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China's practices for using data are being used in large tech companies already and by our governments as well. These tools are basically the "all seeing eye" from Tolken and of course Orwell (other writers I'm sure). But this was also predicted by many movies and few noticed. Check out The Matrix, The Dark Night, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Spider-Man: Homecoming. The Circle talked about this more directly but less realistically. (The western government would never allow this monitoring on themselves anymore than the Russian or Chinese governments do). And China is not only tracking everyone through facial recognition glasses worn by police, not only are they keeping database with behavior scores to evaluate who is "disloyal" based on patterns (and past actions of course), but next month they are implementing a "Social Points" system to restrict access to travel for anyone who is considered disloyal based on that database and facial recognition. You are already required to show your ID card for virtually ANY transaction there now. (And is integrated in the WeChat Pay apps of course which is used widely).

If you are interested in stopping this abuse of data power, stop handing your data to them. Remove apps that are not open source (you can get open source apps for Android from F-Droid http://www.f-droid.org/ ). Install a firewall on your phone that can help manage what apps access (Droid Firewall is pretty good). Don't use default Google Android OS (you can't stop it from sending GPS data to them even if you turn it off...Google admitted this late last year, promising to stop using this hard wired phone home feature..sure..). LinageOS works on most Android phones. https://download.lineageos.org...)

Stop using MS Windows, especially Windows 8-10 because not only are data transmitters for every file header and website you visit, but every update Microsoft seems to take more control of the OS away from you (an idea probably borrowed from the iOS updates which did this years ago). You can't stop the auto updates unless you take extreme measures and even they don't work all the time and recently Microsoft is going to force your email links to be opened using Edge rather than your default browser selection. had enough being rammed with a broomstick handle yet by MS? Perhaps you noticed al this Xbox nonsense preinsstalled as well. Have fun reading this summary (see the data separately on other tech sites but this is a nice summary): https://itvision.altervista.or... . You can still buy Windows 7 legal licenses including from http://nerdsforless.com./ But better to just get off MS Windows. Linux can do virtually all the non-gaming things that MS Windows does (and MacOS as well). Linux Mint ( http://www.linuxmint.com/ ) is the easiest version of Linux for MS windows only users to get into. I've had kids as young as 7 years old run this with no assistance, and they all liked it MORE than MS Windows. "No crashes" I kept hearing. Using LibreOffice you can do all your office needs, (I've been on it for for 5 years and it keeps getting better), your favorite browsers (minus Edge but who uses that voluntarily these days) are all there, your email is easy peasy and will play all your videos and stuff. With no tracking from MS or the evil Cortana (that thing is horrible)

Keep any social media apps off your phone. Just...don't install them. You don't need them. Truth is anything that shares data over the web can be made as a mobile friendly website. The only reasons for an app is to take advantage of the data tracking tools on your phone and possibly install a local database there, generally for sending to a 3rd party later. That includes, GPS (in the vast majority of cases) and possibly accessing your contacts, browsing history, and let's not forget possibly your

You can rather easily host an instance of Nextcloud on rather modest hardware in my experience. It just needs to be able to run apache/nginx, php, and sqlite (you're supposed to use mariadb/mysql but don't absolutely need to if you're just running it for yourself). Activate the tasks app and you're good to go. The entire infrastructure is all open source and you get a whole lot more benefits than just self-hosted tasks.

Everything is accessible with CalDAV so you can use the built-in sync from the iPhone or DAVdroid and OpenTasks on Android. For desktop/laptop you can access it from the web interface or through your preferred groupware software.

Since security is an issue, if you don't want to pay for an SSL certificate you can self-sign one or get one from Let's Encrypt.

You can rather easily host an instance of Nextcloud on rather modest hardware in my experience. It just needs to be able to run apache/nginx, php, and sqlite (you're supposed to use mariadb/mysql but don't absolutely need to if you're just running it for yourself). Activate the tasks app and you're good to go. The entire infrastructure is all open source and you get a whole lot more benefits than just self-hosted tasks.

