[Q] Is there any way to disable tracking on android wear? - Wear OS Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Do you know why android wear smartwatches are cheap ? Because we, the customers, are the product. We are the battery. I supply Motorolla, LG, Sony, whichever watch you have, with so much information. What apps you use, what phone you have, what stores your near, etc. They sell this information to other companys, without your name, of course. (Yes I realize $200-350 isn't exactly cheap for most of us but they would be much more expensive without this).
I want to disable the tracking. I know I will most likely have to root my Moto 360. So, does anyone know a way of doing this?
Thank you!

app ops
If you root your phone then you can use xposed (4.4 or below) or the app ops app(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.findsdk.apppermission&hl=en) for lollipop devices then go to the android wear app and turn off all the permissons you do not approve of, then do the same for the motorola connect app in app ops.
If you are not rooted then you can go into settings and disable location for android wear and motorola connect that about it

From what I understand the watches get all the information from your phone and the applications on it. The magic happens because of the information you feed into your phone everyday. My guess would be you probably want your phone freed up of all the tracking that it does as well. If you want to hide everything, you can't use Google services at all. (which means no companion app). I guess this all depends on what services you personally use. You can root many of the android wear watches today, but all the information is given by your smartphone. Start on your phone first. Google is a company that's all about information and advertising. Keep that in mind.

Related

Notification Bar ads for Android

While it has been rumored and feared practically since the operating system's creation, one of the nightmare scenarios for some unlucky Android users has finally become very real. Japan's second largest mobile carrier, KDDI, has gone where no carrier has dared before and has begun disguising advertisements as system notifications on their Android devices.
It seems that an app bundled with KDDI devices is the cause of the controversial ad system. The "au one market" is a secondary market application that comes with most of the smartphones on the carrier's service. This newest evil addition came in the form of an update which prompted the user with two warnings.
Quote
1. au one Market app stays resident even when you are not using the app, 2. notification space will be used to inform good deals to customers.
There are similar ad experiences from certain applications and services already in the U.S. but this is the first time we've seen this behavior from an actual mobile carrier. It's scary to think of this becoming common place so be sure to voice your opposition on this sort of guerrilla advertising to your carrier representatives before it's too late. This is also just all the more reason to keep your rootz skills as up to date as possible. Removing that carrier bloatware is becoming seemingly more and more essential these days....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source: RootzWiki
Read for yourself here
since i've installed an app (don't know which one) i'm starting to something like this on my status bar... do you guys know anything about this?
This sucks... Are they even allowed to do this?
@gigeaky
Check if you have Easy Mp3 Download or DroID3Tagger. One of them should be the Ads source.
Install Airpush Detector or Addons Detector from the market to find the offending app.
Nothing root+delete offending app can't solve.
That said, still sucks, they'll probably end any warranty or whatever services they may offer if they find out. I guess you can still delete any traces of root and send it to samsung. They probably couldn't care less if you uninstalled some carrier app.
I don't mind ads at all while they aren't intrusive. I understand their purpose and their importance. But being randomly interrupted by some notification ad is the worse kind of interruption, as useless as it gets, not to mention the unsolicited data traffic and extra battery drain. I can even see them going a notch up and create random popups out of that you need to dismiss. Now, i like android the best of all mobile operative systems, but i draw a line here. If google ever enforced this at system level with no way around, i'd leave android completely.
I agree, I guess all those stuff is from carriers and not from Google so that I think it won't be difficult delete it.
gigeaky said:
since i've installed an app (don't know which one) i'm starting to something like this on my status bar... do you guys know anything about this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I seem to be getting similar notifications, I can't for the life of me work out what app they are related to...

[Q] What is the ANT Radio Services?

