PSA — Pixel 9a and just got Android 17
Major update is setting share with ad networks by default. Not good. The steps they document to change have a bug and do not work. Manually you can do it though. Go to MyAd center. Two choices — Ad privacy and Get new ID. Open Ad privacy and change Topics, App-suggested and Ad measurement to OFF (default is ON). Go back and get new ID. Don’t get a New one. Delete your advertising ID.
What this means
Google will still show ads in services like Search, YouTube, and apps, but:
They won’t use your Android advertising ID.
Android won’t assign you advertising topics.
Apps won’t use the Privacy Sandbox APIs to personalize ads.
Ad conversion measurement through Android’s Privacy Sandbox is disabled.
Worth noting that Google Fi will NOT help you support-wise with you. They redirect you to Google which ends up disconnecting the call and doesn’t bother to call you back. Always use a landline for support calls and NOT your mobile is my advice too.
Desktop Considerations
Here’s how I’d think about each browser:
- Brave: Excellent choice for privacy. It blocks most ads and trackers by default. If you’re signed into a Google account in Brave (Gmail, YouTube, etc.), Google can still personalize those services unless you disable it in your account.
- Helium: If this is a Chromium-based browser, the same principle applies. Google account settings affect Google services you use there.
- Opera: Has built-in tracker blocking, but Opera itself collects some telemetry. If privacy is your priority, I’d use Brave ahead of Opera.
- Microsoft Edge: Microsoft has its own personalization and advertising ecosystem (Microsoft Advertising, Bing, Copilot). Your Google settings won’t affect Microsoft’s ad personalization.
Google settings I’d recommend
Visit https://myadcenter.google.com while signed into your Google account and:
- Turn Personalized ads Off.
- Disable any Partner ad settings if they’re available.
Then visit https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy and consider:
- Web & App Activity → Off (or Auto-delete every 3 months if you prefer to keep some history)
- Location History (Timeline) → Off unless you actively use it
- YouTube History → Off if you don’t want recommendations based on viewing history
Browser-specific recommendations
For Brave:
- Keep Shields enabled.
- Use Aggressive tracker blocking if it doesn’t break sites.
- Consider disabling Google Safe Browsing if you prefer maximum privacy, though this reduces phishing protection.
For Edge:
- Set Tracking prevention to Strict.
- Turn off Personalize your web experience and optional diagnostic data in Edge’s privacy settings if you don’t want Microsoft using browsing data for personalization.
Since you’re on Linux
Linux already eliminates a lot of operating-system telemetry compared with Windows. Combined with:
- Brave,
- the Android ad settings you’ve already changed,
- and turning off Google ad personalization,
you’re in a much better privacy position than the average user.
One question: when you say Helium, do you mean the Helium browser (the Chromium-based browser), or something else?
Here’s how I’d configure it:
| Browser | Suggested use | Privacy recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Brave | Banking, shopping, research, general browsing | Make this your primary browser. Keep Shields on and use it while not signed into Google whenever possible. |
| Helium | General work, WordPress admin, development | Good choice. Use uBlock Origin if Helium supports extensions, and avoid staying signed into Google unless you need to. |
| Opera | YouTube only | This is a good containment strategy. If YouTube is isolated to Opera, Google learns much less about the rest of your browsing. |
| Edge | Sites that require it (Microsoft 365, Copilot, compatibility) | Keep Microsoft services confined to Edge if possible. |
For Opera + YouTube
Since YouTube is your only use for Opera:
- Sign into your Google account only in Opera if you want subscriptions and history.
- Don’t use Opera for general web browsing.
- Don’t install unnecessary extensions.
- Consider turning YouTube History off if recommendations aren’t important to you. If you enjoy personalized recommendations, leave it on—it’s a tradeoff between convenience and privacy.
One more Google setting
Even after turning off ads, visit Google Account → Data & Privacy and review:
- Web & App Activity
- Include Chrome history and activity from sites, apps, and devices that use Google services
If you don’t use Chrome, you may still have activity from Google Search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and other Google services. Turning off Web & App Activity (or enabling auto-delete) reduces how much of that Google retains.