Everything is accessible with CalDAV so you can use the built-in sync from the iPhone or DAVdroid and OpenTasks on Android. For desktop/laptop you can access it from the web interface or through your preferred groupware software.

Since security is an issue, if you don't want to pay for an SSL certificate you can self-sign one or get one from Let's Encrypt.

Alternatively, you can download NewPipe from F-Droid : https://f-droid.org/en/package...

Even after the change, the headline is still garbage. And I'm not trolling, it's just plain wrong and misleading. Somebody read the Wired article, misunderstood it and wrote this headline.

Yale Privacy Lab and Exodus Privacy started to *collaborate* with F-Droid, a long-standing free software project endorsed by FSF.

Check out the true source: https://www.f-droid.org/en/201...

I recommend trying out Firefox Focus instead of the regular Firefox app (here or here). While the regular Firefox app is horribly slow and inefficient compared to the Chrome app, Firefox Focus is fast and snappy, blocks ads and trackers, and automatically clears history and cookies.

Just ignore it and use LineageOS. That's what I do (and CyanogenMod before that) and have been Google-free for years.

LineageOS is great as an OS, but it uses the Android ecosystem and to get most mainstream stuff to work you have to install Google's services. In which case you are back to using Google and their privacy "choices". Try using it with just software from Fdroid and you will find that whilst there's great stuff there, whole categories of software are missing.

This keeps getting better though. This is not like the proprietary efforts where all the work from failed companies gets thrown away. The Mer project did some great work and it's still available to start from. You can use LineageOS as a basis to start from. UBports is continuing the work on Ubuntu touch. There are a bunch of privacy respecting services like OpenStreetMap that you can integrate. Every time that somebody tries to build a new solution with copyleft software and open interfaces we move a step further in the direction of having a decent mobile system that respects privacy.

Here you go.

Nope. Self-driving cars are still not yet a mature technology, thus not something any sane, educated person would trust. You also grossly overstate the capabilities of autopilots on aircraft, which primarily only function to maintain heading, speed, and altitude. Autopilot doesn't have, for example, the ability to navigate through a canyon at low altitude.

I have to reboot my phone every few weeks. I use Open Camera. A good app, but it sometimes crashes and when it does then the camera can't be used by any other app, requiring a reboot to get it working again. It's also ridiculous to cite the reliability of mobile phones when considering a system that needs to maneuver a 2,000 kilo object through complex routes at high speeds while avoiding obstacles and observing all traffic laws in a variety of weather conditions.

Install fdroid

That might work for a calculator or a flashlight. But it doesn't help much for things like games, for reasons that have been explained elsewhere.

Or has a viable business model emerged for developing video games for distribution as free software from day one? If the model involves developing the engine as free software but everything but the engine as non-free and paywalled, F-Droid currently considers that an anti-feature called NonFreeAssets .

F-Droid.
A problem is that the function of disabling wifi to out-of-place SSIDs requires to enable location services.

So this is a serious question, since people can side load android apps more easily than jailbreaking an iPhone, could not some of these apps realistically just offer apps outside the Play store? I know it would cut down a great deal on people willing to bother but at least it's still a path.

Yes, and you can even sideload a different app store such as F-Droid, same as how the Amazon app store works.
https://f-droid.org/

Or would Google frown on this and start shutting down developer accounts?

There are thousands of developers that work outside of the Play store. I think we would have heard about it.

Android has several excellent per-application firewalls available, which I recommend to anyone who will listen (very few people). AFWall+ is great and very simple to use, but requires root. I haven't used NetGuard, but I'm told that it's good for people who don't have rooted devices.

This seems like the most effective approach if you want to make sure that things like the Facbook app aren't reporting home about you. Facebook is far from the only culprit here.

Android has several excellent per-application firewalls available, which I recommend to anyone who will listen (very few people). AFWall+ is great and very simple to use, but requires root. I haven't used NetGuard, but I'm told that it's good for people who don't have rooted devices.

This seems like the most effective approach if you want to make sure that things like the Facbook app aren't reporting home about you. Facebook is far from the only culprit here.

