Every company is going to use your data against you. Its simply too enticing and valuable not too.
“Every company is going to use your data against you. Its simply too enticing and valuable not too.”
Not if you protect yourself.
It is essentially impossible to guard your privacy if you use a smartphone with a proprietary operating system like iOS or Windows Phone. Because Apple and Microsoft don’t allow you to examine the inner workings of their respective mobile OSs, you’re limited in what changes you can make, and you can never be sure that they haven’t left a backdoor for themselves, the government, or whoever else.
Android is different, though. Anyone can examine its inner workings and make their own customized version of Android with the “bad stuff” taken out. If you install a custom version of Android from a reliable developer that includes either App Ops, Privacy Guard, or my all-time favorite, XPrivacy, you will be able to ensure that most of your data is protected. (XPrivacy can completely stop data leaks, but its learning curve is quite steep.)
As another FRiend has already pointed out, XDA Developers is the #1 site when it comes to stuff like this.
I realize that none of it is very well-documented, though, so if anyone reading this would like a hands-on walkthrough of how to take control of your Android device, send me a message. I’d be glad to help. I’ve been mucking with Android devices for years now and I’m a former technical writer, so I know a thing or two about how to explain complicated concepts to the average audience.