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Looking for privacy and security APP

osvaldo1br

Lurker
Jan 4, 2020
1
0
I'm looking for one (multiple) app to use on a public Android device:
** Do the service automatically at each boot;
1-Block app opening by password;
2-Block the installation and uninstallation of app, releasing only updates;
3-Clear data and cache from all app.
 
Well recommendations for "anti-virus" (sic) apps are trickier. You need to give a lot of trust to such apps, and not all providers are trustworthy (Cheetah Mobile offered such apps, for example, which is equivalent to just giving a burglar your keys). Meanwhile malware risks are widely misunderstood and hugely overestimated, with many people assuming that any behaviour they don't understand must be a "virus" (though there are actually no Android viruses, and the real malware risk is you installing an malicious app yourself - hence a bit of care in what you install and where from is the most important security tool).
 
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I'm looking for one (multiple) app to use on a public Android device:
** Do the service automatically at each boot;
1-Block app opening by password;
2-Block the installation and uninstallation of app, releasing only updates;
3-Clear data and cache from all app.

1 and 2 -- Implement Parental Control, it's in your Settings menu
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1075738?hl=en
Or look at Google's Family Link for more functionality:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1075738?hl=en
There are a lot of third-party alternatives too, a lot of them are pay-for apps that provide a lot more enhanced services.

3 -- Why do this? It accomplishes very little. Clearing app caches on a regular basis will only open up a few MBs of storage space and on only a temporary basis. Apps need their caches to function so every time your wipe them, every time you use that app it has to rebuild its missing cache anyway. Basically, it's just unnecessary micromanaging. Wipe an app's cache when there's an actual problem to address.
As for clearing an app's data, that's also not a recommended thing to do. Clearing data of an app returns the app back to its original, first time used state. Doing what you're stating will involve you having to a) reset any changes to the app's Settings menu and b) manually enter your user name and password. So just as an example, every time you want to do something as basic as check your email, when you start up the email app you have to enter your email address and password; every time you want to check you calendar you have to enter your email service account name and password, and wait while the Calendar app loads your online account data; when you want to check for any text messages you'll need to enter your email service account name and password into your Contacts app, then configure your text messaging app, presumably linked to your phone number (they won't be received automatically since if you wipe data for all apps they're all inert.). You need to do this with every app that relies upon an online service each time you use an app. Don't wipe app data, unless there's an actual need to do so.

Smartphones, all of them, are by design intended to be sharing devices. The problem is a lot of the company's that maintain the online services we use tend to take advantage of the data they collect. Really, if you want real privacy and security, don't use a smartphone and reduce your online presence to an absolute minimum. But even that won't protect you completely. Living off the grid isn't easy and takes a lot of research to accomplish (...and it helps to have the financial resources to get to that point.)
 
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