I use, for example: https://f-droid.org/en/packages

You are correct that the fragment identifier has two purposes: one to be read by JavaScript and the other as the "anchor" that you mention. But an anchor needs to exactly match the value of an element's the id attribute. When I retrieved the URL https://f-droid.org/packages/, the HTML document in the response did not contain an element whose id attribute has a value q=IRC.

If people still knew how to write HTML, almost no web site would need to use any "JavaScript" or other "active content"

How would, say, a web-based front-end to an IRC server work without script?

There are plenty of native IRC clients available for basically every operating system. They waste less resources, and you can get them from sources that are probably much more trustworthy than some arbitrary web page.

For example, if you need an IRC client for Android, you can get various, including source code, cryptographically signed by the repository maintainers, from https://f-droid.org/packages/#... for free.

No, they don't. You obviously need to spend a bit more time over at https://f-droid.org/.

As for me, I think I'm going back to a dumb-phone, or at the very least, switching to airplane mode whenever I'm not actively using the internet.

If you look at the F-Droid repo, you'll find plenty of open-source apps that can help you control this kind of thing. For instance: https://f-droid.org/en/package...

"Facebook has to allow people to access their relationships however they want through other businesses or tools that are not controlled by Facebook" --Matt Stoller

I have accessed Facebook through Firefox and Chromium--although it's true that it started making Konqueror lock up a while back.
Heck, Facebook doesn't even make a web browser. So where's the comparison to AIM?

And if you're going to say it's about the mobile Facebook app, that's nonsense. I've never accessed Facebook on mobile through anything other than Tinfoil.

I doubt the feature will go away as long as NFC is present on phones unrestricted.
The Jakcom program has an unlock function; there are many similar on the GPlay shop.
I imagine it will though.

Smarter W-Fi Manager does exactly that.
I've been using it since I got my phone.

The Gmail app is shit. K-9 Mail is much better, supports any mail server and it's open source.

Get it from F-Droid (because Google Play is garbage too)

And with the current situation where the users of a device is prevented from doing the changes they like to their devices including downgrading the OS the interest in Android goes down.

It's a sour situation right now when you aren't in control of the device you have bought. I can understand that there may be some constraints to at least prevent malware but the owner of the device shall be able to be in control of the device and not risk it being bricked.

A major reason for having more control over your device is to get rid of bloatware that the manufacturers have a habit of installing. Some bloatware is also a security risk for various reasons.

Only buy a phone that's supported by LineageOS. Then you get updated builds every Thursday. My phone, a Oneplus 2, only officially has Marshmallow. Thanks to LineageOS, I'm running Nougat. It's also more responsive, I get better battery life and I only had to install the bare minimum of Google apps needed for Play (mostly use APKUpdater and F-Droid anyway). Then I just root it with Magisk and still pass SafetyNet (I only care about Pokemon Go).

TL;DR: buy a LineageOS supported phone or an iPhone if you want regular updates.

I wonder if F-Droid has more or fewer than 500 backdoored apps. Man, if we could only check the source of the apps on F-Droid, that would be great!

If you want to get directions to a destination you have to turn on location services on your phone which then sends your location to a server to generate the maps/directions. You have the same problem if you're a runner or cyclist who wants to track their workouts. All of the data is stored and processed somewhere else.

Or you could use an offline maps app like OsmAnd~ and not need to use anything but GPS. (Even works on tablets.)

If you install a messenger/comms app on your phone it wants to read your contacts so you don't have to manually copy the entries over. Who knows what else that app does with the information?

In general, any comms app is a privacy risk because it uses network by design. The question is what does it have access to, not if it will transmit it. The best protection is looking at the code yourself and building it yourself, but few would do that due to the time and skill required to do so. That being said, I would use: Xabber.

If you use a hosted email service they have the ability to read your cleartext messages.

You clearly don't know how email works. ALL email is cleartext, regardless of storage location, unless you encrypt it yourself before sending it. Try using PGP. Is it a pain to set up? Depends on how well your favorite email client supports plugins. K-9 Mail supports encryption so my suggestion is to use it.

