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xiaomi and the privacy and security debate, a brand to trust? (linux.community)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've received a xiaomi phone as a present, a 2022 redmi 10c 220333QNY, but I've read in several sources that this is a brand that systematically eavesdrops everything the user does. There's also the fear they pass this information to the CCP, which, if you are a Taiwanese, Tibetan, Uighur or Hongkong democracy activist or a foreigner promoting multiparty democracy in China might be used to spy on you and incarcerate you.

Other brands, western if you want to call them that, might do the same, I don't know. That's why I ask these questions:

Are all phone brands the same, meaning they all eavesdrop on me and no matter what brand I use some personal information will end up in their servers?
If all brands are equally bad, what can a quite ignorant end user like me do to minimize the information transmitted to the manufacturer? I cannot even root this device and last time I tried getting rid of another phone's bloatware I bricked the device.
If some brands are better privacy wise, which ones?
Am I protecting my privacy if I don't use any default application and disregard any ad to use products from google and use exclusively f-droid?

I don't mind voiding the warranty and I wouldn't mind installing a FOSS OS on this redmi model, as I won't bank or pay taxes using this device, but I don't find anything that works. Suggestions welcomed.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So here's the thing. The phone was made by a company in another country that has to follow that countries laws. But that only extends to the stock OS.

Just unlock the bootloader, root it, and install whatever on it. IIRC Xiaomi phones are pretty open platform wise, and are compatible with a wide array of ROMs. I've personally been using LibreMobileOS recently and I really like it--but unfortunately that seems to be one of the few Redmi models they don't support yet. lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yes but, have you ever rooted a Xiaomi device. it's VERY hard. not impossible, but very hard. Requires iirc a 28 day waiting period, and you can only do one per year. (I imagine they enforce by phone number) Here's a guide I found with a quick google search, it requires running their super sketchy windows only utility, etc.. etc... https://www.reddit.com/r/PocoPhones/comments/1bsb2ce/how_to_root_your_phone_whatever_your_xiaomi_phone/

And yes, everything you have read is true about how bad it is. Did you know by default every app is set to debuggable? it's something the OS does, and no, you can't turn it off from the apps perspective. The whole system is just not secure, by design.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Yes but, have you ever rooted a Xiaomi device. it’s VERY hard.

It takes a bit of working around, but it's generally not that difficult to unlock your bootloader without following "official" methods: https://xdaforums.com/t/a-guide-to-unlocking-the-bootloader-of-the-xiaomi-redmi-9a-9at-without-mi-unlock.4687858/

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Thanks for that!!! I'll give this a shot.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

it’s generally not that difficult to unlock your bootloader without following “official” methods

I wrote the wrong model number, right model number is 2022 redmi 10C 220333QNY, I didn't find a guide to bootload this model on xdaforums.

There's also a caveat: I'd be bootloading with debian 12.9.

Can I bootload without installing any redmi crap on my computer or creating an account with them?