So I have a young teen entering 7th grade and so they’re about to receive their first phone. With that, it opens a lot of doors to all the big tech social media apps and privacy invasive services.
I’m not sure how to approach this. My parents probably want tracking features so it’ll probably be Find My or a 3rd party app like life360 depending on if we choose iphone or degoogled pixel.
Social media I’m not sure if fediverse stuff is the right path especially for lemmy, since it’s just tech nerd stuff and politics which isn’t interesting really unless they go out of their way to find smaller communities. Their friends will probably force them onto Instagram or some shit and I don’t really want them doomscolling on reels, that shit algorithm, and the malicious messaging app built in to it.
It’s just kinda hard trying to blend being a functional member of society and maintain your mental well being and privacy.
If you’re considering life360, you’ve already lost the privacy game.
There are different levels of privacy to consider.
Apps: limit number of apps or essential only. Many have built-in trackers for developer kickbacks. Even developers don’t know the full extent of how the data is used.
Device settings: harden the phone by checking all the privacy settings. Install an ad/tracker blocking VPN app.
Evesdroppers: Your phone is a radio transmitter. Companies know this. Your mobile company may have privacy settings and track phones independently of any device settings or app. Also, bluetooth loggers are placed around high traffic areas, such as stores, to record precise location and movement. Disabling wifi, Bluetooth, or Mobile may be considered depending on level of privacy paranoia*.
There may be some privacy respecting tracking options (well, as a family anyway) over on the selfhosted lemmy community if you’re ready to go down that rabbit hole.
•It’s not paranoia if it’s real.