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Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps

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Maria Sophia, 2026-05-03 22:16:

> Arno Welzel wrote:
>>> Some people don't realize that on a standard smartphone, their contacts are
>>> stored in a centralized, unprotected database. If they give a social media
>>
>> Only, if you use a Google contacts/calendar account. 
> 
> Hi Arno,
> 
> It's excellent to discuss where our smartphone stores our contacts and
> calendar data and what a centralized unprotected database¡ really means.
> 
> It's fundamentally about data sovereignty, which is the idea of who
> actually owns and has access to our personal information.
> 
>> If you use only a
>> local addressbook or calendar, then the data stays on the device even
>> when using the official Google apps. 
> 
> Yes. But. No. Sort of...
> 
> I don't have a Google Account set up on my phone, as you're well aware.
> But the contacts-privacy problem doesn't change since there are many
> apps with full-read-access to the default sqlite contacts database.
> 
> We have a thread on that where almost nobody knows that list, mostly
> because you cant' get the full list anyway, without adb queries, and even
> then, you have to realize that the list is ephemeral even to adb lookups.
> 
> So you are correct you can avoid syncing to Google, but it doesn't change
> the app-permission issue that most people have no clue exists (likely
> because they believe the GUI but the GUI does not tell the whole truth).
> 
> This is why apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, etc. ask for contacts.
> It's a gold mine in terms of their ability to sell your social graph.
> 
>> Of course your data is then not
>> backed up as well and you need to take care oft this - for example by
>> using your own Nextcloud server and DAVx5 to synchronize
>> contacts/calendar.
> 
> I saw your post about <https://www.davx5.com> and I agree with it.
> My problem is that Windows just does not do servers all that well.
> But for Linux owners, it's a wonderful way to sync things up nicely.
> 
> Besides, good contacts apps (like OpenContacts) can be set to automatically
> back up your contacts to a vcf file on your phone, which is potentially
> copied via rsync-like mechanisms to our PC (although I have yet to set that
> up). 
> 
> I should probably set up a Raspberry Pi as my linux server, huh?

It's your decision, how you backup and use your data.

I prefer having my contacts and calendar accessible on my computer as
well and not just on my smartphone.

[...]
> Me? 
> I never pay for anything for the obvious reason that paying even one cent
> destroys privacy; but I do understand for most people it's a good deal.

How does "paying" destroy privacy? Did you get your phone, your internet
access and computers for free as a gift?



-- 
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

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PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-04-30 21:07 -0600
  Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-02 00:04 -0600
    Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-02 17:49 -0600
      Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-03 23:56 -0600
    Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-05-03 14:40 +0200
      Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-03 14:16 -0600
        Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-05-04 09:12 +0200
          Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2026-05-04 11:56 +0100
            Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-05-04 17:02 +0200
            Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-04 11:08 -0600
  Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-05-03 14:37 +0200
    Re: PSA: Fossify Simple Mobile Tools FOSS replacement apps Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-03 13:57 -0600

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