Re-posted; New visitors that come here should be made aware of the extent of their own bondage.
Do you notice that your Android handset still picks up audio cues for ads, etc? Even though the Google assistant is "off" on your phone?
Welcome to 1984, Winston Smith.
The deep state has tabs on the populace-at-large, still. [They] use Google (and Facebook, Twitter, and other pre-loaded apps) to do it. [They] can listen to your most private conversations. And know exactly where you said it. Even if you've never actually "used" the app.
What we know:
The handset doesn't need a sim installed to collect data.
The handset doesn't need wifi connectivity to collect data either.
Data is collected even with airplane mode on.
All offline data collected is sent to Google once a connection is established if Google has been granted permission to do so.
Corporate Privacy - (Android 9.x; Earlier versions vary)
Exit all of your apps and reboot the phone. Once the phone is to the home screen:
Go to Settings → Apps & Notifications → see all apps → Google app info page
Go to the app storage page.
Clear app cache and storage.
Stop the app process.
Go to the app permissions page.
Turn off all permissions listed on the permissions page.
Go back to the app info page.
Disable Google app.
Go to Settings → Apps & Notifications → see all apps → Action Services info page
Go to the app storage page.
Clear app cache and storage.
Stop the app process.
Go to the app permissions page.
Turn off all permissions listed on the permissions page.
Go back to the app info page.
Disable Action Services app.
Go to Settings → Apps & Notifications → see all apps → Google Play services info page
Go to the app storage page.
Clear app cache and storage.
(This app process can not be stopped)
Go to the app permissions page.
Turn off all permissions listed on the permissions page.
Go to the app notifications page.
Disable notifications.
(This app can not be disabled)
Reboot the phone. Google Assistant, Action Services, and Google Play Services are disabled and have no permissions to collect your data. Be advised that apps that make use of Google Play services API may no longer function correctly.
<But why does this matter? I turned off the assistant! WTF?
Research in the wild has shown that just disabling these apps is not enough; The preloaded apps can't be uninstalled, being part of the ROM software. Being "disabled" just means that the icons have been hidden from the user in the interface; They are still useable by the system. Permissions matter; It's literally comparable to allowing Satan into your home.
<But you're not a ROM h4x0r. But it's not rooted. But they have [insert spooptool here]. Nothing to see here. Other gaslighting.
None of that matters, because this becomes a legal problem. IF it is proven that Google's ROM software (marketed for it's security features, for Android 9.x) were to not honor user permissions settings, that could open up the parent company to millions, if not billions of dollars in damages in a class action lawsuit, and manufacturers would need to take a harder look at other, actual secure platforms or risk losing business and money.
<But the voice search is gone! My apps broke! WTF anon?! The phone sucks now!
Blame Google for installing their search app and store services as the default provider. There are some options available, and instructions on how to change the default provider apps also exist on the internet. So there's options out there if you truly need that feature and don't want Google scraping your data. Any app that you use that uses Google Play services also has the potential to transmit your data to Google, even if the Google app itself is turned off, because the store apps each have their own permissions sets, too.
Anyway
The example is for Google services, but it will also work with other pre-loaded bloatware, like facebook.app and twitter.app. Apple and Microsoft are no better. Same idea applies to those: Deny permissions first, and then disable the apps and reboot.
PS- If you're thinking of buying a new Android phone, DO NOT SET UP THE HANDSET WITH A GOOGLE ACCOUNT ON FIRST RUN. Doing this grants Google full access to everything on the phone by default, because it brands that user ID into the phone, until it is wiped and factory reset.
If you did make this mistake, fully wipe and reset the phone, and set it up without any account on first run, and set up email after. This prevents locking the phone to a user ID, and also forces the handset to ask for permission to data that would normally default to a new Google user (ie- a gmail account.)
https://video.foxnews.com/v/5731183327001/#sp=show-clips
https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-02-28-many-apps-can-still-track-you-even-if-you-turn-off-location-services.html