I’ve been using web apps on Android for a while now and honestly they are such a practical compromise, is there any privacy disadvantage over using regular apps with all of their permissions restricted by default, to what is necessary (location access for example). Also I have AdGuard. I did see the website (Exodus) that lists the privacy invasiveness of Play Store apps. At the moment I am using Facebook, Proton mail and calendar, and Discord as PWAs, am I doing so for no reason, if I disable the app permissions anyway?
If you can use the web app as you want without much compromise, then keep using web apps. But also be practical - you do want things to work so you can use the service/product.
For example: ProtonMail on webapp is not needed as the app is great and it’s Proton. There isn’t a privacy sacrifice here unless you’re worried about something for some reason. Facebook or Insta on webapp is better if you still need to use it. But Maps should always be an app since that’s how it works best as web app for Maps makes no (practical) sense.
Also, of any app you use, ensure you only give it the permissions it needs to function, not everything.
Issue with Facebook web app, is that it’s unusable. Thanks for the advice though. Will do.
I do not use any social media except Mastodon but if you are trying to be privacy conscious on mobile, I suggest refraining from using any social media on a smartphone. They collect far too much meta data as it is - not worth it unless your lifestyle warrants you keep using it.
Yeah unfortunately, a lot of friends and family use Facebook, and I hate to admit it but Facebook groups and the marketplace are really nice features, which I won’t be giving up anytime soon.
Well, use it on the web only then, or try to.
100%. On the lap/desktop this is easy, but on mobile Facebook have deliberately made the mobile version of the website inaccessible, whereas the desktop version is unusable, so essentially was forced to download messenger and FB apps. If anyone knows of workarounds I am all ears.
No, big tech is evil and stupid this way. No way to avoid the app on mobile. Try requesting the desktop version of the web page or changing the user agent of the browser and see if that helps in any way - I doubt it but no harm trying if you want to spend some time on this.
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I know using modded apps can be dangerous and could lead to more security/privacy risks
but Rockmods offers modded facebook lite with some privacy tweaks
Rockmods has a star on freemediaheckyeah (so for some reason they trust the site)
the app seems to be modified by the site team, but I’m not sure
now it’s up to the user to trust these modders or not.
Anyway Happy Holidays🥳
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The Facebook Lite app contains “no known trackers” according to the Exodus report on the Aurora store. That might be a compromise?
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Review application permissions. Especially newer Android versions give the owner pretty fine grained control in this area.
As an example, Aegis needs the camera permission:
- Allow only while using the app
- Ask every time
- Don’t allow
Below this, there’s actually a handy link to see all applications with Camera access.
Some may also find value in the Bouncer Temporary Permissions by Sam Ruston in the Google app store, which can remove permissions from apps as they close. I can’t find a link in the Play store for this; I have it on my phone. I can find the store entry on my phone but not the web. It might not be widely available or redundant with newer Android versions.
Edit: Found out that Bouncer Temporary Permissions only works in < Android 14 due to classification of accessibility APIs to reading apps. Bummer.
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Maybe install the app in a work profile that you turn off except for when you use it. That’s personally how I do it, it minimizes background connections and data it has without being much of a compromise.
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