Android, GApps free LineageOS, Xposed, FDroid, Firefox, DuckDuckGo, AFwall+, XPrivacyLua, DNSCrypt, ShadowsocksR running on a privately hosted server, and KeePass or Bitwarden with TOTP and long randomized unique passwords for each of your online accounts. If you need a cloud solution, roll your own on a self hosted server or a VPS that you can quickly delete if necessary. And that's just getting started.
If you're super paranoid, install Tasker and set up an SMS code trigger that reboots your phone into unassisted full-wipe mode. That way if you lose it, you can text it from any number with the code you assigned and have it completely wipe the system and data. It's not 100% foolproof, but it's better than almost any of the big-name remote wipe features available. Edit: Seems this method is no longer possible with systems running File Based Encryption. Something new for me to figure out.
Alternatively, if you just want to use your device with minimal headache, then at the very least you could simply set all of the app permissions to the off position and only enable them when prompted and you're sure it's what you want to do. That, and disabling or uninstalling anything you don't need or use, both go a long way. Also, use websites instead of apps whenever possible. Those three actions alone can be easily done by anyone who knows how to use a phone or computer, and will make you about 75% less data-valuable than most device owners.
I won't go into detail just how much I've tweaked my own phone and computer. It would easily take twice as long to write about than it took to actually do. Suffice to say the first paragraph is a big part of it, with a lot other device specific tweaks and modifications, followed by LOTS of trial and error. And I'm sure they both still leak like a sieve.
Of course, one of the downsides to that level of privacy and personal protection is that to any eyes that decide to come looking, it just makes you look all the more suspicious, especially if you happen to be in a place that doesn't hold those two rights in high regard. Another major downside is time. In the event of a lost or broken device, you gotta do it all over again. Backups help alleviate some of the pain, but they're really only useful if you're replacing what was lost or broken with a 100% identical device.
All this talk is making seriously rethink my youthful ideals of going off the grid and building my own commune of neo-Luddites. Who's with me?
If you're super paranoid, install Tasker and set up an SMS code trigger that reboots your phone into unassisted full-wipe mode. That way if you lose it, you can text it from any number with the code you assigned and have it completely wipe the system and data. It's not 100% foolproof, but it's better than almost any of the big-name remote wipe features available. Edit: Seems this method is no longer possible with systems running File Based Encryption. Something new for me to figure out.
Alternatively, if you just want to use your device with minimal headache, then at the very least you could simply set all of the app permissions to the off position and only enable them when prompted and you're sure it's what you want to do. That, and disabling or uninstalling anything you don't need or use, both go a long way. Also, use websites instead of apps whenever possible. Those three actions alone can be easily done by anyone who knows how to use a phone or computer, and will make you about 75% less data-valuable than most device owners.
I won't go into detail just how much I've tweaked my own phone and computer. It would easily take twice as long to write about than it took to actually do. Suffice to say the first paragraph is a big part of it, with a lot other device specific tweaks and modifications, followed by LOTS of trial and error. And I'm sure they both still leak like a sieve.
Of course, one of the downsides to that level of privacy and personal protection is that to any eyes that decide to come looking, it just makes you look all the more suspicious, especially if you happen to be in a place that doesn't hold those two rights in high regard. Another major downside is time. In the event of a lost or broken device, you gotta do it all over again. Backups help alleviate some of the pain, but they're really only useful if you're replacing what was lost or broken with a 100% identical device.
All this talk is making seriously rethink my youthful ideals of going off the grid and building my own commune of neo-Luddites. Who's with me?