Google

This article will help you have a better privacy when using Android and Google services if you absolutely need it.

Google is legally forced to give users some control over the data it collects. The first thing to do if you're forced to use Google services is to look at you Google privacy dashboard. Here are some of the things you can turn off:

It is worth noting that, while you will be able to control some of your data here, there are unfortunately still some services you won't be able to disable, and some residual data that you may not be able to remove from your account.

Although Android is a threat to your privacy, there are several settings you can disable to mitigate what data gets sent to Google. In your Android settings, toggle the following:

Location services

Overall, it is always a good practice to disable location services when you don't use them. Moreover, you may want to disable bluetooth and wifi scanning on your device: this might make location slightly less precise, but will improve your privacy when using it. To do that, head over to Location → ≡ Scanning, and toggle off wifi and bluetooth scanning.

Advertising and diagnostics

By default, your user has a unique advertising ID that can be used to track you, and sends Android usage data to Google. Head over to Google → Ads to disable the first one, and Google → ≡ Usage and diagnostics for the second.

By default, a lot of data is synchronized to your Google account, including notes, contacts, agenda, and a lot more. If you're not interested in Google cloud services, you can opt out of this in Accounts → Google by disabling synchronization or fine-tuning what gets sent to the cloud. You can also remove the account altogether !

Moreover, automatic backup to Google cloud may be enabled on some devices. If you don't want to do that, head over to Backup and restore to disable the option.

This one is really basic and should be common sense by now, but I'll repeat it just in case. This is not related to Android itself, but the apps installed on it: if an app forces you to accept giving it odd permissions that shouldn't be required for it to function, do not use it. This include pre-installed apps, that can often be replaced by more privacy-focused ones when needed. You can always check and edit your app permissions in the Applications section of the settings.

In this section, you'll also be able to remove unused applications, and disable system apps that you can't uninstall if you don't use them.