no this is for the benefit of security and privacy.
Outside of some hardening and tweaks you’re not getting any serious privacy with using a samsung phone on it’s stock os regardless of possible changes.
And we say if it is possible to buy a pixel for a reason. (not to mention an S10)
You joined a community that focuses on that and a community where PG themselves recommend pixels and GrapheneOS for a good reason and not other solutions, but in my experience we’re actively looking for methods for those who can’t get the Google Pixel phones so. Not to mention you literally bought a device that is EOL and the best you can do is harm reduction if you’re not willing to switch.
[If you want a privacy for all, I recommend techlore but in terms of device they’ll tell you the same anyways, that it is EOL outside of harm reduction which would not help too significantly. PG is a security and privacy (oriented) for all]
@confusediswhoiam first setup nextdns and start blocking things you don’t recognize. You can always unblock them. Don’t use any default apps. Replace them with Foss apps. Don’t use Samsung account.
It’s hard to provide a full list. Start digging and you will find your own solution. Fell free to ask
I agree that this community seems to be shilling for Google Pixel (sure, for good reason), which could put people off from privacy. I’ve made an argument that hardening your phone/OS is more important because people will use the phone/OS that they like, regardless of privacy or security. Samsung and iPhones are also more popular and widely available compared to Pixels. I own a Samsung Galaxy A14 which I absolutely LOVE, even if it’s not a flagship phone like the Galaxy S.
However, S21 is a bad choice because it’s an old phone that will only be supported for another year. If you intend to prioritize security, you will need to get a new phone next year, if not now. Before getting a new phone, you should find out how long they will be supported. The best choice is to exchange it for another phone.
If you can’t do that, then use your current phone, but keep in mind that it will be obsolete next year. The first thing I would do is remove all the bloatware. My Samsung phone came with M$, Google & Samsung proprietary garbage pre-installed. I uninstalled / disabled all of it, except for YouTube and Google Maps. I would also go to your settings and disable all Google apps and other apps that you don’t need. If there are background apps that you’re not familiar with, it may be worth searching for what those apps do. If it breaks one of your apps, then the app will alert you that you need a specific app to be enabled to use the app. For me, I had to keep Google Play enabled, which is fine because I don’t have a Google account.
It’s also worth going to the permission settings and changing those settings as well. If you need to use WhatsApp (like me), you don’t need to give WhatsApp permission to all your photos & videos. If you need to share photos & videos, go directly to the file you want to share and use the share button instead. This is so that you only give WhatsApp permission to access and share one specific file, rather than your whole folder. The same applies to Discord & FB Messenger as well (and probably SMS, but we generally favor e2ee messengers). Set-up 2FA / passkeys, don’t add e-mail (or at least use an alias), and don’t back-up your chat to Google Drive (or Samsung Cloud). If you uninstall / disable both apps, then you won’t get any annoying prompts about keeping your account “secure” by using their cloud storage.
As for Apple Music, I use Spotify, so I’m not sure if there’s a difference, but you can use an email alias, fake name, virtual cards, and again check the privacy / security settings. There’s not much you can do to make those apps more private or secure because streaming services are designed to collect as much user data as possible to tailor their algorithms (and ads) to their user base. Banking apps are not private, but they should be secure ootb. Again, just check the permissions. If you don’t think a specific app needs permission to access your camera, photos, phone, messages, call history, etc. then turn them off.
Lastly, do find FOSS alternatives to proprietary apps. I use Material Files instead of My Files, OpenBoard instead of Samsung Keyboard, Graphene Camera instead of stock camera, Simple Contacts instead of stock contacts heck, even my Calculator and Voice Recorder are FOSS. I would stick with Samsung Gallery if you to use Secure Folder as I believe that’s the only way you can transfer photos to Samsung’s Secure Folder. Enable 2FA on everything, using YuBiKey or 2FA apps recommended. I use Aegis and like it a lot. Download Aurora Store in place of Google Play. Download Shelter to segregate your apps as you can’t create multiple profiles on Samsung anymore (morons!). Information overload, but if you’ve read this far, just start with one sentence at a time. And save up for a new phone soon!
A used S21 is cheaper than a new A16, plus the former’s specs are more attractive than the latter’s (well, except for software support.)
Is it okay to use a phone that is extended-supported by GrapheneOS?
Well, harm education it is. (This was mentioned by the guide that was linked in the beginning.)
that’s provided more for harm reduction
also I keep seeing people say it has 1 more year, I think it’s more like months considering it’s release, and the 3-4 commited by then.
I don’t recommend harm reduction if you could have afforded even a pixel 7a which has at least 2-3 years left or better yet a pixel 8a has around 6 years left. (and they would have been as cheap as the S10 when done right).
I still stand on the advice I gave you in brackets.
I appreciate your response and time.
I only have one thing to say: Virtual cards are not supported in my country.
Beyond the general consensus to use a Pixel device instead, you might be interested in this FOSS Apple Music frontend called Cider.
As for WhatsApp, ensure that you disabled auto-downloads of any form of media (images, video etc). You can also disable the ability for an unknown contact to add you to groups.
That is for desktop and is proprietary. The open-source version is deprecated and the developer deleted part of the dependency.
Ah, I must have not been kept up to date when I was still using Apple Music 