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I'll try to cut things short and get to the point.
Google has recently announced that it is going to change its privacy policy . The new privacy policy allows Google to enhance its products by collecting data. Data that is being collected. That data is transferred via Google products (Youtube, Gmail, Google Maps, etc.). For Google to be able to collect your data, you have to be logged in into one of its products and data collecting starts.
By signing off form its products, is transfer being disabled? If you use Google search engine, is data being collected via cookies and is it the same just as if you are signed in into some Google product? That way, by monitoring IP activity it can effectively collect data just as if you were signed in into Google prods.
It looks to me that no matter what, signed in or not, Google will get those data!
Can Google collect data from my Android phone even if I am not signed in into any Google product, but simply because I am using Android?
How is it possible that no one takes interest in this matter? This sounds serious to me and it does needs some attention, at least to be informed properly. Big corporation Google is taking away privacy, by building a behaving system for each Internet user.
How come this topic, not mine but in general, is being dropped down from everyone's sight?
mendoza1 said:
How is it possible that no one takes interest in this matter? This sounds serious to me and it does needs some attention, at least to be informed properly. Big corporation Google is taking away privacy, by building a behaving system for each Internet user.
How come this topic, not mine but in general, is being dropped down from everyone's sight?
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Because its been discussed in a few threads.
And possibly because google are simply collecting all they know about you in one place.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
As long as you are using a google product, they will most surtainly be collecting data from you.
It won't matter if you are logged in or not.
It's a sad reality, but if you want privacy, don't use google products. Or facebook for that matter.
Personally i would love a OS that has privacy in mind. But i fear such a thing is close to impossible these days.
Sent from my LT18i using XDA App
People made a huge stink over Carrier IQ but when its Google its not a big deal. collection of personal information sucks-period. What makes anyone think that almighty Google cant be hacked by some sort of group like Anonymous? Although I see no reason at the moment for them to do it, I dont want to say its not possible. Really Google needs to be limited on what they have access too just like anybody. I love the Android platform and many of Googles products, but I am willing to pay a little to keep my information safe. Remember if you are not paying for it, you are not the customer, you are the product being sold.
So I had recently purchased Cerberus and additional licenses, I also signed up to participate in their Beta test.
So shortly after begining to explore some of the functions, about a week into using this app I abruptly get blocked from most of the functions of this app, without warning and PERMANENTLY.
So I contact tech support for some answers, I get a generic reply. Then after all follow up requests for specifics are completely ignored. I post on their forum , and post gets deleted. I contact moderator to ask why a completely factual post is deleted, no response either.
I can't believe the arrogance of this company to take a user's money, then cut off their services, and refuse to explain, followed by being completely ignored.
Which leads me to this posting. I'm looking for an affordable solution that provides most of the same features of Cerberus. I'd love to be able to promote this alternative app as much as I can, and would love to see Cerberus go out of business due to their unethical business practices.
I used Cerberus for a while, but now I'm using Prey Anti Theft, which can be found on the Play Store, and I'm and a couple of friends have been satisfied whit it.
They also have apps for other operating systems, too.
Hope it helps.
Lol, that's nothing. I paid for two accounts for lifetime license, they recently cancelled both my accounts on account of expired. Lol, lifetime product got expired just after 5+ years. So basically they became some lieing stupid people and want people in their subscription plans even if they have a lifetime license. No, thamk you. I also came here looking for an alternative.
Hello all,
In my circle of friends there was a suicide case and I was asked by the family if I would be able to remove a screen lock from a Samsung Galaxy S21. The family can't explain why their son killed himself and would like answers to all their questions. They assume that there is information on the phone or reasons for the suicide.
Are there any serious ways to get around such a block? I don't have much information about the device yet, nor do I currently have it with me. Maybe there are exploits or bruteforce toolkits to bypass the lockscreen. Programs like Tenorshare 4uKey or PassFab Android Unlocker are probably scam or?
I will get the device in the next week and could provide more information then.
Currently the following information is available:
Device Model: Samsung Galaxy S21 5G | Samsung SM-G991B | Android 11 | One UI 3.1
Mobile contract: active
SMS PIN & PUK: available
Google account credentials: available and valid and linked to the device but no backups available in Google Drive
Samsung account credentials: present and valid but not associated with the device so no backups available
Does the approach via Kali Nethunter and a HID keyboard attack work with a current Android Samsung Galaxy S21 bruteforcing or do you always get into the temporally increasing lock?