If you want your pictures automatically backed up to "the cloud" then the provider can access them.

In general using a "cloud" service really means "potential data mining" service. By definition, you're giving your data to someone else to hold. Unless you encrypt it first, it's going to be viewable to who / what ever you upload it to, and that's true regardless as to what the data is. (Password, Picture, SSN, A spreadsheet, an email, etc.)

That being said, if it's data sync between devices your primarily after, you could set up FreeNAS, or something like ownCloud locally. If it's the offsite storage you are after, compress the data, then encrypt it with something like APG before sending it (or something like AxCrypt for windows.). (More encryption tools for windows: http://lifehacker.com/five-bes...)

They would allow data to flow in from the Internet, but not back out.

They have that already. It's called "TV" and "Radio". The last component (that I didn't quote) already exists too and is called "sneakernet". (See also the recent increasing scrutiny and intrusion of digital devices by government agents if you want to see why that's becoming a less reliable transmission method.) Your idea would make the Internet completely useless as a communications medium for anyone except special interests who could afford being "allowed" to transmit to other devices. Make no mistake about saying that either, that's exactly what the *IAAs of the world want.

Granted the Internet is not secure, (It was never supposed to be. Insecure transmissions is at the heart of it's design and origin.) but there are methods to protect yourself if you choose to use them. They just require you (and others) to learn about them first. Rather than try to reinvent a propaganda machine, how about trying the tools available and teaching others about them instead? It would make everyone better off.

*Sidenote: I assume you are using a phone and not a PC. Most people are moving that way due to them not actually needing a workstation for

If you want to get directions to a destination you have to turn on location services on your phone which then sends your location to a server to generate the maps/directions. You have the same problem if you're a runner or cyclist who wants to track their workouts. All of the data is stored and processed somewhere else.

Or you could use an offline maps app like OsmAnd~ and not need to use anything but GPS. (Even works on tablets.)

If you install a messenger/comms app on your phone it wants to read your contacts so you don't have to manually copy the entries over. Who knows what else that app does with the information?

In general, any comms app is a privacy risk because it uses network by design. The question is what does it have access to, not if it will transmit it. The best protection is looking at the code yourself and building it yourself, but few would do that due to the time and skill required to do so. That being said, I would use: Xabber.

If you use a hosted email service they have the ability to read your cleartext messages.

You clearly don't know how email works. ALL email is cleartext, regardless of storage location, unless you encrypt it yourself before sending it. Try using PGP. Is it a pain to set up? Depends on how well your favorite email client supports plugins. K-9 Mail supports encryption so my suggestion is to use it.

If you want your pictures automatically backed up to "the cloud" then the provider can access them.

In general using a "cloud" service really means "potential data mining" service. By definition, you're giving your data to someone else to hold. Unless you encrypt it first, it's going to be viewable to who / what ever you upload it to, and that's true regardless as to what the data is. (Password, Picture, SSN, A spreadsheet, an email, etc.)

That being said, if it's data sync between devices your primarily after, you could set up FreeNAS, or something like ownCloud locally. If it's the offsite storage you are after, compress the data, then encrypt it with something like APG before sending it (or something like AxCrypt for windows.). (More encryption tools for windows: http://lifehacker.com/five-bes...)

They would allow data to flow in from the Internet, but not back out.

They have that already. It's called "TV" and "Radio". The last component (that I didn't quote) already exists too and is called "sneakernet". (See also the recent increasing scrutiny and intrusion of digital devices by government agents if you want to see why that's becoming a less reliable transmission method.) Your idea would make the Internet completely useless as a communications medium for anyone except special interests who could afford being "allowed" to transmit to other devices. Make no mistake about saying that either, that's exactly what the *IAAs of the world want.

Granted the Internet is not secure, (It was never supposed to be. Insecure transmissions is at the heart of it's design and origin.) but there are methods to protect yourself if you choose to use them. They just require you (and others) to learn about them first. Rather than try to reinvent a propaganda machine, how about trying the tools available and teaching others about them instead? It would make everyone better off.

