I don’t know what info is needed to share to make this question answerable, please let me know.
But I was afraid when I opened the phone for the first time and saw seemingly mandatory agreements.
is this phone not possible to have privacy on?
are those agreements reversible?
if the phone hasn’t been used yet, is it possible to sell and buy a phone that doesn’t have this problem?
I was overwhelmed by how to start on a more private foot
If you’re referring to things like their terms of service and privacy policy, I’d assume they might be obligatory so long as the phone does not allow you to skip agreeing to them. Someone on Reddit pointed out:
It usually includes a clause (which may be outside the privacy policy) that says something like “By continuing to use Samsung’s services, you agree to the privacy policy as set out.” even if you didn’t tap the agree button.
Privacy is not a binary of either private or non-private, but rather it is a spectrum of more or less private . Samsung is not the first recommendation for a private phone for good reasons. While you can try to configure your phone for improved privacy, there’s a limit to how private you can be on Samsung.
Privacy Guides currently recommends a Google Pixel running GrapheneOS. If you can return or resell your S24+ for a Google Pixel, you’d be better off.
Becoming more private is more like a marathon rather than a race. Unless you’re in danger, I’d recommend not pushing yourself too far if you feel too overwhelmed by switching to another phone. There are still many other things you can do in the meantime to improve your privacy. But if you feel up for it, GrapheneOS is the best option at the moment.
Thanks. Without grapheneos, is pixel still best option? Does it matter which pixel?
In case the phone can’t be exchanged, is there a verified guide on best configurations for the 24?
I’m unsure if it’s part of this forum to ask about possibly how to exchange it too, but if it is, is there info on that? Sometimes the situation seemed too complex to solve or maybe describe on a public forum
Regarding GrapheneOS, Pixels are indeed the best and only option today.
New OEM might arrive “soon” but for now, only Google Pixels are the way to go. 
Here for the other part of your question
Depends on your wishes regarding the hardware specs, you can go for a Pro or a basic one. But one of the latest and greatest deals IMO would be a Pixel 9a.
Has 80% of the features of the flagship models, is cheap and works wonderfully. 
Edit: I just realized that you wrote “Without grapheneos, is pixel still best option?” 
But still leaving my answer here in case it it helpful 
TBH, no in terms of plenty of aspects such as raw performance, availability, repairability, battery life, etc, but it is unrivalled in terms of official software support.
for your samsung phone, if you are comfortable with tinkering then there are some tools to debloat it, milage would still be quite limited though.
Even without Graphene, I still do think that Pixels are one of the most “healthy” android devices around here. They have a good price to performance ratio regarding their bare OS, good cameras and nice battery life.
In Europe at least. Not sure about US/rest of the world.
Of course you could have something 5 times better from Oppo, OnePlus or else but they will also have 0 support, be bloated with nonsense/trackers etc…
Really depends if you care about juicing out the 10% of extra raw power from the latest Snapdragon chip or if you value privacy more.
It’s more of a “power user/gamer” VS “dumb phone” kind of user dilemma haha.
You can also give a try to a Fairphone but then it’s trading 
reparability vs 
not so good OS[1]… 
/e/OS pretends to be privacy conscious but a quick search shows that it’s not really the case ↩︎
I would personally return the S24+ for a Google Pixel 9 above and below of generation (up to a minimum of Pixel 8) and use GrapheneOS.
As others and even owners here would agree, samsung is not the choice for privacy, of course that is unless you are willing to debloat the device which if you don’t know what you’re doing, it is not recommended.
I think me and I may be mistaken but jonah too would agree that the S22-S25 [In other words the compact phones] (Planning to Buy) and Z Fold 7/Flip (Jonah has a Z Fold) phones can be an exception if you have genuine uses and are not gimmicky (compactness or thinnest foldable that is) but anything beyond that I would just buy a Pixel, it never is a justification to get any other samsung phone at this point and especially if you dont feel capable of safely debloating.
Another option I can recommend and obviously better than Samsung is an iPhone (and Apple does have a fair lineup of comapct phones, similar one would be the 15 Pro, and the GOAT Being the 13 Mini). Obviously pixel with Graphene still excels from both of them but I would decide based on your threat model and needs.
Jonah has an Iphone nah or I misunderstood?
I guess he has both an iPhone and Android now :3
To complete the message above, GrapheneOS sounds scary and stuff but really, it’s just a regular Android experience without the AI fluff etc…
People sometimes sell it as a crazy OS but it’s not that weird haha.
LTT made a nice video on it recently.
Also, it’s definitely less work + more peace of mind that going to unbloat a Samsung…
Yes, the Pixel is still currently the best Android phone regardless of whether you’ll run GrapheneOS since it’ll still have better hardware security features and ships with less bloat. There is a debate as to whether the iPhone is better than the stock Pixel and I think most people on this forum would probably prefer the iPhone.
To me it comes down to whether you prefer more freedom (Android) or slightly more privacy (iOS). I personally prefer freedom and if you’re already interested in Android the Pixel is probably the best upgrade from a Galaxy.
