Periodic Phone Wipe Notes

I got into the habit of wiping my phone every 6 months (takes about an hour) in order to:

Streamline the process
Validate the backups
Re-examine which apps should stay
Remove leftover data
Figure out the pains and find alternatives

My phone is a Pixel 8 with GrapheneOS, it has an always-on VPN, and a lot of self-hosting related apps.

Backup

Snapshot
- Homepages
- Toggles
- App drawer
Export
- Wireguard
- Gadgetbridge
- Lawnchair
- Ntfy
- Termux
Backup the entire phone to the PC

Install

Follow the official documentation.

Configuration

Copy exports and snapshots back
Initial configuration
- Network & Internet
  - Private DNS: off
  - Internet connectivity checks: off
  - Internet
    - Network preferences
      - Turn on wi-fi automatically: off
      - Notify for public networks: off
  - SIMs
    - VoLTE: off
    - Preferred network type: LTE
    - Allow 2G: off
  - VPN
    - Always-on VPN: on
    - Block connections without VPN: off
- Connected devices
  - Connection preferences
    - NFC: off
    - Printing: off
- Apps
  - Sandboxed Google Play
    - Reroute location requests to the OS: on
    - Google location accuracy: off
  - Special app access
    - Special access to hardware accelerators for Google apps: on
- Notifications
  - Wireless emergency alerts: off
  - Hide silent notifications in status bar: on
  - Notification dot on app icon: on
  - Enhanced notifications: on
- Battery
  - Battery percentage: on
  - Battery share: off
- Sound & vibration
  - Spatial audio: off
  - Vibration & haptics: on
  - Dial pad tones: off
  - Screen locking sound: off
  - Charging sounds and vibrations: off
  - Tap & click sounds: off
  - Always show icon when in vibrate mode: on
- Display
  - Adaptive brightness: on
  - Lock screen
    - Shortcuts
      - Flashlight
      - Camera
    - Dynamic clock: on
    - Always show time and info: off
    - Tap to check phone: on
    - Lift to check phone: off
    - Wake screen for notifications: on
    - Screen timeout: 1 minute
    - Dark theme: on
    - Night light: off
    - Auto-rotate screen: off
    - Smooth display: off
    - Increase touch sensitivity: off
    - Screen saver: off
- Security
  - Screen lock
    - Enhanced PIN privacy: on
    - Lock after screen timeout: 5 seconds
    - Power button instantly locks: on
  - Auto reboot: 18 hours
  - USB peripherals: allow new USB peripherals when unlocked
  - USB-C port: charging-only when locked, except before first unlock
  - Secure app spawning: on
  - Automatic exploit protection compatibility mode: on
  - Memory tagging in third-party apps: on
  - Native code debugging
    - Block for third-party apps by default: on
  - Scramble PIN input layout: on
  - Allow camera access when the device is locked: on
  - Notify about system process crashes: on
- Privacy
  - Camera access: on
  - Microphone access: on
  - Allow sensors permission to apps by default: off
  - Save screenshot timestamp to EXIF: off
  - Show passwords: off
  - Notifications on lock screen: all
  - Show media on lock screen: on
  - Show clipboard access: on
- Location
  - Location services
    - Wi-fi scanning: off
    - Bluetooth scanning: off
- Safety & emergency
  - Wireless emergency alerts: off
- System
  - Gestures
    - Quickly open camera: on
    - Navigation mode: gesture navigation
    - Tap to check phone: on
    - Lift to check phone: off
  - Date & time
    - Use 24-hour format: on
  - System updates
    - Require battery above warning: on
    - Require device to be charging: on
    - Automatic reboot: on
  - Developer options
    - OEM unlocking: off
    - USB debugging: off
    - Wireless debugging: off
    - Mobile data always active: off
    - Disable bluetooth LE audio hardware offload: off

Apps

Audiobookshelf
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: optimized
Auditor
- Enable remote verification: on
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: unrestricted
Bitwarden (password manager)
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
Breezy weather
- Permissions: network, notifications, sensors
- Background usage: unrestricted
Davx5 (sync contacts)
- Permissions: calendar, contacts, network, notifications
- Background usage: unrestricted
Discord
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
F-Droid (foss app store)
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
Finamp (music)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: optimized
Findmydevice
- Permissions: camera, contacts, location, network, notifications, phone, sensors
- Background usage: unrestricted
Floccus (bookmark sync)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: off
Gadgetbridge (cloudless gadgets)
- Permissions: calendar, call logs, contacts, location, nearby devices, network, notifications, phone, sensors, sms
- Background usage: unrestricted
Gboard (without network permissions)
- Permissions: none
- Background usage: none
Google Play Services (sandboxed)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: unrestricted
Google Play Store (sandboxed)
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
Google Services Framework (sandboxed)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: optimized
Immich (photos)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: optimized
Jellyfin (media)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: unrestricted
Lawnchair (launcher)
- Permissions: nearby devices
- Background usage: optimized
LibreTube (youtube)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: unrestricted
Linphone (voip)
- Permissions: contacts, microphone, network, notifications, phone, sensors
- Background usage: unrestricted
Nextcloud news (rss reader)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: none
Nextcloud (self-hosted cloud)
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: unrestricted
Nextcloud notes
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: none
Ntfy (notifications)
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: unrestricted
Organic maps (navigation)
- Permissions: location, network, sensors
- Background usage: none
Pixel Camera
- Permissions: camera, microphone, notifications, photos and videos (storage scope /DCIM/), sensors
- Background usage: optimized
Proton calendar
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
Proton mail
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
Signal
- Permissions: contacts, network, notifications, phone, sensors
- Background usage: optimized
SimpleLogin
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: none
Termux
- Permissions: files (storage scope /backup/), network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
Vanadium (browser)
- Permissions: network, notifications
- Background usage: optimized
VLC
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: optimized
Wavelet (equalizer)
- Permissions: notifications
- Background usage: unrestricted
Wireguard (vpn)
- Permissions: network
- Background usage: optimized
Configure all apps
Set folders to auto upload to nextcloud
- Photos
- Videos
- Call recordings
- Snapshots
- Backup

Last update: 2024-03-26
Created: 2022-03-26