One suggestion based on what I know about your work
Because you manage multiple WordPress sites (like kioskindustry.org, kioskasia.org, digital-signage.blog, and others), I’d consider dedicating one browser profile or even one browser exclusively to site administration. That helps:
- keep admin sessions separate,
- reduce extension conflicts,
- and minimize the chance of cross-site cookie leakage.
Overall, your browser isolation strategy is already stronger than what most people use. The biggest remaining privacy gains would come from:
- Keeping Google activity contained to Opera.
- Using Brave for most non-Google browsing.
- Reviewing Google Account activity settings (not just ad settings).
- Periodically clearing cookies in Opera if you don’t need a long-term YouTube profile.
Long Time Firefox User
Firefox is an excellent choice if privacy is your priority. In fact, for someone with your workflow (Linux, multiple WordPress sites, research, and editorial work), I’d rank the browsers like this:
- Firefox (with the right settings) – Best overall for privacy and independence.
- Brave – Best Chromium-based privacy browser.
- Helium – Good lightweight Chromium browser for work.
- Edge – Keep for Microsoft compatibility only.
- Opera – Fine for containing YouTube, but I wouldn’t use it as a primary browser.
Why Firefox stands out
Unlike Chromium-based browsers, Firefox isn’t built on Google’s browser engine. That means:
- Mozilla doesn’t participate in Google’s Privacy Sandbox.
- Firefox supports Manifest V2, so powerful content blockers like uBlock Origin continue to work at full capability.
- Mozilla has strong tracking protection built in.
I’d configure Firefox like this
Privacy & Security
- ✔ Enhanced Tracking Protection: Strict
- ✔ Send websites “Do Not Track”: Always
- ✔ HTTPS-Only Mode: Enable in all windows
- ✔ DNS over HTTPS: Max Protection (or use NextDNS/Quad9 if you prefer)
Extensions
- ✔ uBlock Origin (essential)
- ✔ Firefox Multi-Account Containers (great for separating Google, WordPress, banking, etc.)
- ✔ Bitwarden (if you use a password manager)
- ✔ ClearURLs (optional)
My suggestion for your setup
Given the sites you manage, I’d probably use:
- Firefox → Primary browsing, research, banking, government sites.
- Firefox Container: Google → Gmail, Search, Analytics if needed.
- Firefox Container: WordPress → Admin access to your websites.
- Brave → Secondary Chromium browser for testing websites.
- Opera → YouTube only.
- Edge → Microsoft services and browser compatibility testing.
That gives you excellent separation without constantly switching browsers.
One more thing
Since you’re on Pop!_OS 24.04, Firefox is also well integrated with Linux security features and tends to use less memory than running several Chromium browsers simultaneously.
For your workflow, I think Firefox with Multi-Account Containers is actually more useful than relying on multiple different browsers. You get the same separation (Google isolated from WordPress, banking isolated from everything else) while keeping everything in one browser.
If I were setting up your workstation today, Firefox would become my default browser, with Brave kept around primarily for Chromium compatibility testing and Opera reserved for YouTube.
What Me Worry? I use Apple.
Apple users are generally better protected from cross-company advertising tracking than Android or Windows users, but they are not immune to advertising or profiling. Apple’s business model is different from Google’s or Meta’s—they make most of their money from hardware and services rather than ads.
Here’s how it breaks down.
iPhone (iOS)
Apple has several privacy protections enabled by default:
- App Tracking Transparency (ATT): Apps must ask permission before tracking you across other companies’ apps and websites. If you tap “Ask App Not to Track” or “Don’t Allow”, most third-party advertising tracking is blocked.
- Advertising Identifier (IDFA): If tracking is denied, apps generally cannot use your IDFA for personalized advertising.
- Private Relay (iCloud+) (if you subscribe) obscures your IP address in Safari.
- Mail Privacy Protection hides when and where you open emails.
- Safari blocks many third-party trackers automatically.
However:
- Apps can still collect data within their own ecosystem. For example, Facebook can learn a lot about your activity inside Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
- Google can still personalize Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Maps if you’re signed into your Google account.