A data recovery $pecialist might be able to, ask the police for assistance.
Find the password for the lockscreen, or maybe through their Gmail or Samsung accounts, again passwords needed.
I think if they wanted you in the phone they would have unlocked it...
blackhawk said:
A data recovery $pecialist might be able to, ask the police for assistance.
Find the password for the lockscreen, or maybe through their Gmail or Samsung accounts, again passwords needed.
I think if they wanted you in the phone they would have unlocked it...
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This is not a helpful answer.
The police in this country does not help in such matters if it is assumed that no outside influence was involved.
A data recovery specialist also only executes toolkits or exploits. I am also able to do this if someone gives me a hint which toolkits or exploits would come into question for this model. I work as a sysadmin myself and therefore I am not completely untalented technically. I just lack information about which approach would be the best.
This is a community of people who like to hack their phones, not hack into other people's phones... which is considered unethical.
Are you serious?
You really think it's unethical when a 21 year old boy takes his own life overnight and the family just wants to know why their son did it? Sure, the boy was of age at 21 and can do with his life what he wants. Nevertheless, any clear-thinking person can understand that the family wants to know why the son did that.
I have no bad intentions and I am only trying to help the family. This is not about hacking a stolen cell phone. Then I would just do a factory reset and use the phone normally and not write this post here.
Yes, well... be that as it may.
With a screen lock in place you can't simply factory reset as you still be locked out.
I believe my original response was valid. It's not an easy nut to crack... by design.
Hello, i own a phone repair shop and i'm a relation with a person specialized in unlocking phones. He said me that he can bypass the lock screen and keep data on all samsung phones and he can do it remotly. Being in this business i don't trust him a lot about keeping data. One of my customer's son is dead and his family want to access his phone, they gave me his phone and they are agree to loose data if things dont go good so i'm gonna try with this guy and if you want i will give you a feedback.
Hi sorry to hear that this terrible situation happened around you.
I am in a similar situation. My cousin died suddenly and his sister asked be to recover pictures and videos because he filmed himself before try to end his life and she would like to find if there is any video that could help us understand better.
I'm trying to find ways to do that and so far I haven't but I wanted to share some information in case it could be helpful to someone.
I tried the iMobie Data Extractor. It is supposed to help recover data from "broken phone". I guess it's the closest thing I found that didn't look scammy and could work. After about a month of back and forth with their support person, I managed to replaced the OS using Odin (because the official software left my phone in a non-bootable state) replacing all partitions except User Data. Unfortunately, that didn't remove the lock (PIN). I'm not surprised since I didn't wipe the User Data.
From a security perspective, it is good that it is hard (impossible) to access data of a locked phone, but from a family emotional perspective, it is hard to have to tell my family that I failed.
I wish you good luck and please post here if you find a way.
be safe
Touftaf said:
Hello, i own a phone repair shop and i'm a relation with a person specialized in unlocking phones. He said me that he can bypass the lock screen and keep data on all samsung phones and he can do it remotly. Being in this business i don't trust him a lot about keeping data. One of my customer's son is dead and his family want to access his phone, they gave me his phone and they are agree to loose data if things dont go good so i'm gonna try with this guy and if you want i will give you a feedback.
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What happened
I don't have easy-to-hear information for you. But I offer these words as a way to think about this situation.
I believe Samsung intentionally builds phones which are extremely hard to break into. This is a conscious design decision they make. Why? Because so many users do things like credit card payments, banking, and social media, where, if you lost your phone and a bad person found it, an easy-to-break-into device would have potentially catastrophic results. Aside from the harm to a user who lost a phone, Samsung themselves would be subjected to great reputational damage, too. It's bad press when it's easy to break into and steal something.
Also, you may not be able to break into the device, even with the help of a commercial vendor. Exploits in Android, when found, are patched regularly. A very smart person might have had a way to crack into a phone last week, last month, or last year. But again, Samsung intends to continually patch the software to keep it secure. They make a point to telling people that Samsung phones are patched for several years, so users will feel confident their data will be secure.
One suspects certain governments have police or security organizations who likely could break in, but they are unlikely to help in a personal situation, as you described.