I just two apps called ANT Radio Service and ANT+ Plugins. I did not installed them. How can they are on my phone? And why are these are system apps?
Can I delete them, and if I can, how do I make it?
I use 4.3 MI8 Android Sytem on my Galaxy S4
Lewis0214 said:
I just two apps called ANT Radio Service and ANT+ Plugins. I did not installed them. How can they are on my phone? And why are these are system apps?
Can I delete them, and if I can, how do I make it?
I use 4.3 MI8 Android Sytem on my Galaxy S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copying my post from somewhere else:
Sony and Samsung bundle these services on all of their latest devices.
To my understanding these services are just the equivalent of the Bluetooth stack which allows apps to use Bluetooth on your phone, but for ANT+. Instead of being built deeper down at the system level (where you wouldn't find it in your apps list), it's been distributed on the Play Store to make bug fixes and new feature updates much faster than waiting for new firmware updates. Also it allows users to add ANT support to devices which already do not have it through USB.
Google already does this with their Google Play Services which they bundle into the Google Play "app" so they can bypass carriers and not wait for phones to be firmware updated (if they ever are). In this case it's just more highly visible then if it was hidden deeper.
If you delete them, it's the equivalent of deleting Bluetooth support, but for ANT+ devices instead.
You can find more information about it on their website.
As to removing it, you need root access, but if their are no apps using them then they don't consume any discernable power anyway
OneCanuck said:
Copying my post from somewhere else:
Sony and Samsung bundle these services on all of their latest devices.
To my understanding these services are just the equivalent of the Bluetooth stack which allows apps to use Bluetooth on your phone, but for ANT+. Instead of being built deeper down at the system level (where you wouldn't find it in your apps list), it's been distributed on the Play Store to make bug fixes and new feature updates much faster than waiting for new firmware updates. Also it allows users to add ANT support to devices which already do not have it through USB.
Google already does this with their Google Play Services which they bundle into the Google Play "app" so they can bypass carriers and not wait for phones to be firmware updated (if they ever are). In this case it's just more highly visible then if it was hidden deeper.
If you delete them, it's the equivalent of deleting Bluetooth support, but for ANT+ devices instead.
You can find more information about it on their website.
As to removing it, you need root access, but if their are no apps using them then they don't consume any discernable power anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know thanks for the info.:good:
Ant and Ant+ are for pairing with fitness devices like pedometers, heart rate monitors, and other such fitness monitors and tools. If you do not use these type of devices...simply disable the app...its just another way samsung is trying to appease all of their users and entice others to use their products. A very useful app if you are into staying fit.
NO!!!,DONT USE THEM,THEY WILL TURN YOU INTO ANT(lol,jk,just feeding the trolls[emoji23] [emoji23] ) but anyways @geusseppe is right:
geusseppe said:
Ant and Ant+ are for pairing with fitness devices like pedometers, heart rate monitors, and other such fitness monitors and tools. If you do not use these type of devices...simply disable the app...its just another way samsung is trying to appease all of their users and entice others to use their products. A very useful app if you are into staying fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
yahya wessam said:
NO!!!,DONT USE THEM,THEY WILL TURN YOU INTO ANT(lol,jk,just feeding the trolls[emoji23] [emoji23] ) but anyways @geusseppe is right:
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
geusseppe said:
Ant and Ant+ are for pairing with fitness devices like pedometers, heart rate monitors, and other such fitness monitors and tools. If you do not use these type of devices...simply disable the app...its just another way samsung is trying to appease all of their users and entice others to use their products. A very useful app if you are into staying fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly, this is not entirely correct. It's more then just "pairing fitness devices". Please read OneCanuck's first reply for a better understanding on what it is. Thank you.
Just watched a video where apparently this so called "ANT" app is just a spy infiltrated in your phone. If installed, by remote access, camera/microphone can be activated even with the phone shut off.
Link, or it doesn't exist.
Where did you find this video? And, what Proves they have knowledge & truth on the subject. Just cuz its on the web dosent mean its true or real. Theres a LOT of sh*theads out there puttíng out Bad Information, some unwitingly, some are deviant jerks. Either way, the one who accepts this bad info is exploited & his/her problems are ábout to begin. Be suspicious my friend, trust nothing, verify everything.
@?Everything: Replying to a thread that's been dead for two years now. Why?
@Strephon Alkhalikoi, things stay on the internet for longer than 2 years and search engines find them.
If you want siloed forum threads, automatically lock them after 6 months of inactivity. But there's value in having all information and interaction in one place.
To ?Everything's point, notkbna never provided proof, and readers from the future will now have both warnings and be able to decide on their own.
To make my own contribution to the actual topic, ANT+ really isn't much more than "pairing fitness devices". Sure it can be used in things like remote controls and geocaching, but it's just a protocol for monitoring sensor data.
Let'sDev said:
@Strephon Alkhalikoi, things stay on the internet for longer than 2 years and search engines find them.
If you want siloed forum threads, automatically lock them after 6 months of inactivity. But there's value in having all information and interaction in one place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And here you are, wasting time on a thread that ended three years ago. Neither you nor "Everything" bothered to look at the date of the last post, which means the only purpose of you two posting at all is to inflate your post counts. The only reason I knew this thread was resurrected from the dead is XDA Labs bringing it to the top of my Participated Threads window.
You're wasting both your time and mine by resurrecting this thread. The people who participated in it are unlikely to respond, and anything you may want to add is probably out of date.
Just like this thread.