The newer the better, so long as it’s compatible with GrapheneOS assuming you want the option to use GrapheneOS. Most people prefer the latest Pixel *a phone (currently the 9a) as they’re cheaper and work well enough.
I don’t think Privacy Guides has a general Android configuration guide but The New Oil does.
Yeah, whatever the device you’re getting you’ll need to opt-in into some privacy settings and opt-out from some telemetry anyway.
Also depends how much you value security. I’d say that unbloating a device would always be less secure than a Graphene Pixel or latest iPhone.
For available countries I would really recommend Fairphone over stock Pixel / Samsung due to its repairability. Phones nowadays are powerful enough for prob. half of the users to run for 6+ years. And the hardware issues due to poor design / part quality (esp. batteries / screens) with Pixel and Samsung makes them a tough sell for me.
Pixel with GOS has its limitations, imagining for those who are addicted in Google / MS suites, and for those who only wants one phone and uses google pay regularly. Or for those who hates user frictions (switching between googled / de-googled profiles , tinkering with exploit protections).
Even with the best device, with poor software selection, opsec and digital hygiene, it is not gonna achieve anything. And IMO the device is the last aspect to be tackled, unless threat level disallows.
I appreciate everyone’s replies. I wonder if there’s a more private way to maybe share about my threat model, or things like that, than on a public forum? I don’t mean in extreme detail, hopefully, but I felt more nervous, even though everyone’s responses helped
You really don’t have to mention your threat model if it calls for it but you need to make a proper judgement and one way it can be helped is by telling us a clue of it and also rare but if you know someone you trust physically to talk about, which as I said is super rare and would have to be knowledgeable enough, that’s why forums and discussions exist, due to the rarity. As I will mention below lawyers are also an option but they cost money (and it is not little and varies firm by firm), period.
Otherwise I would try to make a right call but if only necessary would also consult a lawyer if some of the extreme side of things
In general at least, is anyone familiar with private investigators or stalking/monitoring? I wonder how phones relate to these.
It wasn’t clear to me what was used from the phone to locate someone, if it wasn’t spyware or something installed like that - even if they’re privacy conscious (though not super tech savvy).
After switching to a phone that was hopefully not associated with a more questionably sourced phone, I still wasn’t sure what the risks of a different phone was.
For example, putting one’s legal name on the phone confused me, but then the phone seemed much less useful if couldn’t communicate your name on it.
I think in most cases you can share your situation / threat assessment, just nothing PII like which city you live, what company you work for, detailed personal history, phone number, personal emails, gender, age, ethnics, name, etc.
If your adversary(ies) is either government or resourceful crminal groups, you will need to be more careful by not saying anything that could possibly blow your cover.
For phone tracking, it is not cheap nor easy, and very likely illegal to track someone by their phones (except you installed tracker apps of some sort.)
What is your situation and what are your threats? If your peesonal safety is at risk right now, you probably should call police / find a way to leave the country first, and we can talk about phones later.
Private spyware would hopefully be illegal in your jurisdiction but that’d only deter private investigators, not stalkers. Learning good security practices (some of which can be learned from the Privacy Guides website) and using GrapheneOS are great steps you can take to better protect yourself.
What might be legal (or at least not enforced) is tracking your phone’s location through cell tower triangulation. I recall Michael Bazzell discussing how easy it is for private investigators to do in the USA. To be on the safe side you may want to consider purchasing an anonymous phone. I’d look for Michael Bazzell’s mobile device guide as he goes into great detail on how to properly do this. If your country requires you provide PII for phone plans, you may be limited on options. Some people simply just use their phones without a phone plan.
For phone plans, is Helium mobile evaluated for privacy? It was accessible financially but the free plan seemed maybe too new to have been tested? I’m unsure
For private investigators as well, it wasn’t clear to me that they’re all within bounds of the law. Often they don’t seem required to say what they’re doing, so it seemed impossible to know what they’re actually doing. Is it possible to know rather than assume?
I never heard of it but based on what Android Authority says about it, I’d be very skeptical:
The Zero Plan offers 3GB of data, 300 texts, and 100 minutes of phone calls for absolutely nothing. There are no hidden fees or monthly bills here. Additionally, Helium will offer a Cloud Points program that rewards users who participate in activities like location sharing, referrals, and surveys. These points can then be redeemed for gift cards and more.
If a service like this is free, it’s likely that you’re the product. I believe Michael Bazzell specifically recommends certain telecom providers in the U.S. in his mobile devices book so I’d stick to that instead.
Are you asking if there’s a way to know if a private investigator will break the law or not? I have no clue. I’d assume most would prefer to not risk legal consequences but some are known to go the extra mile and engage in some appalling behavior which is certainly unethical and possibly illegal.
If I recall correctly, Israel’s Black Cube worked for Harvey Weinstein to spy on his victims with the purpose of finding skeletons in their closet to discredit or threaten them. I don’t recall all the details but Darknet Diaries has a couple podcasts on it and I remember thinking “that’s gotta be illegal” when listening to it, but I don’t think Black Cube themselves got in any trouble which is very telling.