Android Q Reaches Public Beta With Improved Privacy, Opus/AV1 Support, ANGLE On Vulkan

[starshipeleven]

Improved privacy? Google is anything but privacy.

It means improved settings to keep third party applications from looking at your shit.

May or may not apply to Google applications/services. I can revoke a lot of permissions to them already, btw.

[starshipeleven]

Even if a modem doesn't have access to main memory it's still being passed data which could be sent anywhere, and that data is not necessarily encrypted.

This is a non-issue. If you are sending out data that isn't encrypted, then anyone could intercept it, not just the modem. You know how wifi networks and the Internet infrastructure work?

[starshipeleven]

Maybe my knowledge is not current but, as far as I know, you cannot uninstall or replace Google Play services in original Android system that is sold for example on Google Pixel phones. I mean without rooting and changing bootloader and even then - it is simpler to install full modded system than only remove Google Play...

Sorry what? You can go in your Android device App settings and you can disable the Play store and Google Play Services (the Google stuff runtime) entirely. You can't remove it as the base application is stored in the read-only system partition, but any update is deleted and the application is shut down and becomes unavailable.

Same is true for most other system apps on decent phones.

[andreano]

Now a newbie question: is a modem really granted access to main memory? If so how is it done? Explicitly by the main CPU or is it a property of the SoC itself?

It's more often the other way around: The firmware (in the modem, DSP or whatever) grants memory access to the main cpu when it wants to boot.

[ldesnogu]

This is a non-issue. If you are sending out data that isn't encrypted, then anyone could intercept it, not just the modem.

Yes exactly. So all applications you use need to encrypt/decrypt data they send and receive. This is how it should be indeed. But when you make a standard phone call is voice data encrypted? I admit I have no clue about that

[Danniello]

Sorry what? You can go in your Android device App settings and you can disable the Play store and Google Play Services (the Google stuff runtime) entirely. You can't remove it as the base application is stored in the read-only system partition, but any update is deleted and the application is shut down and becomes unavailable.

Same is true for most other system apps on decent phones.

On my Google Pixel 2 XL phone with updated Android 9 - "Google Play services" cannot be disabled. "Disable" and "Force stop" buttons are grey - cannot be pressed. Another issue is that there is plenty of other Google services - there is a lot of it, perhaps some of them are needed, other are completely unknown, for sure many of them have "telemetry" and "call home" functions that cannot be disabled.

Adding that owner of the phone do not have administrative rights (i.e. without rooting) - it means that the real owner and administrator of phone is Google. Google kindly giving rights to use their Android system, but they could always "remove access" if they want. It is better visible in iOS or Windows - user need to have company permission to use system (so called "activation" before first use).

[starshipeleven]

But when you make a standard phone call is voice data encrypted? I admit I have no clue about that

No. Normal calls are not encrypted.

Although they are run through their own channels and equipment, and it's all digital so it's not as easy (and cheap) as intercepting raw TCP/IP traffic, or a child's play as intercepting analogic landline phone (i.e. the old wired phones)

[starshipeleven]

On my Google Pixel 2 XL phone with updated Android 9 - "Google Play services" cannot be disabled. "Disable" and "Force stop" buttons are grey - cannot be pressed.

Somewhat unexpected for a Google device, y'know.
For applications you can't disable, you can still revoke permissions. I have Memory, then Data Usage and then Permissions

Another issue is that there is plenty of other Google services - there is a lot of it, perhaps some of them are needed, other are completely unknown, for sure many of them have "telemetry" and "call home" functions that cannot be disabled.

Not really. Afaik only services that run independently from the Google Play Services main application thing are the calendar and backup sync, which won't work at all if you did not provide a google account.

Adding that owner of the phone do not have administrative rights (i.e. without rooting) - it means that the real owner and administrator of phone is Google. Google kindly giving rights to use their Android system, but they could always "remove access" if they want.

It's more complex. Android does not have a concept of "administrator" with full power over everything. Each thing has a permission list, even Google services aren't running as root. "root" is a basically a dirty hack, a developer mode that bypasses all permissions.

Of course the OEM does provide software updates and could decide to "remove access" whenever they want with a specific update, but even normal Linux distros could do that.

It is better visible in iOS or Windows - user need to have company permission to use system (so called "activation" before first use).

Really, the OS is not your own property just like Linux is not your own property either (GPL does not transfer ownership), you are just providing a proof that you are entitled to use it. Does not make them the owner of your system.

With most distros you need to accept some kind of license, the fact that you don't need to pay does not make it any less "permission to use". Unless you agree to the license the installer won't start.

Does that make the distro maintainers the owners of your system? no it does not.

[ldesnogu]

No. Normal calls are not encrypted.

OK so you can't guarantee privacy

Although they are run through their own channels and equipment, and it's all digital so it's not as easy (and cheap) as intercepting raw TCP/IP traffic, or a child's play as intercepting analogic landline phone (i.e. the old wired phones)

Is it how NSA spies calls?

[ldesnogu]

which data is not encrypted in 2019?

Voice as starshipeleven wrote.

explains the comment before

Don't you feel the irony? You talked too much it seems. Admitting not knowing something is so much better than looking stupid