How Do I Use My Devices?

INTRODUCTION

This page was initially created to link some useful apps for privacy and slowly it evolved into hosting some privacy guides and security guides as well. The main issue I tried to fix with hosting this was so everyone has a place to start looking into things related to privacy or security and I hope it was useful to get you started! Now I think there should be an Idea on how to use these said tools for your needs, because I was seeing some confusion because people were still asking me on how to start out. So this is basically me exposing my routines of keeping my digital life compartmentalized and fragmented IG

*ps:- I'll update on newer topics and my usage here IG

Devices and Operating Systems I Use

I have a Pixel 8 running Graphene OS, a ROG ally with Secureblue OS (all ROG devices have a critical flaw in the bios, idk if they fixed it but it's related to armory crate), Currently building a server for self hosting (most probably it's going to be secureblue server version). Now this guide can also be used with users on other OS as well, it's not strictly limited to this particular os or devices!

Why did I choose Graphene OS?

I liked the security and privacy aspect of the project and also it provides me with the best option to compartmentalize and fragment my online activities. Also it comes with a bunch of security precautions that it's better to read it from their own words than mine lol . Features Of Graphene OS

Why did I Choose Secureblue?

In terms of security, windows is currently one of the best option everyone can use. Use a debloatter, harden windows with the guides provided, imbound a strict firewall and you're done! The browser however, is questionable. I personally use browser more than any other application on my system (other than games IG). Microsoft edge is currently the best option on Windows for security (with hardened group policies and stuffs), but the privacy is questionable, we could sit there and block all the connections but I wanted something more seamless and is capable of fragmenting my data, so I chose Secureblue, primarly for their browser Trivalent, which is one of the best secure browser and has multiple profile switching (Basically the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing). So my data is fragmented across different profiles with no single name attached to anything.

Can I achieve compartmentalization and fragmentation without Graphene OS or Secureblue OS?

Yes, to an extend. For android there are profile switching apps ( any sandboxing app I've mentioned in the guide), which inherently creates a different profile for us to use, completely seperated and isolated. Now what to install over the new profile is completely up-to you! You could use Google Maps (Google Maps can run without an account, it just needs playservice active in the same profile) or some other apps which you don't want it on your primary profile.

For browsers, idk if any chromium browsers have profile switching, but firefox or gecko based browsers do offer an extension to have profile switching.

SO YES, YOU CAN COMPARTMENTALIZE AND FRAGMENT YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY!

How do I use my devices on a daily basis?

For starters, have a bunch of burner accounts, I'll mention how I create mine. Essentially I have 7 different profiles that I use on my phone.

1st profile is owner profile, where I have my most used apps, password manager, authenticator, Signal (I use molly), Rethink DNS with wireguard config, E-mails, pixel camera with restricted network access and a burner google account for app updates. I keep play services and play store disabled and would only enable it to check for app updates "THROUGH VPN CONNECTION OR TOR CONNECTION" and disable it afterwards.
I have the feature to enable private space on my owner profile, which is essentially like another profile. In here I have Play services, Google Maps, Organic Maps, Android Auto, Music Streaming app, ran without any google accounts.
3rd profile contains all my banking app
4th profile contains some social medias, like reddit, instagram, mastadon etc. I do have facebook installed on the private space (to use marketplace), essentially Instagram and Facebook can "talk to each other" so keeping them seperated is a good idea. Have RethinkDNS running another wireguard config.
5th profile , solely dedicated for whatsapp, this is the only profile that can run in the background, solely because for notification.
6th profile is for streaming with RethinkDNS on yet another wireguard config.
7th profile is just for AI related stuffs, mainly google notebook llc.