Although this doesn't seem to apply to you, it's worth saying that Samsung phones are also backed up (by default) to their "cloud." It's possible that a lawyer might be able, with proper documentation of the owner's death, to get access to Samsung's (or Google's) cloud backup(s). I don't think it's easy though. Google, at least in the USA, allows the owner of an account to specify how Google should handle their data if they stop accessing their accounts. (I think Google treats an idle account as "dead" and for reasons like this, if you no longer want to use a vendor like Samsung or Google, you should proactively delete your account, not merely let it go idle.)
Anyone reading this post, might want to consider having what can be an uncomfortable conversation with your friends and family: "How would you like your friends and family handle your electronic, financial, and social accounts in the event of your death?"
Please, forgive me if any of this sounds insensitive. My father worked in insurance and as part of his job he knew all to well that all people eventually die. And how hard it is for those left behind to pick up the pieces, especially when secrets are involved. My family knows where to find my keys.
My father passed a couple days ago and I need to gain access to his phone in order to invite all his friends to the service as well as get into contact with some family overseas.
He has a 4 pin code that I've been trying to guess but have not yet succeded.
I can provide proof that it is my fathers phone incase people believe it is stolen.
I can't get into his samsung account because it is basically his google account, I set up his google account with two factor authorization. Which requires me to get into his phone to even access.
Anything Helps
I don't have easy-to-hear information for you. But I offer these words as a way to think about this situation.
I believe Samsung intentionally builds phones which are extremely hard to break into. This is a conscious design decision they make. Why? Because so many users do things like credit card payments, banking, and social media, where, if you lost your phone and a bad person found it, an easy-to-break-into device would have potentially catastrophic results. Aside from the harm to a user who lost a phone, Samsung themselves would be subjected to great reputational damage, too. It's bad press when it's easy to break into and steal something.
Also, you may not be able to break into the device, even with the help of a commercial vendor. Exploits in Android, when found, are patched regularly. A very smart person might have had a way to crack into a phone last week, last month, or last year. But again, Samsung intends to continually patch the software to keep it secure. They make a point to telling people that Samsung phones are patched for several years, so users will feel confident their data will be secure.
One suspects certain governments have police or security organizations who likely could break in, but they are unlikely to help in a personal situation, as you described.
It's worth saying that Samsung phones are also backed up (by default) to their "cloud." It's possible that a lawyer might be able, with proper documentation of the owner's death, to get access to Samsung's (or Google's) cloud backup(s). I don't think it's easy though. Google, at least in the USA, allows the owner of an account to specify how Google should handle their data if they stop accessing their accounts. (I think Google treats an idle account as "dead" and for reasons like this, if you no longer want to use a vendor like Samsung or Google, you should proactively delete your account, not merely let it go idle.)
Anyone reading this post, might want to consider having what can be an uncomfortable conversation with your friends and family: "How would you like your friends and family handle your electronic, financial, and social accounts in the event of your death?"
Please, forgive me if any of this sounds insensitive. My father worked in insurance and as part of his job he knew all to well that all people eventually die. And how hard it is for those left behind to pick up the pieces, especially when secrets are involved. My family knows where to find my keys.
Uzuki12 said:
My father passed a couple days ago and I need to gain access to his phone in order to invite all his friends to the service as well as get into contact with some family overseas.
He has a 4 pin code that I've been trying to guess but have not yet succeded.
I can provide proof that it is my fathers phone incase people believe it is stolen.
I can't get into his samsung account because it is basically his google account, I set up his google account with two factor authorization. Which requires me to get into his phone to even access.
Anything Helps
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You can see his contacts in his Google account on a browser, but if he saved the contacts locally (which is annoying that many phones don't make it clear that contacts are saved locally only until specifying Google as the account to save to)
We have been through five phones -Samsung Galaxy, then Motorola, two internet providers two cell phone providers, made so many calls I have lost count. He uses Chromebook and a Motorola Droid phone. He has even hacked my old home phone, tv, you name it, he has tried to own it . Oh, I forgot-my home security and ring doorbells also. I can change an app permission and I can see him go right in and change it back. I am sure he lives close in the neighborhood How do I get rid of this horrible person?
He grays out permissions, default apps, etc., Which keeps me from being able to delete an app, or change someone being able to access in the background. He has confiscated our emails (Gmail), prevents us from sending or receiving ones he doesn't like. He uses email for email on the web, advertising, chat, and many other things. He listens to phone calls steals all photos, maps addresses to companies or people in contacts, uses maps for ?? Xxx an anyone help me, or at least tell me how to reverse graying out on apps? This has become unbearable! Thank you!
