Buying an old Android phone? What you should know about privacy and security

With flagship phones like that Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and iPhone 11 Pro With a price tag of over $ 1,000, it’s cheaper than ever to buy a cheap, refurbished phone. But while you can buy a good quality used Samsung Galaxy, Sony or HTC phone at a very low price, is it actually safe to use these phones?

Phones released years ago use outdated versions of Android. That can mean that they don’t have critical security updates that can protect you – and your data – from prying eyes. If you are concerned about security and privacy on your previous phone, keep the following in mind.

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What is a security patch for a phone operating system?

Whenever hackers discover a new hole in your phone’s software that can be exploited, phone manufacturers will usually fix it and this update will be sent to your phone to ensure that no one can benefit. This is a security patch. You will likely have received many of them over time as cyber criminals keep looking for new ways to bypass your phone’s security. It is a continuous cycle in which threats are identified, resolved and then the next one is found.

Most of the time, you will never know about it, but it is the thing that keeps your phone up to date and protects it from known threats.

Why are manufacturers no longer sending security patches?

Manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, Google and HTC only support a phone for as long. Every new handset that is released and every new version of Android requires new threat analysis and patches. This is a lot of work and means that finding and patching these holes is simply no longer feasible for every handset that spans years and years.

As a result, Google and the phone manufacturers will have to drop support for older mobile phones, usually once a device is two or three years old. These handsets will then no longer receive security updates. So if a threat is detected on this phone, it simply won’t be fixed.

Is it safe to use an outdated phone?

As Christoph Hebeisen, director of the security intelligence service Caution explains: “We do not believe it is safe to run a device that does not receive security patches. Critical vulnerabilities become public knowledge every few weeks or months. As soon as a system is no longer supported, users who continue to run it become vulnerable to a device for exploiting known vulnerabilities. “

According to Hebeisen, a vulnerable phone can give full access to everything on your phone, including your personal and business emails, contact information, listening to your phone calls, or access to your bank details. A hacker can still see this information as long as you continue to use the vulnerable handset.

Paul Ducklin, senior scientist at the security firm Sophos, agrees and says: “If your phone has a software vulnerability that crooks can exploit to steal data or implant malware, for example, that vulnerability will remain with you forever . ” “”

How do I know if my phone is out of date?

It is often not easy to find out if your phone continues to be supported and receive security patches. First go to Settings and check your software updates. Install the latest version. There is usually an indication of when the phone was last updated. If your phone indicates that it has the latest software, but this latest version was installed many months or years ago, this is bad news. Your phone is probably no longer supported.

Unfortunately, manufacturers don’t give you a big warning to let you know if they have discontinued support for a phone. You can either find this out by a rude awakening as mentioned above, or find out for yourself in some other way.

A good rule of thumb is that a phone is no longer supported at the age of two to three years. However, this varies from company to company. For example, Google claims to make security updates available for Android 8.0, 8.1, 9.0, and 10. Pixel phones receive security updates for “at least three years” from the time of sale and Google also requires manufacturers to provide them with at least two years of device updates. In comparison, Apple still offers software updates for phones five years ago because relatively few models need to be managed. The newest iOS 13 can be installed on the iPhone 6S 2015.

To find out if your Android phone is supported, you need to dig something. I found Nokia tool to view updates of its phones after going through a number of support pages on his website. Samsung sent me its list after I contacted its PR team, however it is available online here. Google itself has a page that tells you clearly if your Pixel or Nexus phone loses security support. (Spoiler warning: All Nexus phones and the first generation Pixel are no longer supported, and Pixel 2 will lose support in October.) It is best to start with the support pages on your phone manufacturer’s website.

You may not immediately notice if your phone is out of date. Perhaps the most obvious sign that you’re using old software is when you’re looking for new apps to download. Many apps are simply not compatible due to the software and hardware limitations on your phone and cannot be installed.

How can I tell if my phone has been hacked?

It’s hard to say whether you’ll ever notice whether your phone’s security is at risk. Cyber ​​criminals are not making it known that they have accessed your device. You must therefore look for signs. Popups that may appear on the phone are a great giveaway, as are all apps that suddenly appear and that you haven’t downloaded.

Also pay attention to unexplained high data usage, as malicious apps may use a lot of data in the background. Other indicators can also be unusually high battery consumption and poor performance. However, both can also be traced back to the use of older hardware, which deteriorates over time.

How can I protect myself if I have an old phone?

As Hebeisen says, the best way to protect yourself is to simply stop using a phone that is no longer supported. If you have little money, can’t afford an upgrade, or are temporarily using an older phone for some reason, there are a few things you can do.

First, make sure you have the latest software installed on your phone. If you bought it used, make sure to fully reset the phone to factory settings. Make sure you only download apps from the Google Play Store (and not from third-party or unofficial app stores), and avoid installing apps by downloading the APK file from a website. This can often be a way for malicious software to infiltrate a phone.

You can help protect your personal information by simply not disclosing too much. Don’t do banking on the phone, sync your company’s email accounts, or send sexy pictures or sexy video chats until you’re back on a protected device. (It’s even important to practice safe sex over the phone.) According to Hebeisen, if you don’t take these precautions, an attacker could “watch and manipulate almost anything on the device”. It’s a cold shower, right there.

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