[Q] Alternative to Android Wear, using a wear device without Play Services

Hi, I recently got a Moto 360 as a present. But sadly, I soon came to the realization that you can't run Android Wear without GAPPS installed (I'm running CM10.2). I'm not going to install Google's spyware just so I can use a watch.
Are there other Apps that work with AndroIid Wear Devices? My smartphone does support Bluethooth 4 and BLE. A little bit digging showed me that some dedicated people got some functionality to work on their Iphone without Google Services. Alos when I install the Pebble App it recognzes my phone (but can not connect)
I really just want to get notifications to my watch, control music , set an alarm and maybe get my pulse data on my phone. Are there third party apps that can do that?
The person who ported the Android Wear functionality to Iphone has a Github repository of his Iphone app under shiitakeo/android_wear_for_ios . If there is no option I will have to write my own app and I'm going to orient myself on what he did there.
So you are looking for an app to connect your android phone to the iOS wear connect app on moto360? And not android wear app?
I'm looking for a third party android app that lets me connect my Moto 360 with my Phone aCyanogenmod 10.2 without gapps installed.
Without gapps I can't install the offical Android Wear app. Taking a peak in the IOS world shows me that it' s possible to do that with a device that supports Bluethooth 4.0 and BLE. The Pebbles app also recognizes my watch but does not let me connect it, this tells me that they must use a similiar protocol or maybe even the same. My question is, if someebody already did write such an App, that lets you connect your Android phone with your smart watch (without installing gapps!), or if I have to do this on my own. (I'm a software developer but never did anything with Bluethooth or much in Android.)
I'd also like to find a non-gapps solution for this. Have you found one?
Apple spies for Facebook. You'll sell your integrity no matter what.

Attention: this phone is a spyware device!