*Sidenote: I assume you are using a phone and not a PC. Most people are moving that way due to them not actually needing a workstation for

If you want to get directions to a destination you have to turn on location services on your phone which then sends your location to a server to generate the maps/directions. You have the same problem if you're a runner or cyclist who wants to track their workouts. All of the data is stored and processed somewhere else.

Or you could use an offline maps app like OsmAnd~ and not need to use anything but GPS. (Even works on tablets.)

If you install a messenger/comms app on your phone it wants to read your contacts so you don't have to manually copy the entries over. Who knows what else that app does with the information?

In general, any comms app is a privacy risk because it uses network by design. The question is what does it have access to, not if it will transmit it. The best protection is looking at the code yourself and building it yourself, but few would do that due to the time and skill required to do so. That being said, I would use: Xabber.

If you use a hosted email service they have the ability to read your cleartext messages.

You clearly don't know how email works. ALL email is cleartext, regardless of storage location, unless you encrypt it yourself before sending it. Try using PGP. Is it a pain to set up? Depends on how well your favorite email client supports plugins. K-9 Mail supports encryption so my suggestion is to use it.

If you want your pictures automatically backed up to "the cloud" then the provider can access them.

In general using a "cloud" service really means "potential data mining" service. By definition, you're giving your data to someone else to hold. Unless you encrypt it first, it's going to be viewable to who / what ever you upload it to, and that's true regardless as to what the data is. (Password, Picture, SSN, A spreadsheet, an email, etc.)

That being said, if it's data sync between devices your primarily after, you could set up FreeNAS, or something like ownCloud locally. If it's the offsite storage you are after, compress the data, then encrypt it with something like APG before sending it (or something like AxCrypt for windows.). (More encryption tools for windows: http://lifehacker.com/five-bes...)

They would allow data to flow in from the Internet, but not back out.

They have that already. It's called "TV" and "Radio". The last component (that I didn't quote) already exists too and is called "sneakernet". (See also the recent increasing scrutiny and intrusion of digital devices by government agents if you want to see why that's becoming a less reliable transmission method.) Your idea would make the Internet completely useless as a communications medium for anyone except special interests who could afford being "allowed" to transmit to other devices. Make no mistake about saying that either, that's exactly what the *IAAs of the world want.

Granted the Internet is not secure, (It was never supposed to be. Insecure transmissions is at the heart of it's design and origin.) but there are methods to protect yourself if you choose to use them. They just require you (and others) to learn about them first. Rather than try to reinvent a propaganda machine, how about trying the tools available and teaching others about them instead? It would make everyone better off.

*Sidenote: I assume you are using a phone and not a PC. Most people are moving that way due to them not actually needing a workstation for

If you want to get directions to a destination you have to turn on location services on your phone which then sends your location to a server to generate the maps/directions. You have the same problem if you're a runner or cyclist who wants to track their workouts. All of the data is stored and processed somewhere else.

Or you could use an offline maps app like OsmAnd~ and not need to use anything but GPS. (Even works on tablets.)

If you install a messenger/comms app on your phone it wants to read your contacts so you don't have to manually copy the entries over. Who knows what else that app does with the information?

In general, any comms app is a privacy risk because it uses network by design. The question is what does it have access to, not if it will transmit it. The best protection is looking at the code yourself and building it yourself, but few would do that due to the time and skill required to do so. That being said, I would use: Xabber.

If you use a hosted email service they have the ability to read your cleartext messages.

You clearly don't know how email works. ALL email is cleartext, regardless of storage location, unless you encrypt it yourself before sending it. Try using PGP. Is it a pain to set up? Depends on how well your favorite email client supports plugins. K-9 Mail supports encryption so my suggestion is to use it.

If you want your pictures automatically backed up to "the cloud" then the provider can access them.

In general using a "cloud" service really means "potential data mining" service. By definition, you're giving your data to someone else to hold. Unless you encrypt it first, it's going to be viewable to who / what ever you upload it to, and that's true regardless as to what the data is. (Password, Picture, SSN, A spreadsheet, an email, etc.)

