I have just received a Samsung galaxy fold5 through the post, however I imagine it’s full of bloatware and I’m inexperienced with this type of device. What is the first things that you would do to secure it? Thank you 😊
Edit: I mean to be more privacy focused
@chaosppe speaking from my personal setup, I’d do all of these but personally my way to prevent as much data harvesting from Samsung phones I also installed Netguard and set only a handful of apps and exclude the rest (even system one) to stop all these Samsung apps from transmitting all types of data (Yes I know this may be somewhat extreme and I know the limitations of Netguard), but hey it’s just my recommendation but maybe you can take this as a possible starting ground
- Factory reset
- Setup but SKIP GOOGLE & SAMSUNG LOGIN
- Install F-Droid/Droid-ify
- Install Aurora Store
- Uninstall or disable as much default apps as you can
- Install Simple Mobile Tools or other opensource alternative from F-Droid
- Install everything else you need
Use openaource apps from fdroid, or if you really have to then use Aurora store. For office use collabora office, for youtube newpipe, video vlc, etc. NEVER LOG IN TO GOOGLE/SAMSUNG ACCOUNT ON ANY APP except Aurora store. For any other recommendation/alternative just aak me.
these changes are going to decrease security overall. privacy and security are not one in the same. edit: I guess they edited the post🫠
also, logging in to aurora is almost guaranteeing your account getting banned. use a throw away account if the default ones are rate limited
logging in to aurora is almost guaranteeing your account getting banned
Im using my main account on aurora store on 4 profiles for past month and everything is ok (for now).
I can’t even find a custom or stock rom for it :/ You might not have picked the best phone for privacy my dude.
NetGuard is a good app to block internet access to apps you dont want connected to the web.
Use ADB to remove Google and Samsung bloatware and tracking. Ask around for help.
You should be able to use Heimdall to unlock the bootloader, but there isn’t currently a build of LineageOS or DivestOS for this phone, so unfortunately you cannot yet flash a custom ROM (AFAIK). However, rooting should work if you need this (although it can hurt your security a bit).
I’d recommend removing Google Play Services and replacing it with microG, although this may be complicated.
The best solution, however, is probably to exchange the phone for a more versatile model, such as a Google Pixel or a Fairphone.
