final steps for privacy. trackers in apps. options?
from hankthetankie@hexbear.net to privacy@lemmy.ml on 02 Aug 2025 13:42
https://hexbear.net/post/5733938

#privacy

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zarlin@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 02 Aug 2025 14:05 next collapse

If you’re ok with doing some selfhosting, a DNS filter like PiHole or Adguard Home should take care of those. A nice bonus is that these can also block most in-app ads :)

If you setup a VPN like Tailscale you can even make your phone traffic go through a DNS filter you serve at home, so your privacy is always protected.

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 02 Aug 2025 14:29 next collapse

alternatively, you can use adaway to get the same blocklists directly on your phone.

its better with root but it works rootless.

hankthetankie@hexbear.net on 02 Aug 2025 17:58 collapse

I do have dns filter on the vpn server but no controll over the lists. DNS solutions that use the VPN won’t do it. I can of course change DNS server (and I’m gonna setup Adguard on my extra glinet router once they fix their botched firmware update) question is if trackers use more than publich IPS and doesn’t change. An updated list would work I guess.

hankthetankie@hexbear.net on 02 Aug 2025 18:12 collapse

Yeah thinking of some self hosting later , but need to fix my main PC first. Managed to botch a dual setup and lost a ton of stuff…

JumpyWombat@lemmy.ml on 02 Aug 2025 14:17 next collapse

FYI Sentry is for failure reports. It’s not a spyware.

sentry.io

MrSoup@lemmy.zip on 03 Aug 2025 19:29 next collapse

I don’t want them to report failures in my life

jjlinux@lemmy.zip on 03 Aug 2025 23:53 collapse

I’m married. That’s my wife’s job, pointing out my failures.

MrSoup@lemmy.zip on 02 Aug 2025 14:18 next collapse

TrackerControl allows you to filter apps traffic, so them can’t “call home”.

Sxan@piefed.zip on 02 Aug 2025 14:28 collapse

Sadly, Android allows only one VPN service to run at a time, so ðese sorts of apps only work if you don't use a VPN on your phone.

MrSoup@lemmy.zip on 02 Aug 2025 14:29 next collapse

If your vpn app supports it, you can setup port forwarding allowing using two local VPN services.

Sxan@piefed.zip on 02 Aug 2025 17:09 next collapse

VPN over VPN? I suppose. It's not obvious how you'd set ðat up.

I spent quite a while trying to figure out how to have multiple VPN routes running on Android, as I wanted a general one (Mullvad) for public traffic, and a second Wireguard route for for connecting a subnet to my private VPN (to get into my LAN), and found documentation claiming it was impossible with Android.

MrSoup@lemmy.zip on 02 Aug 2025 18:42 collapse

With TrackerControl I’ve setup port forwarding to inviZible Pro. But this is up to the app to support it.

Another way is to use Android work profile which enables to use two VPN, one on each account.

swelter_spark@reddthat.com on 02 Aug 2025 20:56 collapse

I use TrackerControl with invizible Pro, too. Works great.

RheumatoidArthritis@mander.xyz on 02 Aug 2025 19:07 collapse

Can you give me an example vpn app so I can play with it myself?

MrSoup@lemmy.zip on 03 Aug 2025 19:39 collapse

My setup is TrackerControl + inviZible Pro.

Try givin a look on the web for some foss vpn client for android which supports port forwarding. Maybe you should find some guides on how to setup multiple of them too with work profile or just port mapping.

RheumatoidArthritis@mander.xyz on 05 Aug 2025 07:25 collapse

Thank you! That was enough information for me to find this guide: reddit.com/…/explained_how_to_run_2_vpns_on_andro…

RheumatoidArthritis@mander.xyz on 05 Aug 2025 07:27 collapse

Explained: How to run 2 VPNs on Android simultaneously I had been looking on the internet a method that would enable me to run 2 VPN apps on the same device simultaneously, but just got to solve this.