According to Samsung customer support and some members of this forum, this device does not have a built-in way of blocking Internet access for specific applications!
Many of those apps have permissions like "storage", "phone ID", "contacts", "calendar", "camera", "microphone", etc...
Therefore, when those applications are given Internet access they will be able to send all our data via the Internet...
That's why it would be of crucial importance and vital to have a built-in way of blocking Internet access to those apps.
For example, if an application has access to your data, to your storage or your contacts, it stands to reason that it should not have Internet access...
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Google, Samsung or any other companies should not have, simultaneously, access to our storage data, contacts, calendar, camera, microphone..., and Internet access to send out all those data and info...
Besides, most apps are proprietary... so nobody knows what info or data the app is really sending out...
(Curiously and as a side note, my son has a Huawei P10 and that device allows the user to block Internet access to specific apps).
Therefore, given that this Samsung device does not have a way to limit specific applications from reaching the Internet, the phone is a spyware device!
Niccolò Paganini said:
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its google that doesn't want to implement an internet permission, we can block apps from access to storage/location/contacts and whatnot but not the internet, blame google not samsung.
peachpuff said:
Its google that doesn't want to implement an internet permission, we can block apps from access to storage/location/contacts and whatnot but not the internet, blame google not samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, blame them both. Samsung is knowingly 'accepting' the Google 'flaw' on it's phone. So Samsung is also culpable.
Talk about an Over the Top Melodramatic 1st post!
Stay off the internet - Get rid of your Smart TV - Live in a box... SMH
Sent from my SM-G955W ??
Niccolò Paganini said:
According to Samsung customer support and some members of this forum, this device does not have a built-in way of blocking Internet access for specific applications!
Many of those apps have permissions like "storage", "phone ID", "contacts", "calendar", "camera", "microphone", etc...
Therefore, when those applications are given Internet access they will be able to send all our data via the Internet...
That's why it would be of crucial importance and vital to have a built-in way of blocking Internet access to those apps.
For example, if an application has access to your data, to your storage or your contacts, it stands to reason that it should not have Internet access...
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Google, Samsung or any other companies should not have, simultaneously, access to our storage data, contacts, calendar, camera, microphone..., and Internet access to send out all those data and info...
Besides, most apps are proprietary... so nobody knows what info or data the app is really sending out...
(Curiously and as a side note, my son has a Huawei P10 and that device allows the user to block Internet access to specific apps).
Therefore, given that this Samsung device does not have a way to limit specific applications from reaching the Internet, the phone is a spyware device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't worry about it the NSA and Google already know everything about you.
without permissions 99% of your apps won't work. want to stop tracking ?dig deep into your account, real real deep to cut off a lot of privacy issues
then when you have time, google your name
pltctytc said:
....then when you have time, google your name
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much came out for me, just a Google+, Twitter, Photobucket and my company activity...
But: I must agree with OP to some extent...at the end it is weighting between functionality vs privacy.
Gregzi said:
Not much came out for me, just a Google+, Twitter, Photobucket and my company activity...
But: I must agree with OP to some extent...at the end it is weighting between functionality vs privacy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreeing to ANY extent with the OP's RIDICULOUS and ABSURD post & a Thread Title that is Entirely Misleading and Uninformed!
While everyone is entitled to their opinion - This Thread & Particularly it's Title are perilously close to warrant being Reported to the Mods!
It's a simple process to Disable Background Data for each and every Application that you decide to disable in Settings - Apps - Permissions - Data - Background /Toggle Off.
I made reference to Smart TV's as they are constantly "listening" in order to provide functionality - Then there's Laptop cameras which could be equally used to "spy" on their users... Are we to disable the functionality offered by Ok Google - Which is also "listening" to provide the functionality that we have come to expect from our technology?
Two Tin Cans and String are the bastion of the Paranoid & Conspiracy Theorists.
Sent from my SM-G955W ??
**** this I'm going back to a Palm Pixi so the NSA can't spy on me!
What if.....
The NSA IS Google?!
Seriously? You're downloading things from F-Droid and Yalp and you're concerned with what data individual apps are sending? If you don't trust an app to have an internet connection, why on earth are you using it? If you don't trust the company behind an app to use your data appropriately, whey are you using that app? Do you shut off all data so your internet/mobile provider can't sniff out what you're doing? Tin foil is relatively cheap.
Niccolò Paganini said:
The only explanation for the lack of such an integrated system of blocking Internet access for specific applications can only be explained by the fact that Samsung and Google intend to have all our data and info sent over the Internet ... probably for specific domains ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surely this is "the only reason", surely. I'll assume you have thought through the entire process of creating a mobile phone operating system as complex as Android, and also every detail involved in creating an application ecosystem that scales to millions of user created applications access by billions of people that worldwide probably generates over a trillion dollars in overall economic revenue (including employment by business built around it, advertising money spent, etc). Surely you saw a foolproof way too easily do all of this AND follow seemingly arbitrary privacy rules? You MUST have also COMPLETELY ruled out every other innocent explanation using this model, including showing conclusively that it wouldn't cause ANRs, app crashes, or anything else. Right?
You also have data showing more than just you would revoke this permission right?
Right?
Mr. Orange 645 said:
What if.....
The NSA IS Google?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you only just realised this NOW???!
