Whenever people ask about ways to make their smartphones more private or which is the most privacy-respecting phone to get, there’s always a few people confidently asserting “all smartphones are spy tools, get a dumbphone with no apps if you want to be private”. Which is ridiculous advice for a few reasons
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Dumbphones usually run either proprietary operating systems or outdated forks of Android. They’re almost never encrypted. They rarely get security updates. They’re a lot more vulnerable than even a regular Android phone
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With dumbphones, you’re usually limited to regular phone calls or SMS/MMS messaging. These are ancient communication standards with zero built-in privacy. Your ISP can read any text message you send and view metadata logs of any phone calls you make. In lots of places (like Australia where I live) ISPs are actually required to keep logs of your messages and phone calls
With even a regular Android phone you at least have access to encrypted messaging apps like Signal or Session so your conversations aren’t fair game for anyone who wants to read them. Of course there are better options. iOS (not perfect but better than most bloatware-filled Android devices) and a pixel with GrapheneOS (probably the best imo) are much better options; but virtually anything out there is going to be better for privacy than a dumbphone
Edit: Thanks everyone for giving your thoughts. Some really good points I hadn’t thought much about
You are conflating privacy and security. They’re not unrelated, but generally speaking while a dumphone may be less secure than a smartphone, it’s also certainly more private.
How can you have a private phone with less security?
Edit: Certainly without security you cannot have true privacy
It is simple.
It produces significantly less data. It doesn’t have all the apps you are being tracked by reporting on your every move.
It doesn’t have faceid, and probably has a lot of exploits (less security), but the data it holds isn’t worth securing and it doesn’t provide a non-stop datamine (more privacy).
Basically, instead of having a large safe filled with gold, you have a duffel-bag with your old gym clothes. You don’t need security for old gym clothes.
Your ISP can read any text message you send and view metadata logs of any phone calls you make. In lots of places (like Australia where I live) ISPs are actually required to keep logs of your messages and phone calls
Why would my Internet Service Provider have anything whatsoever to do with my dumb phone?
Yes, texts and calls aren’t hidden from your mobile phone provider, they never were. I agree it’s not great, and the government is likely spying on you as they have been for decades.
But alas, I don’t see a solution without using a non dumb phone and encrypted apps, which will require the internet and at that point you’ve not got a dumb phone any more.
My Nokia 3310 still works great. Sure, the government could spy on me, but I don’t discuss anything sensitive over the phone (traditionally one doesn’t, for this very reason, wiretaps and the like). It’s a tool for casually staying in touch and arranging to meet up _
You can make a smartphone (more) private, but out of the box and loaded with standard apps (eg Google), its a privacy nightmare. So I get where they are coming from. Sure using SMS isn’t private, but dropping all that app addiction is.
It comes down to the hostile actor you are trying to defend against. If you are Jason Bourne and you have been burned by your agency so multiple nation-states are looking for you, then you have to go fully off-grid and live a quiet life without ever communicating with anyone in your prior life again. It doesn’t matter if you are using Signal, or SMS, or even a dial-up BBS. If you are communicating with people that are also under heavy surveillance, you cannot hide.
If you want to reduce your “digital footprint,” then not using google/facebook/other social media is the most worthwhile thing you can possibly do. Your phone doesn’t matter. Use iOS, never install any of the social apps, use Safari in incognito mode, and you’ll never be tracekd across websites again.
