Which features of advanced privacy do you use?

[Nicolas_Sas]

@hgbl

With NetGuard: a) I fairly aggressively look at the list of apps and system components on my phone asking “why would that need to talk to the internet at all”. If I’m not sure, I block the app in NetGuard and wait to see if it causes any functional problems. If so, I take the block off or reconsider use of the app. b) I also like that NetGuard provides one place for me to decide whether particular apps should ever connect over mobile data.

Yep I do this as well

[centaurus]

@hgbl

With NetGuard: a) I fairly aggressively look at the list of apps and system components on my phone asking “why would that need to talk to the internet at all”. If I’m not sure, I block the app in NetGuard and wait to see if it causes any functional problems. If so, I take the block off or reconsider use of the app. b) I also like that NetGuard provides one place for me to decide whether particular apps should ever connect over mobile data.

I have been doing that as well… until today, when I discovered I don’t need NetGuard for this function - in /e/OS 1.5s, you can block internet access for each individual app (and even choose between wifi/mobile or both), natively - go to settings-> apps-> choose an app and just next to the “permissions” option, you have a “Mobile data and Wi-Fi” which allows you to choose how much (if any) network access your app will get.
The one major benefit of this option (over NetGuard) is you can choose to only allow network/internet access for the app, when it is active (in the foreground). NetGuard can only do “when screen is on”, due to organic limitations.

[Nicolas_Sas]

@centaurus

I have been doing that as well… until today, when I discovered I don’t need NetGuard for this function - in /e/OS 1.5s

Yep I was aware of the implementation of this feature in android 12, but I’m still on 10

[XjFred]

You can do it in Android 10 too. In Setting → App & Notif, choose an app in the list, then in Mobile Data & WiFi, you can block access of this particular app to internet, choose to not let it use data in background, use mobile data at all… Etc.

[Nicolas_Sas]

You’re right, I had just check. Maybe I already see this but totally forget to use it.
But the UI/UX of Netguard is much more better. And Netguard allows lot of other features IMHO.

[Berniyh]

@obacht

@huuhaa do you like to share on the benefit that You see in using additional Tracker Control on top of AP´s tracker blocker? (I gave TC a try as well … a while ago but cannot recall what it was like exactly nor do I understand the differences from AP´s function well enough so I am just curious … I ended up with Blokada (version 5, apk straight from their website) and stuck to it ever since as I find it very conveniant)

IMO, the tracker blocker feature of advanced privacy is very weak, as they also say so on the descriptive page linked above. They use the system’s DNS to check for tracker usage, which can be worked around by either bypassing the system’s DNS or by accessing the IPs directly.
Tracker Control instead checks the actual connections and by that controls the tracker usage.
So when using Tracker Control, I’d say that at least the tracker blocking feature of advanced privacy is kind of redundant, but you might want to use one of the other features in some cases.

As far as I can see, the only real downside of using Tracker Control is that you can’t combine it with a “real” VPN service.