How Do I stop google uploading My Information?

[startac4]

Someone mentioned to me about google backing up Contacts which I thought did not happen (unless I used Duo, which I don't). But I just checked my phone. I have Settings -> Accounts & Sync -> Auto-sync data set to OFF. But in the Accounts drop-down under Auto-sync I selected google just to check it - and in the drop-down list that opened there it shows Contacts was synched ten days ago!! It also shows the calendar had been synched, though that was one-and-a-half years ago.

I don't want intrusive google getting any of my information. How do I stop this permanently (short of throwing away my android phone)?

 

[Milo Williamson]

My activity to turn them all off on google, just type up my activity to switch everything off.

 

[nickdalzell]

The only way to fully stop this behavior (and Play Store/Play Services auto-updating) is to remove the Google account entirely from the phone.

 

[Hadron]

You should be able to turn off contact syncing and it stay turned off. But I'd explicitly turn off contact syncing rather than trust some master switch to do everything (but after turning off individual items you can do the global turn off too). Duo is irrelevant: Google have synced contacts stored in your Google account from the word go, long before Duo existed.

But if you have contacts you don't want synced the best bet is not to store them as Google contacts. Most devices allow you to store contacts as "Phone" rather than associated to your Google account (or other account). My Samsung allows me to easily select contacts and move them from one account to another. If you make them Phone contacts then they won't be synced with Google (just make sure you have a backup of them somewhere other than on the phone).

 

[startac4]

Thank you...but I don't understand what you mean by not having my accounts associated with google but rather to have them as phone contacts. I thought that's what they were. When I open Contacts, which have a heading Phone - I see each entry listed with phone numbers. Opening an entry then shows additional numbers (e.g. for text messages), street address, email address etc. Are ening

 

[nickdalzell]

He means when you add a contact you can either choose to sync with Google (or various other accounts such as Microsoft Exchange, Samsung Account, etc) or save it as a 'phone' only contact meaning it does not sync or backup the details. It'd be a local only contact and if you lost the phone or busted it, that data would be lost.

I've saved contacts as phone only since my Nokia 5185i days. It's just a habit I refuse to break, much like keeping my music on an SD Card, and avoiding anything mentioning the 'cloud' or 'subscription'