Iode Blocker default settings doesn’t block these connections.
Is Google able to track me some way through these connections? It would be interesting to understand, what information they are getting. I know that using Iode they get much less info, but how much they are still getting?
Is it safe/useful to block some of these connections manually? If so, what connections have you blocked manually?
you can try blocking the firebase things, but this may be problematic for the apps.
depending on which APIs the developers use apss.
Or if you only use it for statistical purposes.
you have to test
and yes you will of course be tracked about it
but if you block the others: storage, fonts, maps etc…your apps will not work correctly
or you find alternatives FOSS apps that NOT using google services like maps and fonts…
and the Devs do not use googles firebase APIs
Ok thanks, nice to know. I assume google gets my IP address through those connections and can identify me. Do you know, what else they get? They know the app I’m using and when. Through maps api maybe my location (if location permission is granted)? And so on…
Do you know, does blocking firebase break push notifications or something else?
It takes very much research to understand every way data is collected. Even if you use something like Iode, you need to know, what kind of software to install (=analyze used trackers) and what options should be toggled on/off to keep leaked footprint small.
One example here:
About Microg service
If you use Google’s push service through microG, you’re giving your IP and thereby location and online time to them.
So Installing for example some chat app which uses push service and chatting with your friends daily. Google will get your location every time a notification for a new message is fired up.
This privacy thing is definitely a hobby, which isn’t lacking serious challenge.
This is indeed a very complex topic. In order to preserve data privacy as much as possible, one would have to uninstall microG, for example, and only use privacy-friendly apps. These are mostly FOSS apps from F-Droid. On F-Droid itself, notes are always made if there are any minor restrictions. E.g. you are tracked. In addition, you can look at Exodus, whether and which trackers are available in apps. A small example:
For the app Spydroid it says under anti-features “This app tracks and reports your activity”:
Whether the tracker is really active, however, would have to be researched in more detail. So it is easiest to only use apps that have 0 trackers in them.
So far the theory. But depending on personal requirements, you can not implement it so strictly, because you “absolutely” need a certain app. Under certain circumstances, microg can be useful, so that you can get your app to run at all. And the iodé blocker helps you to block the unwanted trackers. This is a compromise between data protection and usability. So everyone has to see for themselves whether they can manage without microg and tracker-contaminated apps or not. In any case, it makes sense to check every single app that you want to install beforehand by researching the Internet and, if necessary, to find privacy-friendly alternatives. Otherwise, take a close look at the network traffic and block as much as possible manually using the iodé blocker. This is usually only possible by trying out a lot if the app then still works with all functions.
