Set privacy on Android device

Many apps require certain information about you in order to work properly. Think of WhatsApp that needs access to the contacts on your phone, or a navigation app that needs to be able to see where you are. The companies behind the apps collect and store that information. The more information, the better the companies can serve you ads that match your interests. That sounds relatively harmless in itself, but it becomes dangerous if that information is leaked, sold or hacked. Use the tips below to ensure that you leave as little information as possible online.

This article discusses the possibilities for smartphones and tablets with the operating system Android 7.0 and higher. The steps may differ slightly per type of phone or tablet.

Google gives each user an advertising ID. This is where data about the user is stored. Apps show advertisements that match your interests using the ID. If you don’t like this, deny these apps access to the advertising ID.

• Open the overview of all apps by tapping apps or by swiping the screen from bottom to top (Android 8.0 and above).
• Tap on Institutions
• Tap on google.
• Tap on Ads.
• Swipe the “Don’t allow ads personalization” slider to the right. If the slider is blue, the function is (already) on.
• Tap on OK for confirmation.

Many apps keep track of where you are, where you often go, or where you go. Some apps need this information to work properly, such as a navigation app or route planner, but this is not the case for all apps. Determine per app whether the location may be known.

• Open the overview of all apps by tapping apps or by swiping the screen from bottom to top (Android 8.0 and above).
• Tap on Institutions.
• Tap on apps.
• Tap the three dots icon at the top right.
• Tap on App permissions or on Permission Management.
• An overview opens of the components that apps use. Tap on Location.
• With newer Android versions (Android 10), apps are listed. The apps under ‘Always allowed’ may know where you are at all times. Apps under “Allowed only while in use” only know your location when you use that app. Apps under ‘Denied’ will not be able to access the location data. Tap an app to change the permission. Think about whether the app needs to know your location in order to work properly.
• Older Android versions have a gray or blue/green scroll bar after the app name. If the slider is grey, the app cannot access the camera. If the bar is blue/green, then the app has access. If you want to revoke access, tap the blue slider. Optionally tap Still refuse.
• With ‘Permission management’ you can control which apps have access for many more functions of the smartphone. Tap the arrow to the left at the top of the screen and choose, for example, Camera, Microphone or Contacts.

You don’t have to worry that apps will stop working if you revoke ‘too many’ permissions. When you use an app (again) and a certain permission is required, the app asks for access again.

The apps in the Play Store are always well checked for security, but not so much for privacy. Often apps request access to features on the device that they don’t need to function properly. Fortunately, you can control what information apps get. Read more about your privacy in apps in the article ‘Setting privacy with Android apps’.

In the Internet app Chrome, you can also change some privacy settings.

• Tap on Chrome . To do this, first tap the folder google.
• Tap the icon with three dots in the top right.
• Tap on Institutions.
• Tap on Privacy.
• Shows an overview of settings.
• Don’t want websites to store cookies to remember your preferences? Then uncheck it Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.
• Do you want the browser to remember nothing when you close it again? Then tap Clear browsing data.
• Tap the checkboxes next to “Browsing history” (English for search history), “Cookies and site data”, and “Cached images and files”. What you look up through Chrome is now automatically deleted.

Do not use Chrome as the standard internet app, but for example Samsung Internet. Then tighten the privacy settings like this:

• Open the Internet app . You may need to tap the folder first Samsung to tap.
• Tap the icon of a number of horizontal bars at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap on Institutions > Privacy and Security.
• Tap on Smart anti-tracking function. This ensures that companies cannot track your online behavior with the cookies they place. Tap on On. Please note, this may cause some sites to stop working properly.
• Tap on Delete search data. Check the items you want removed.

Browsers, such as Chrome, have the option to open an ‘incognito window’ or ‘private window’. In that case, what you do online will not be registered. Read how to work with this in the tip ‘Browse anonymously via Chrome app’.

To protect privacy, it is also important which apps you use. For example, are you already familiar with Firefox Focus? This is a privacy-friendly internet program for smartphones and tablets. And you may have heard that Signal is better than WhatsApp when it comes to privacy.