[okso]

Installing NetGuard was revelation regarding the amount of tracking in most Android apps.

You can configure it to block access by default and notify you every time an app attempts a new connection. And it rings all the time.

Some software call home at 4am every day, other every hour, some send data to a dozen "analytics" services - services that I never opted-in for, which shows how few apps respect the RGPD.

At least most apps still work when those are blocked, and NetGuard allows you to block connections to Google servers except for Google Apps, which network firewalls and DNS solutions can't.

[mmooss]

> NetGuard allows you to block connections to Google servers except for Google Apps, which network firewalls and DNS solutions can't.

How do you know those connections are blocked and not merely bypassing Netguard?

[okso]

I am using GrapheneOS. GrapheneOS has a compatibility layer providing the option to install and use the official releases of Google Play in the standard app sandbox.

See https://grapheneos.org/features#sandboxed-google-play

NetGuard also shows network requests from GrapheneOS itself, all proxied by the GrapheneOS project, as described here: https://grapheneos.org/faq#default-connections

[mmooss]

I could see how they are blocked on your system, using GrapheneOS, but that doesn't tell us if Netguard blocks them on Android systems. One reason for GrapheneOS is to close that kind of hole.

[0x1ceb00da]

> Some software call home at 4am every day

Which app?

[okso]

Not sure anymore since I removed them, it may have been BlaBlaCar and/or Tricount.