Re:A study of data collection by Android devices
by nervuri on Friday October 15, 2021 @04:05PM
(#28882497)
> - With the exception of e/OS, all of the handset manufacturers examined collect a list of all the apps installed on a handset.
/e/OS is no exception. I looked at the requests made by its "Apps" app. Every time it checks for updates, it tells the server what applications you have installed. These requests are made with a User-Agent header revealing your device model, build ID and Android version. Installed languages are also sent via the Accept-Language header. And there is no option to disable update checks; the closest you can get is to set the interval to monthly.
Contrast that with F-Droid, which downloads the package index in advance (like apt does), so it doesn't need to send the server a list of installed apps in order to check for updates.
/e/OS is no exception. I looked at the requests made by its "Apps" app. Every time it checks for updates, it tells the server what applications you have installed. These requests are made with a User-Agent header revealing your device model, build ID and Android version. Installed languages are also sent via the Accept-Language header. And there is no option to disable update checks; the closest you can get is to set the interval to monthly.
Contrast that with F-Droid, which downloads the package index in advance (like apt does), so it doesn't need to send the server a list of installed apps in order to check for updates.