Privacy

of course no phones allowed, so none were used

Why do you think phones aren't listening?

So while the phone itself may not be listening

Probably the same thing that makes you think they aren't. There's no evidence to suggest otherwise. My phone has an indicator for when the microphone is accessed, and it's never come on without good reason. I suppose it's possible the OS could be accessing it without tripping the indicator, but that's why you should use an open source OS.

So while the phone itself may not be listening, apps can, depending on permissions etc.

Yep. That's the best of my knowledge, today.

I haven't seen any evidence that the operating system, itself, is listening.

But we know that many free, and even some paid subscription apps (check out the permissions on Paramount Plus!) are watching the screen or listening to the microphone.

We know these apps sell the data they collect to absolutely everyone.

There's every reason to believe that collected screen, microphone (and possibly camera?) data then gets correlated with location data collected directly by Google.

Source: I'm a Cybersecurity professional who knows waaay too much about the state of what is possible, and why.

The why is mainly just Google and Meta using their influence for evil.

If you have a supported device, GrapheneOS is the better choice because it supports relocking the bootloader with a signed ROM. This is integral to the Android security model. I don't have anything against LineageOS, just not something I recommend anyone daily drive because of the security risk.

Definitely don't install /e/OS or IodéOS because they are substantially worse for security.

Here is a comparison of Android ROMs: https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

Some manufacturers phones' can't even install ROMs. ~Fucking samsung...~

It's a huge shame since the best phone on the market are pixels, and those are owned by google.

Fairphones seem interesting though.

You should check out Heliboard and Florisboard for good alternatives.

The average phone is listening all the time. If someone is particularly careful what apps they install, and gets a bit lucky, then their phone isn't listening. That person is only being listened to by the phones of everyone else around them.

[citation needed]