- Apple itself serves ads in places like the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks, although those ads use far less cross-site data than Google’s ecosystem.
Mac (macOS)
macOS has fewer built-in advertising restrictions than iOS because desktop browsers have more freedom.
Privacy depends largely on the browser:
- Safari blocks many trackers by default.
- Firefox with uBlock Origin provides excellent privacy.
- Brave also offers strong tracking protection.
- Chrome exposes you to more Google-related tracking if you’re signed into your account.
Apple’s own advertising
Apple has a modest advertising business, mainly in:
- App Store
- Apple News
- Stocks
You can reduce this by going to:
Settings (or System Settings) → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising
Turn off:
- Personalized Ads
This doesn’t eliminate ads completely, but it stops Apple from using your App Store activity and other Apple account information to personalize them.
The biggest remaining source of tracking
For most Apple users, the largest privacy risk isn’t Apple—it’s the services they use.
If you:
- use Google Search,
- watch YouTube,
- use Gmail,
- browse Facebook or Instagram,
- or log into many sites with Google,
those companies can still build profiles based on your activity within their own services, regardless of whether you’re using an iPhone, Mac, Windows PC, or Linux machine.
Overall comparison
| Platform | Cross-app tracking | Ad privacy |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone (tracking denied) | Excellent | ★★★★★ |
| Mac + Safari/Firefox | Very good | ★★★★☆ |
| Linux + Firefox/Brave | Excellent | ★★★★★ |
| Android (configured like your Pixel) | Very good | ★★★★☆ |
| Windows + Edge defaults | Fair | ★★☆☆☆ |
Given the changes you’ve already made on your Pixel and the fact that you use Linux with privacy-focused browsers, your setup is comparable to—or in some respects stronger than—the default privacy protections that most Apple users have. The remaining factor is mainly how much you use services like Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Microsoft while signed into those accounts.
Windows?
Windows users do face more default telemetry and advertising-related features than users of Linux or Apple devices, but I wouldn’t say they’re “totally screwed.” It depends a lot on how the system is configured.
Here’s a rough comparison of the defaults:
| Platform | Default privacy | Can be improved? |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | ★★★★★ | Already very good |
| macOS | ★★★★☆ | Yes |
| iPhone | ★★★★☆ | Yes |
| Android (Pixel) | ★★★☆☆ | Yes—much better after the changes you made |
| Windows 11 | ★★☆☆☆ | Yes, but it takes effort |
Why Windows gets criticism
Out of the box, Windows 11 includes features such as:
- Diagnostic and telemetry data sent to Microsoft.
- Advertising IDs used by Windows apps.
- Suggested content and recommendations in parts of the interface.
- Microsoft account integration (OneDrive, Edge, Copilot, Microsoft Store).
- Search and Copilot features that can send queries to Microsoft’s cloud.
Microsoft says much of this data is used for security, reliability, and personalization, not simply advertising. Even so, many privacy-conscious users prefer to reduce or disable as much of it as possible.
Can you make Windows fairly private?
Yes. You can:
- Turn off the Windows advertising ID.
- Disable personalized experiences.
- Reduce diagnostic data to the minimum allowed.
- Turn off suggested content.
- Disable or limit Copilot features (where available).
- Use Firefox or Brave instead of Edge as your primary browser.
- Install uBlock Origin.
- Use a local account instead of a Microsoft account if it fits your needs.
With those changes, Windows becomes considerably more privacy-friendly, though it still won’t feel as minimal as a typical Linux installation.
One advantage Linux has
Because you use Pop!_OS, the operating system itself isn’t built around an advertising ecosystem. That means there are fewer built-in services collecting usage data for personalization. Your privacy choices are largely determined by the applications and online services you choose, rather than the operating system.
The bigger picture
In practice, your browser and online accounts often matter more than your operating system.
For example:
- A Windows user running Firefox with uBlock Origin, signed out of Google most of the time, may expose less advertising data than
- A Linux user who spends all day signed into Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome Sync, Facebook, and Instagram.
So the operating system is one piece of the privacy picture, but the services you use and how you configure them have a major impact as well.