That being said, if it's data sync between devices your primarily after, you could set up FreeNAS, or something like ownCloud locally. If it's the offsite storage you are after, compress the data, then encrypt it with something like APG before sending it (or something like AxCrypt for windows.). (More encryption tools for windows: http://lifehacker.com/five-bes...)

They would allow data to flow in from the Internet, but not back out.

They have that already. It's called "TV" and "Radio". The last component (that I didn't quote) already exists too and is called "sneakernet". (See also the recent increasing scrutiny and intrusion of digital devices by government agents if you want to see why that's becoming a less reliable transmission method.) Your idea would make the Internet completely useless as a communications medium for anyone except special interests who could afford being "allowed" to transmit to other devices. Make no mistake about saying that either, that's exactly what the *IAAs of the world want.

Granted the Internet is not secure, (It was never supposed to be. Insecure transmissions is at the heart of it's design and origin.) but there are methods to protect yourself if you choose to use them. They just require you (and others) to learn about them first. Rather than try to reinvent a propaganda machine, how about trying the tools available and teaching others about them instead? It would make everyone better off.

*Sidenote: I assume you are using a phone and not a PC. Most people are moving that way due to them not actually needing a workstation for

on the Google Play store.

I think I found your problem. If I'm looking for an Android app, I always try F-Droid first. Open source software is nearly always higher quality than closed source in my experience. If I can't find it there, I'll use the Google Play store, but I'll expect junk with ads (which are sometimes blocked by AdBlock, but I think that requires a rooted device anyway).

Can you use the FFUpdater app available in F-Droid? It's not automatic, but you can always run it before you begin a browsing session.

Besides, new Firefox releases are widely-reported, including right here on slashdot. It's not really a Sisyphean task to stay updated on your own. The calendar for major releases is published far in advance.

There is also fennec-fdroid available from fdroid's archive repo. It's up-to-date, but not in the main repo because reasons.

GNU Icecat is also available, but hasn't been updated since March.

Firefox really is a much better browser than the stock browser in LineageOS. I find the benefits of FF vastly oughtweigh the minor annoyance of keeping it up-to-date.

Can you use the FFUpdater app available in F-Droid? It's not automatic, but you can always run it before you begin a browsing session.

Besides, new Firefox releases are widely-reported, including right here on slashdot. It's not really a Sisyphean task to stay updated on your own. The calendar for major releases is published far in advance.

There is also fennec-fdroid available from fdroid's archive repo. It's up-to-date, but not in the main repo because reasons.

GNU Icecat is also available, but hasn't been updated since March.

Firefox really is a much better browser than the stock browser in LineageOS. I find the benefits of FF vastly oughtweigh the minor annoyance of keeping it up-to-date.

Can you use the FFUpdater app available in F-Droid? It's not automatic, but you can always run it before you begin a browsing session.

Besides, new Firefox releases are widely-reported, including right here on slashdot. It's not really a Sisyphean task to stay updated on your own. The calendar for major releases is published far in advance.

There is also fennec-fdroid available from fdroid's archive repo. It's up-to-date, but not in the main repo because reasons.

GNU Icecat is also available, but hasn't been updated since March.

Firefox really is a much better browser than the stock browser in LineageOS. I find the benefits of FF vastly oughtweigh the minor annoyance of keeping it up-to-date.

As I understand it, this uses the Android system WebView with a few of the privacy controls from Firefox (but without the Gecko rendering engine).

There is already an existing product that does this (and likely offers more features).

KitKat users should be particularly careful with WebView browsers, since their engine (likely) hasn't been updated since XP went out of support.

Here is a handy Facebook client for Android that provides access to Messenger:

F-Droid Face Slim

The above client is a 3rd-party open source wrapper. It will not update itself automatically without asking. It will not suddenly drain your battery dry. It will not access any sensors on your device without your approval. It will not gather your contacts and upload them for recruiting and advertising.