How do you know it's a he?
It's always the girl next door.
Lol! I cannot prove it, but the big gamers nextdoor moved in when this started happening. Their best friend is an experienced IT guy who only appears when I have gone in and changed things. In those days, new changes happen, such as Ring doorbells hacker, etc. Not blaming, but coincidence?
blackhawk said:
How do you know it's a he?
It's always the girl next door.
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Sorry. See reply in post.
Bro, I'm so sorry. My husband has been going through this VERY thing for the past year. They don't mess with mine. I just wanted to let you know even though I don't have any resolve for you, I hear you and know that it's not phony and we totally feel for you. Seriously, maybe you and my hubby can talk. I'm so sorry that you're going through it. Feel free to message me.
This sounds like a great fan fiction and will bookmark this to see how the story develops. Thank you for putting this in Moto G Power section right where it belongs!
Sounds like you might need to invest in a router with better security features.
Moosetears said:
This sounds like a great fan fiction and will bookmark this to see how the story develops. Thank you for putting this in Moto G Power section right where it belongs!
Sounds like you might need to invest in a router with better security features.
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Definitely not fiction. It is a nightmare and could REALLY use some advice!
gunnshot81488 said:
Bro, I'm so sorry. My husband has been going through this VERY thing for the past year. They don't mess with mine. I just wanted to let you know even though I don't have any resolve for you, I hear you and know that it's not phony and we totally feel for you. Seriously, maybe you and my hubby can talk. I'm so sorry that you're going through it. Feel free to message me.
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It has been a nightmare! They started with mine, and have now invaded my husband's phone also.
Scammed said:
It has been a nightmare! They started with mine, and have now invaded my husband's phone also.
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Why are you posting on XDA? If you are this convinced that someone has unauthorized access to your devices, you need to be talking to law enforcement. The best advice we can offer you is to change all your passwords immediately, enable 2 factor authentication, and if possible seek a restraining order. XDA is a smart device hacking and development community, not a private investigation service.
V0latyle said:
Why are you posting on XDA? If you are this convinced that someone has unauthorized access to your devices, you need to be talking to law enforcement. The best advice we can offer you is to change all your passwords immediately, enable 2 factor authentication, and if possible seek a restraining order. XDA is a smart device hacking and development community, not a private investigation service.
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I didn't think you were a p.i. firm. Obviously, I am not tech savvy. A little kindness please? I simply want to know how to ungray grayed out app permissions. I have searched on my own and cannot find the answer. I have reported it to local police, state police, Motorola, Samsung, Verizon, Xfinity, metronet, on and on and on. No help from anyone. I don't have $2,500.00 to just put down a retainer for a p.i. I knew someone on this forum would know the answer I am searching for and might kindly tell me. Thank you.
Scammed said:
I didn't think you were a p.i. firm. Obviously, I am not tech savvy. A little kindness please? I simply want to know how to ungray grayed out app permissions. I have searched on my own and cannot find the answer. I have reported it to local police, state police, Motorola, Samsung, Verizon, Xfinity, metronet, on and on and on. No help from anyone. I don't have $2,500.00 to just put down a retainer for a p.i. I knew someone on this forum would know the answer I am searching for and might kindly tell me. Thank you.
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Well, it can be hard to distinguish the difference between reasonable concern over privacy violations vs unwarranted paranoia, and you aren't the only one who's come to XDA with this type of story. Most of your assumptions are likely mistaken and can be simply explained by the nature of Android itself.
Remote intrusion of mobile devices is actually pretty rare. The most common ways bad actors get ahold of sensitive user information are: phishing, user-approved permissions on questionable apps such as TikTok, and "connected" social media accounts, where users allow websites and apps access to their social media profiles, or use their social media as a login.
Regardless, to the technical point of the matter, grayed out app permissions are not the result of hacking or surreptitious malfeasance, but rather the nature of the "rules" inherent to Android - you can't remove system apps or disable system-controlled permissions without root.
If you still think you have reasons for concern, this is my only suggestion:
Change your phone number
Immediately change all relevant passwords - minimum 10 characters, a mix of upper case, lower case, numbers, and special characters, do not reuse them
Enable 2 factor authentication on all accounts, ensuring your 2nd factor is something that you and only you have access to
Once done, sign out all devices signed into those accounts
Perform a factory reset on your device; even better, reflash factory firmware. Keep bootloader locked.
Do not use questionable apps