellphone provider stores in their regular course of business.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: In reply to foxtrapper: It's easier than you think. Android is an open source OS...

It's an open operating system, provided to the public, by Google. They own it and control it.

Sure, you can not run Google Chrome as the browser. But by no means does that eliminate Google from the equation.

Interesting coincidence, my next phone became available for preorder today:

https://my.neo900.org/index.php?id_product=1&controller=product&id_lang=1

Now to save up 1300 motherberkeleying dollars

Look into Blackphone at www.blackphone.ch

Also research Whisper Systems, Red Phone and TextSecure.

For some real fear, read up on Dirtbox.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirtbox_%28cell_phone%29

Edit: All this posted from my phone while waiting in a parking lot at 5700 Cooper Foster Park W in Lorain, OH but...that is already known by those who want to know.

You don't need to fly a plane with a fake tower to get a cell phone user's location, your cell service provider must know where your phone is for the service to work, and this information is logged. Those logs (and live data) are available to everyone from the local cops to any of the three-letter agencies that would care to have them. If you don't want your location tracked, the very first thing you should do is just turn your cell modem off.

The blackphone surprisingly isn't that great from a privacy standpoint, and if you buy one you WILL make yourself "interesting" to authorities because of how it's marketed. Not a bad choice for privacy, but not what it says on the tin.

Again, hiding from a government is Expert Mode stuff. It requires top-tier knowledge applied meticulously every single time. This level of work is brain surgery, not first aid. The only way an amateur can pull it off is to avoid all electronics.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Agreed.

As for making yourself "interesting"...I suspect that Red Phone TextSecure apps will also make you interesting.
The product developer and founder is on a restricted US flight list. He is loosely related to Jason Applebaum, Julian Assange, Snowden, Wiki links, etc.

He goes by the name Moxie Marlinspike and aside from all this is an accomplished sailboater.

Oh yes, he's definitely made himself "interesting" and his apps may spread that effect to others. Those who can figure out how to do it are better off sending PGP'd emails...you're still sending encrypted content but you're not advertising it by downloading a "stick it to the man" app first.

Textsecure still requires out-of-band key exchange so it's not saving you any work...there's only one other, fairly new way to set up an encrypted connection securely and the first people to make that easy for the Average Joe are going to make themselves very "interesting" indeed.

GameboyRMH and anyone else:
If you want to geek-out, here is an interesting presentation given by Moxie that eventually gets into his TextSecure product.

https://vimeo.com/124887048