Facebook does all of these things and more. Burn it off your phone with a blowtorch.

NewPipe can play YouTube videos in the background.

If you're not an iOS user, allow me to redirect you to F-Droid.

While some of the software may be donationware, some of it is also 100% free no chains attached.

Apple: $40/year.

F-Droid: $0/year.

Winner: F-Droid

Apple: $40/year.

F-Droid: $0/year.

Winner: F-Droid

By looking at the source code of the apps there.

You can do that at F-Droid, you know.

Very little, if any, malware on F-Droid

There is an open source application called gadgetbridge that can replace the pebble phone app.
https://f-droid.org/repository...

I'm pretty sure the Google Play Store has a few orders of magnitude more malware than F-Droid. Calling the setting that only allows apps to come from the Google Play store a "security setting" is Orwellian at best.

That setting should allow the user to configure which app-store is trusted. Otherwise, it's useless.

Or get your apps from places like F-Droid, and you don't need a Google account or useless spyware apps.

I am developing a browser for Android and Chrome OS called Privacy Browser that is designed to provide as much anonymity as possible. For example, JavaScript, cookies, and DOM storage are disabled by default, which mitigates many of the tracking techniques used by websites. It also integrates with Orbot (Android's official Tor client). https://f-droid.org/repository... https://www.stoutner.com/priva...

Really? The current version of Tinfoil crashes when opening the messages link in Facebook. Some guy launched a workaround to avoid crashes. In its latest 2.0 version it is a fork of Tinfoil, but it is not in F-Droid.

Where's the GOG of apps, anyway? The "one price upfront, guaranteed no data collection or in-app purchases"?

Here. Except the price is always free. F-Droid is fantastic but I agree that it would also be great to have an app store where you can make purchases akin to GOG, where there are strong pro-consumer values. GOG does so many things right and I'm happy to support them and the excellent game developers whose works they've curated (including their own game studio). I'm sure it would be a lot of work making agreements with app publishers but it can clearly be done in the related desktop gaming industry.

So really, great idea. If someone has the connections or ambition to start something like this they should mention the start of the project on Slashdot. I'm sure you could be able to recruit help here or at least future customers.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that, for a LOT of people, this is the last straw with Android and their shitbox... Well, EVERYTHING?

Sorry, but that's your wish, not an actual fact. More than one company manufactures Android phones. I'm on my 2nd LG phone in the past 4 years. I never had a problem and I enjoy using phones that provide more functionality, particularly for media playback and software selection, for less money. I also enjoy having an SD card slot that lets me expand up to 256 gigs for a fraction of the price you'd pay for an iPhone the same capacity and it makes migrating to a new phone as easy as popping the card out and inserting it into a new phone.

If you actually read a little closer on that link you provided you would have seen that these are pre-orders tied to promotions from the carriers. Point being, for a majority of users, Android phones are great. Not only that, but in China I'm noticing an increasing amount of disdain for the new iPhone. Keep in mind this is a county where the iPhone is primarily valued as a status symbol but the people who buy them are typically so poor that they don't even have a desktop or laptop computer. So, not being able to use headphones and charge the phone is a real issue for them. Hop on a Beijing or Shenzhen subway train sometime. You'll notice the iPhone owners simultaneously using headphones and a portable battery pack, because aside form the 6S Plus, iPhone batteries still haven't reached the 2,000 mAh mark. For these users, the iPhone 7 is not so attractive.

If you run Windows Phone or Windows 10 you should say goodbye to any sort of privacy.
https://www.gnu.org/proprietar...

As of now there are no commercially available smart phones that respect your freedom entirely. Depending on where you draw the line,
your best bets are Replicant or at the very least CyanogenMod without any Google Apps.

F-Droid is a package manager for Android that only contains software that respects your freedom.

I moved to Face Slim after the developer (re-)enabled messaging. It has the following setting:

Hide some sponsored posts
We don't like sponsored posts and ads.

Hopefully developer Krzysztof Grabowski will keep up with the corporate subterfuge. It's a shame that Tinfoil has gone dormant.