My setting: I was trying to route all my firewalled traffic (ReThink Firewall) through a proxy to another vpn app. Psiphon Pro (FOSS) can accept traffic from inbound proxy but itself establishes a VPN profile and thus the firewall can’t connect (which too requires to function as a VPN).

VPN app in main profile: Rethink Firewall (FOSS, Fdroid)

VPN app in work profile: Psiphon Pro (Free VPN, Playstore)

Shelter app lets you clone apps using the work profile feature and takes only a few MBs

I used this setup on Android 13 and it works.

Solution:

Using the open source app, Shelter (Fdroid) create a work profile. A work profile can have its own VPN app running along with main (personal) profile’s VPN.

Install and configure the Rethink Firewall on Main profile.

In Shelter, set the Psiphon app to “Allow Cross-Profile Interaction”

Run the Psiphon VPN (app that would accept inbound traffic). In its logs section, see the SOCKS proxy port.

Set the proxy port to the same in Rethink Firewall in the correct way. As, 127.0.0.1:{port}

Now Rethink Firewall is able to tunnel all its traffic into Psiphon Pro (running in work profile)

ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 02 Aug 2025 20:41 next collapse

Use rethink DNS, it will do both filtering and VPN. I use the wireguard config from my proton in rethink DNS.

root@aussie.zone on 03 Aug 2025 08:13 collapse

I use TrackerControl with pribate dns via NextDNS. Seems to work well.

aurelar@lemmy.ml on 02 Aug 2025 18:28 next collapse

What app did you use to get info on what trackers your apps have?

hankthetankie@hexbear.net on 02 Aug 2025 18:30 collapse

Exodus

Luffy879@lemmy.ml on 02 Aug 2025 22:40 next collapse

Just switch out the Apps.

hankthetankie@hexbear.net on 03 Aug 2025 03:57 collapse

Sure , got a Foss Whatsapp client laying around?

Luffy879@lemmy.ml on 03 Aug 2025 09:44 next collapse

Its called signal

Or just get a second phone / use a seperate profile

hankthetankie@hexbear.net on 03 Aug 2025 11:10 next collapse

Oh why didn’t I think of that… thanks for the great help!

bloubz@lemmygrad.ml on 04 Aug 2025 01:08 collapse

Molly would be the independent and FOSS Android client

But that’s not a replacement for WhatsApp + Signal was funded by Radio Free Asia (under CIA control), which is something to consider

bloubz@lemmygrad.ml on 04 Aug 2025 01:13 collapse

In addition to my answer to your original request, I can inform about stuff related to WhatsApp.

You can use WhatsApp on a Matrix server with a bridge. You can either selfhost or find a server which has the WhatsApp bridge.

There is also Beeper - now acquired by Automattic (WordPress, …) - which is a company matrix server with many bridges (they employed the person developing most of them). You can use a FOSS matrix client like Element X or their own client which is not FOSS but requires far fewer permissions than the WhatsApp app

hankthetankie@hexbear.net on 04 Aug 2025 08:57 collapse

Yeah that a good idea! Will look into it . Must get some self hosting going :)

bloubz@lemmygrad.ml on 04 Aug 2025 11:58 collapse

I think you can deploy Matrix with Yunohost, which is very convenient as a first self hosted server

foremanguy92_@lemmy.ml on 03 Aug 2025 05:31 next collapse

If you have the possibility to self host -> PiHole (or adguard)

If not -> TrackerControl (a.k.a. TC)

monovergent@lemmy.ml on 03 Aug 2025 22:41 next collapse

Unsustainable if the app needs to be updated and not guaranteed to work, but I have ripped out the network and other unnecessary permissions of APKs before using APK Editor Studio.

bloubz@lemmygrad.ml on 04 Aug 2025 01:02 collapse

BTW you don’t neee an external app to remove network permission on GrapheneOS

bloubz@lemmygrad.ml on 04 Aug 2025 01:05 collapse

People have mentioned NextDNS (just a DNS setting) and TrackerControl (connects as a VPN on android/grapheneos)

I can mention also DNSNet (which actually also uses a VPN) and PCAPdroid

There are other options, with more features. Lists exist online