From: mariond@facts.com   
      
   Tutorial:   
   Garmin-style GPS-only Android location-privacy Maps/Route/Traffic   
      
   Nuclear shortcut (this works, but it's generally considered impractical).   
    A. Airplane mode = ON   
    B. GPS (Location radio) = ON   
    C. Maps/routing/traffic done offline   
   Everything else stays OFF by default in airplane mode.   
   Result: GPS-only fixes, no scanning, no uploads, no auto-connects.   
      
   Non-nuclear switches and their positions (which allow for nuanced options):   
    1. Location radio = ON   
    2. Cellular voice radio = OFF   
    3. Cellular data radio = OFF   
    4. Bluetooth radio = OFF   
    5. Wi-Fi radio = OFF   
    6. Wi-Fi scanning = OFF   
    7. Bluetooth scanning = OFF   
    8. Google Location Accuracy = OFF   
    9. Precise Location = ON   
    10. In apps, choose GPS only   
    11. Wi-Fi auto-reconnect = OFF   
    12. Airplane mode = ON when you want maximum privacy   
    13. Wi-Fi calling = OFF   
    14. NFC = OFF   
    15. Sensors = restrict app access   
      
   Overview:   
   This checklist shows how we can configure Android so that apps use   
   only the GPS chip for location, without leaking extra data to   
   carriers, Google or to nearby Wi-Fi/Bluetooth beacons. By turning   
   radios, scanning, and auto-reconnect OFF (except GPS), we can   
   approximate the "GPS-only" privacy we had with standalone Garmin   
   units of yesteryear, while still allowing apps to read satellite fixes.   
      
   Details (which allow for nuanced tradeoffs):   
   1. Location radio = ON   
      (needed for GPS to work)   
      
   2. Cellular voice radio = OFF (more about turning it on will come later)   
      (eliminates tower-based coarse location)   
      
   3. Cellular data radio = OFF (more about turning it on will come later)   
      (blocks apps and Google services from sending precise location   
      over mobile data, and prevents network-assisted GPS lookups)   
      
      This stops your phone from sending any data over the mobile   
      data channel. That includes uploads of Wi-Fi SSIDs/BSSIDs and   
      Bluetooth beacon information.   
      
      However, if Wi-Fi is ON and connected, or if Wi-Fi/BT scanning   
      is enabled, the operating system can still collect those signals   
      and may upload them through Wi-Fi instead of cellular.   
      
      To fully prevent uploads of neighbor Wi-Fi and Bluetooth beacons,   
      you must also turn OFF Google Location Accuracy, Wi-Fi scanning,   
      and Bluetooth scanning.   
      
   4. Bluetooth radio = OFF (more about turning it on will come later)   
      (optional, improves privacy if you do not need headsets or wearables)   
      
      Even if scanning is OFF, with the radio ON the phone can still   
      advertise its own presence, exchange metadata with paired devices,   
      and reveal its Bluetooth MAC address. With the radio OFF, none   
      of that is possible.   
      
   5. Wi-Fi radio = OFF (more about turning it on will come later)   
      (optional, improves privacy if you do not need Wi-Fi data)   
      
      Even if scanning is OFF, with the radio ON the phone can still   
      broadcast probe requests for known networks and reveal its Wi-Fi   
      MAC address. With the radio OFF, none of that is possible.   
      
      By default, current Android releases randomize the MAC per AP.   
      If desired, Developer Options allow randomizing per connection.   
      
   6. Wi-Fi scanning = OFF (more about turning it on will come later)   
      (no Wi-Fi beacon frames logged)   
      
   7. Bluetooth scanning = OFF (more about turning it on will come later)   
      (no BT beacons logged)   
      
      When Wi-Fi or Bluetooth scanning is ON:   
      
      The phone continuously listens for nearby Wi-Fi access points   
      and Bluetooth beacons. It records identifiers such as SSID,   
      BSSID (MAC address), signal strength, and sometimes timestamps.   
      
      These scan results are cached locally by the operating system.   
      They are not immediately uploaded every time they are seen.   
      
      When network connectivity is available (cellular data or Wi-Fi),   
      the cached scan results can be uploaded later to services such   
      as Google Location Accuracy. This is how the global database   
      of Wi-Fi and BT beacons is maintained.   
      
      When scanning is OFF:   
      
      The phone does not collect those identifiers in the background,   
      so there is nothing to cache or upload later.   
      
   8. Google Location Accuracy = OFF (more about turning it on later)   
      (disables the fused provider and prevents uploads to Google)   
      
   9. Precise Location = ON (more about turning it off will come later)   
      (so apps can still use the GPS chip directly)   
      
   10. Some apps allow you to choose the location provider, such as SatStat   
       , so, for those, choose GPS only   
       (not fused, network, or passive)   
      
   11. Turn each AP Wi-Fi auto-reconnect = OFF for all hidden or common SSIDs.   
       (prevents the phone from automatically probing for saved networks)   
       (prevents the phone from connecting to rogue evil-twin SSIDs)   
      
       Anyone not hiding their home AP SSID broadcast and/or note adding   
       the _nomap prefix is explicitly asking to be in Google's database.   
      
       With auto-reconnect ON, the phone broadcasts probe requests   
       for SSIDs it has saved, which can reveal your network history   
       to anyone sniffing nearby. With auto-reconnect OFF, you must   
       manually choose a network each time, and your phone does not   
       advertise that history list in the background.   
      
   12. Airplane mode = OFF (see nuclear mode if turning it on)   
       (GPS still works receive only when airplane mode is on)   
      
   13. Wi-Fi calling = OFF   
       (prevents call/SMS metadata from leaking location through Wi-Fi)   
      
   14. NFC = OFF   
       (prevents the phone from responding to nearby NFC readers)   
      
   15. Sensors = restrict app access   
       (accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, etc. cannot be globally disabled   
        without root; control access through app permissions for map apps)   
      
   This is my first-pass best-guess comprehensive method to obtain as close to   
   Garmin-style location privacy as we can get on a non-rooted Android phone.   
      
   Obviously I'm aware that the voice radio is needed for calls & that the   
   cellular data radio is desirable for online maps/traffic, and that the   
   bluetooth radio might be used for speakers, etc., so explicit tradeoff   
   choices that most of us must make as a result will be discussed later.   
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