I have to say, I'm always amazed how little people care about the spying that's being done through their phones. Saying "live in a box" or "just don't use the app" is a stupid response. You can still want to be part of society (which nowadays REQUIRES using whatsapp/facebook/google) EVEN THOUGH you're uncomfortable with the privacy implications. Someone acknowledging and being aware of this, and trying to improve upon it (or even simpler, just demanding improvements by the companies you pay a thousand dollar for a new phone) is often ridiculed as if it wouldn't matter, or people accept it as an something that is required for the systems we use. Social networks could work totally fine without being centralized, google maps doesn't actually need to send your location to google to function, and no app that i know of needs to send your usage of the phone to their company to do whatever it promises to do. Yet many apps do. It's not so much about that it is possible, the problem is that it is allowed. It shouldn't be allowed, much of the data collection should simply be outlawed. But, since hardly anyone seems to care, I don't see that coming anytime soon. I've tried to find people interested in this, but not even on reddit /r/privacy/ this seems to be a major concern.
@the_toast
There's a difference between being responsible for the amount of privacy you have and the amount of personal information that has already been made available... long before people were even aware of the amount of personal information that was already gleaned from the Products and Services that you have been using for years. To some extent trying to reign in your personal information is like closing the barn door after the horse is long gone.
The guy who originally posted this Thread is focusing his "panic" on one device and THAT is naive and Grossly Misleading!
Whether it's FB (which I don't use) or signing up for a Loyalty card - Your personal information is everywhere! Using common sense going forward is the only rational approach, but standing on an imaginary mountain top and shouting to the world that one device is "spyware" is ridiculous and deserves to be called out ?
Sent from my SM-G955W ??
Ahh, the time of the Internet where everyone knows who you are, what you're doing, what you're buying, what sites you browse, your fetishes, etc. Most importantly, here in the U.S., your IP now can sell your internet history to anyone they please, even that time you looked up 2 girls and a cup. Sorry, Charlie, your life is no longer a private one and never will be again.
MiMtnBiker said:
Ahh, the time of the Internet where everyone knows who you are, what you're doing, what you're buying, what sites you browse, your fetishes, etc. Most importantly, here in the U.S., your IP now can sell your internet history to anyone they please, even that time you looked up 2 girls and a cup. Sorry, Charlie, your life is no longer a private one and never will be again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if you Travel into the USA... Did you know THIS?
https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4494371#ampshare=http://www.cbc.ca/1.4494371
Sent from my SM-G955W ??
@shaggyskunk True, the OP is alarmist and uninformed. I was just put off by many of the answers, which basically said "why do you use Internet then". With respect to your post about searching phones - we can easily make this a scare thread (and people would be scared for good reasons). Let me continue:
- apps that want to use your microphone without apparent reason (of course also the ones WITH a good reason to use the mic) can track you through high-pitched sounds you cannot hear, which are emitted e.g. by some retailers to track you through their store.
- You talk about 1 in 13.000 people arriving in the US getting their phone/laptop looked at and potentially copied? How about knowing for 1Bn people (1 in 7 on earth) who they talk with, when they talk with them, and in which location they are whenever their phone has internet. That's Whatsapp.
@MiMtnBiker Gnn that's exactly my problem, people just accept it and believe it's never going to change. I'm not happy they know what kind of porn I'm looking at, and even less happy that they could sell the information (although I don't live in the US). If it is that way, it CAN be fixed, you CAN prohibit selling this information. Or to collect it at all. It's definitely better to know the big 5 have all my information but won't have all future information about me than to know they can continue like this forever
@the_toast
Many of the answers - including "live in a box" - "stay off the internet" were in direct response to the careless & irresponsible comments by the OP - like = like?
Not only your phone has the potential to gain access to your personal information - But your Laptop camera - Your Smart TV (that is "listening") But this technology is something that most people appreciate and expect their tech to provide them with the functionality that they want - Being aware of the capabilities of your Tech is prudent - being paranoid & frightened by it is just sad.
The issues of Privacy are extensive and if someone decides to pull on that thread - it's going to be never ending.
Common sense & being informed is the most appropriate way to go ??
Sent from my SM-G955W ??
the_toast said:
@shaggyskunk True, the OP is alarmist and uninformed. I was just put off by many of the answers, which basically said "why do you use Internet then". With respect to your post about searching phones - we can easily make this a scare thread (and people would be scared for good reasons). Let me continue:
- apps that want to use your microphone without apparent reason (of course also the ones WITH a good reason to use the mic) can track you through high-pitched sounds you cannot hear, which are emitted e.g. by some retailers to track you through their store.
- You talk about 1 in 13.000 people arriving in the US getting their phone/laptop looked at and potentially copied? How about knowing for 1Bn people (1 in 7 on earth) who they talk with, when they talk with them, and in which location they are whenever their phone has internet. That's Whatsapp.
@MiMtnBiker Gnn that's exactly my problem, people just accept it and believe it's never going to change. I'm not happy they know what kind of porn I'm looking at, and even less happy that they could sell the information (although I don't live in the US). If it is that way, it CAN be fixed, you CAN prohibit selling this information. Or to collect it at all. It's definitely better to know the big 5 have all my information but won't have all future information about me than to know they can continue like this forever
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm afraid the only way you are going to change it is to completely get off the grid. Many people are oblivious to the fact that they are willingly giving up their personal information when they have their noses buried in their smartphones pert near all day. What's worse is that the politicians only seem to cater to the wealthy, and since they are salivating at the idea of getting their grubby hands on your info, this will continue. Unless there is a huge uprising and people assemble in protest of this, it will not stop. Heck, I don't even think it will stop, then. Nope, money is the reason as to why this won't change and, unfortunately, you have no say in the matter. Unless, that is, you do get completely off the grid.

