john_har...@comcast.net wrote:
I would like some recommendations for replacements.
Have you considered not having a tracker (a more honest name for a cell/mobile phone)?
Their principal task is to track everywhere the device goes (which they do many times per hour), and since people typically carry the phone with them (including into the washroom when they use the toilet) geolocation data shows where they go. From this data one can compute many things including: a map of one's house/office walkways, one's route to/from various places, the places one typically/rarely goes, how long one spends at various locations. If someone followed you and took notes to learn such information, you'd probably think they were stalking you and you'd likely have a problem with that. But if unknowably large and unidentifiable sets of people get this data from a device, suddenly this stalking is okay.
Consider that most modern trackers have cameras & mics built into them (all under proprietary software control). This means people are carrying recording/bugging equipment with them as they: use the toilet, sleep, eat, do their work, have sex/cheat on their spouses, and more. People would balk if someone walked behind them with a boom mic, a camera, and insisted on recording them as they urinated, defecated, had sex, or even ate a meal. But it turns out people are happy to agree to this if one changes the situation in a less honest way: if one sells people a device to let users check their email, play a game, or hold a phone call with someone the users will reflexively bring the device into sensitive areas.
This is identical to the problem of so-called "smart TVs" (minus the immobility of these TVs). And those TVs are installed in their bedroom aimed squarely at their beds. It doesn't take much imagination to understand what this has probably led to for years.
Furthermore, since most people browse the web with Javascript (and other add-ons that execute code) turned on by default, and most people install apps on their trackers without understanding what that proprietary code does, they're running a lot more code than they realize (none of which is vetted by anyone interested in protecting their privacy).
Trackers usually don't give any indication when the mic is on. And even if they indicate when the camera is on that indicator is operated with proprietary (read: untrustworthy) software.
There are downsides to carrying around the equipment used to spy on you, and trusting a bunch of people you don't know and can't identify to "do the right thing" and not spy on you.
It would hardly be surprising if there were a LOT more inadvertent porn stars right now.
I would like to go libre on my next phone, so is there a relatively trouble free way for me to get that done and move on?
There's no such thing as a fully-free tracker because (as I understand it) most modern trackers have two computers only one of which you have any hope of controlling with a distro like Replicant.
The other computer (the one you don't control) handles the modem which connects to the cell tower and relays call data, location data, and other data including software to run on the computer you could control. This means the modem computer can read or replace the software on the computer you can control. Thus the tower you're using has the power to read/replace the software you're running.
What phone would you recommend, and what OS is easy enough to install for a simple lad as myself? Is Replicant easy to install, and run trouble free?
I recommend using a land line phone that has no camera. I recommend making plans for meeting people ahead of time using phone calls to/from your land line, in-person visits, encrypted emails, and simply showing up on-time to events to which you are invited. Land line phones are quite inexpensive and long-lasting. Land line phones get power from the line to which they are connected, so they will also work in the event the power goes out instead of running low on battery power. This is really good news if you need to reach emergency services during a power outage.
