I agree, also, do you have an android? if so, you should think about a different OS than stock. I use graphene, and it is designed for this type of shit. It does not send out any bluetooth or internet checks when turned off, does not come with any google, uses their own proxy servers for internet and location, randomizes telemetry as much as possible etc. If I was worried I would take out my sim card just in case, although if it is airplane mode it should be ok. Comes stock with barebones free, open source programs. So no tracking. You can still install play store if you want, and they have done a lot of work to have it run sandboxed really well. So it accesses what you give it permission to, rather than everything on stock android. I still would not have it installed for your use case, or would at least have it on a separate user profile I wasnt using. Comes with vinadium, a degoogled chrome fork. I use ironfox and brave personally. Also I use Mullvad VPN, which Graphene is designed to work well with and is super reputable.

I also use neostore. It is a storefront for a bunch of different open source software repositories. Tells you very clearly specific privacy concerns for all software. Great app.

There is also I think Organic maps? A functional foss alternative to google maps. I can’t really get it to run well myself, but others say its great. So you can use google maps with Graphene Proxy servers, but the location will still be sent to google, ip address etc. You can deny it network access, but it is still sketchy. I personally use Magic Earth, which is not foss, but more overtly privacy focused than google by a mile. No account needed, no ligs etc(the rub is it is private so we don’t absolutely know). It has pretty robust transparency and can be used without connecting to the internet. No logs, no data collected by default. GPS is calculated by recieving, not transmitring a signal, ao this can be done completely privately if you turn the internet and bt off. Magic Earth is my compromise choice of privacy and ease of use.

There is also something called the guardian project by the tor browser people. besides tor itself(more secure but quite slow for video and such), they have a suite of apps you might like. Designed for journalists and such. One for scrubbing data from pictures, another one you can set to scrub your entire phone or specific apps as a panic button(Graphene natively has a panic code you can type in if cops are trying to unlock your phone thatll wipe it as well, but I dont think it can be tailored). another app lets you set your phone as a motion sensor camera, another will send a premade message to emergency contacts when enacted etc. Super good shit.

Sorry, I ramble a lot. On a final note, getting into all this shit made me realize how much big tech fucking hates us now. How they see design as a distant secondary concern to extracting data. Like, these are apps people make just because, and a lot of them are far better to use because they’re not bloated spyware fronting as a camera app.

Lastly, it comes with a hardened fork of signal I use. works perfectly, but still uses their servers(encrypted, but they know who sent it). If you want other anonymity tools there are p2p messaging apps like Briar, ones you can set up your own server to host messages, freenet lets you upload pictures and such anonymously.

All to say, there is a whole ecosystem for the shit you’re talking about. If you have an apple phone, don’t trust a goddamn word apple says. It is marketing. Capital will always side with fascists when their interests align and sell you out in a heartbeat(they already have to others). And Apple of course allows no 3rd party OS or foss. Fuck Apple. Also their design isn’t elegant imho, it is just childish. They make doing anything not explicitly designed for impossible. Incredibly frustrating. I have to use Apple for work and almost broke the fucking computer when I realized their native pdf viewer is made by someone that hates you and doesnt have night mode. If you want anything approaching anonymity the first step is not being in ecosystems built by big tech, otherwise anything you do is comically futile. You are at all times holding a massive neon sign with all your info on it. Of course, I am just a guy on the internet that is a newbie himself to most of this, also a fucking moron lol. Do your own due diligence, but I have not regretted switching for a second. Also it is super easy and takes a youtube video and 15 minutes. Try it with an old phone first if youre hesitant. Best of luck