Ok, I got one for you, a device right out of the box, never connected to any kind of network and one that was refurbished and factory reset. I’ve never hooked it up to wifi or put a sim in it. Yes, I already know. Refurbished phones are bad, lol. The refurbished is the samsung S21+, which is what I have to work with until I get the pixels. I haven’t decided if i wanted to go through the trouble and set up my own Pixel 7 Pro or buy the nitro already done, but I’m getting one of them shortly. How do the phones know that I’m connected to Los Angeles servers? Why are the apps that came pre-installed accessing each other and turning on permissions after I turned them off. I still haven’t connected them to wifi or mobile data. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can before I do, but it seems like they are already connected. Please forgive my ignorance, I am trying to learn.
I’m not sure if I can offer any relevant help, but you said you haven’t connected this phone to any kind of a network, what do you mean you are “connected to Los Angeles Servers”?
I was changing permisions and just checking the phone out. I stay connected to Los Angeles servers through my vpn. On the device that is not connected, all I did was turn it on, and I was looking through it. Like I mentioned in another post, I am by no means computer literate. I’m sure that’s not the word I needed, lol. I probably should have used the word “recognize.” I was just checking out the phone, and I must have stumbled on something that needed an account. A window popped up telling me I needed to agree to their privacy terms and said, "Here is the link for California residents."I don’t understand why it thought I was in California. I already know that for the time being, as long as I have Samsung devices, I will not have online privacy. The more I learn about samsung i will never purchase another one. Samsung had an update on July 1st. That update took even more control. At least google lets you disable apps you don’t use. Not until I get a nitro or learn as much as I can and get a google Pixel and flash a new OS. I dont know if I’m brave enough to do that. I wish I knew a computer wizard who lived close to me. It’s easier for me to learn, you know, old school hands-on, lol.
Fortunately, at least in the case of GrapheneOS on a Pixel, the process is much more straightforward than you probably imagine it to be. It isn’t as intimidating as flashing a custom Android ROM used to be in the past.
Its still not clear to me where your VPN was installed/enabled. Are you saying it wasn’t on the Samsung device? If not, was it on your router/network? or on another device?
I do not have a router. The vpn is on the phone I’m currently using and my bfs phone. The samsung 21+ has not been connected to anything I just turned it on because I was finally going to set it up. I haven’t put a sim in it or hooked it up to my hotspot. The wifi and blue tooth toggles were both off. Yet phone had 57 processes in memory and all of thosr were in running services. Its very confusung to me lol.
It’s probably just the website/service covering their bases. Lots of them include separate policies for California and GDPR/EU users, and thus show the option to view those policies alongside their regular policy. I regularly get these notices on some business websites even when neither me nor my VPN/Tor node is in EU/California.
Also, funny sidenote/anecdote: When I first started my privacy journey, I got super paranoid and was frightened when I saw my regional content on NewPipe recommendations even with VPN/orbot. Turned out the content I was watching was primarily created in my region and thus would be recommended irrespective of my privacy measures. Nice little lesson to not get carried away.