Now can anyone attain this or better compartmentalisation? yes!!. See, the apps we use have a higher privilage than using web pages, so if you find youtube or reddit or facebook etc usable on a webpage, then using there could ideally fragment your usage (just either clone the browser or have different browser for different app. OR potentially there is an app called HERMIT which can compartmentalize web pages, but I don't think they are open source or anything checkout the discussion before committing)

For my PC/laptop, I try to use flatpak as much as possible (If you are on windows, Flatpak is not important) and i do have a running firewall which just blocks all connections from and to the system essentially (other than browser and update servers). I do have an active VPN running, the use of extension on trivalent (my browser) is frowned upon so i don't really have any extensions running but I have about 7 different profiles for my different activity, which anyone can achieve with the firefox extension I've mentioned earlier.

essentially like this

1st profile is for everything related to privacy
2nd one is for file sharing and stuffs
3rd is for job related querries
4th is dedicated for reddit alone
5th is for gaming related searches
6th is yet another profile for work
7th is for YT Music (No accounts, has extensions enabled only for that profile)

PS:- I wanted to add images to here, but there is no option to upload directly, I have ti use imgur or other hosting services. So once I do that I'll upload the picture IG? I hope it would bring a much more idea on how to do things.

Is using different profiles worth it?

Yes, It's essentially like having multiple phones in a single phone IG

How to make a burner account?

Currently the best method (It might not sit well with everyone) is to essentially drive to a public wifi which id kind of far from your residence and connect without a VPN (using a vpn will prompt google to ask you to verify the mail via phone number, which defeats the purpose of a burner) and create a bunch of accounts and note it down. I also use a tutamail account created like this to use on simplelogin (an email aliasing tool) to create social media accounts or other accounts.

Methods in which a device can track you

The levels in which this big tech companies or ad-companies collect data is borderline insane to begin with. Your social media apps, google apps, meta apps, that app you downloaded because it looks cool etc all, most likely, collects and shares data to the data brokers.

They can collect data from every sensor, including Proximity sensor. There was a recent article about data collection done by NETFLIX, in which they use proximity sensor (one of many) to ascertain in which environment do you watch, like why do they need to know if i watch a show in a dark room or a light room FFS.
Microphone does lead to some data collection but it isn't that much proven, just some theories thrown around. Like to actually ascertain every syllable we utter is painstakingly high maintenance, instead some do argue they are used to ascertain the environment we are in. It's as good as a guess tbh.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning, which is something nobody expects IG. Your phone communicates with other networks, mainly, masqueraded as a service for location, but even if we turn of location access and wifi scanning (some newer devices do come with the option) it doesn't turn off (Article). Now it basically scans for nearby devices, it might be your friend's device or a shop you frequently visits, but now they start to spam personalized ads which only you and your friend talked about in real life, or it recognizes you visited a clothing shop for any amount of time then they start to advertise about different cloths, apparels and stuffs. So this is one way they ascertain what you want!
Keyboards, yes your keyboard (if it has a network connection) will share what you type, how you type, keywords etc. Have you ever wondered why Instagram or Amazon know exactly what you chatted with your friend 5 mins ago? well your keyboard just snitched you out.

Essentially almost all the sensors active in your device! and how do we control our sensors? well there are inbuilt settings (inside developer option) to disable all sensors, which usually disables all the sensors (other than networking). Flight mode is also a very reliable way to cut out all the network signals IG.

The data collected, for now, is sold to advertising companies, sooner or later the buyers can change, maybe the insurance company is interested in the data and they call it " to ascertain potential valuable members" basically to decide whom to charge more and whom to charge less. If the insurance company can determine you are from (or constantly engage in) a bad neighbourhood (which they determine) or you engage in bad health routines like having alcohol more than they like (google pay) or having snacks at late night (zomato, swiggy and others) or you just like adventure and constantly engage in such activities they will consider you a much higher risk since they have a chance to pay. If you think this would never happen or find this dystopian, take a peek at here :- https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-allstate-and-arity-unlawfully-collecting-using-and-selling-over-45, Now this is an official government site, and you can find a ton of news like this if you just look for it!

Uploading pictures or videos on an online platform

If they can ascertain the environment you watch a show in, I can safely say that the metadata ascociated with your picture or video is also harvested. Always use a metadata removing tool like exif-tool to remove metadata before uploading it anywhere!!