Are not-standalone (companion) Wear OS apps still allowed for submission on the Play Store, or are they always rejected?

Hello.
Our Wear OS application, which is not a standalone application (it is a companion app of our smartphone app, it cannot be used without the smartphone app) keeps getting rejected by Google Play Policy team for the following reason : "Your application requires phone interaction for the watch version to function." even if we have clearly explained in our Play Store description that it is not a standalone application and cannot work when the smartphone app is not available.
Our application was previously accepted and published on the Play Store but we suspect a Google policy change even if we haven't found it clearly anywhere (we have only found recommendations which encourage standalone apps).
=> Are not-standalone Wear OS apps still allowed for Play Store submission or must our Wear OS app include at least a standalone feature ?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Best regards
I am not sure, but I know there are some apps that are embedded in the phone app to deploy to a WearOS watch (like the Hyundai Blue Link App and the Genesis Intelligent Connect App). If your phone is paired with a WearOS watch, it loads the app onto the phone. Maybe you can try something like that.
Funny thing is the apps right now do not load the app to the Watch4. I think it is because the Watch4 is on WearOS4. I had a different watch at one time that was plain Jane WearOS and the app loaded just fine. I am looking for Hyundai/Genesis to correct this issue. I hope.
I also got a wear os companion app update reject on 6.Jul. My last update was successful on 30.May.2022. Did not see any policy regarding to the companion app issue. It is just weird and I have also appealed to get more info. Did you appeal the reject?

Categories

Resources