But phones have a dedicated microphone and location tracking service built in. If there is a software vulnerability (there is always a software vulnerability) then it can be remotely turned on and monitored.

There are even instances of this happening to targets of governments: journalists and activists, especially. That Israeli company specializes in it and sells access to anyone who is willing to pay.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

so do laptops, and most pcs will have a webcam and mic attached.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Yep, thanks to Edward Snowden, we've know NSA has been able to turn these on without us knowing (without the red light) for a long time now.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Idk why you're downvoting the guy WetBeardHairs is right. Pegasus spyware has been a serious threat and was created by a nation state hacking group in Israel called NSO group.

This is why I do the best I can and use GrapheneOS, but there could always be some security vulnerability deep in Android itself. If you're looking for true privacy and security, a burner or something with removable components would be best.