TrackerControl
TrackerControl allows users to monitor and control the widespread, ongoing, hidden data collection in mobile apps about user behaviour ('tracking').
Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Android
- Android Tablet
- F-Droid
Features
Properties
- Privacy focused
- Lightweight
Features
- No Root Required
- Block Trackers
- No Tracking
- No registration required
Tags
- Privacy Protection
- GDPR
- tracker-analysis
TrackerControl News & Activities
Recent activities
- davar liked TrackerControl
OrdinaryPerson added TrackerControl as alternative to ShizuWall
OrdinaryPerson added TrackerControl as alternative to PrivacyScanner
aeksto added TrackerControl as alternative to De1984 Firewall
WontedTangent added TrackerControl as alternative to Clean View Filter
TrackerControl information
Developed by
Konrad Kollnig (Oxford HCC) Licensing
Open Source (GPL-3.0) and Free product.Written in
Alternatives
33 alternatives listedSupported Languages
- English
AlternativeTo Categories
Security & Privacy, Web BrowsersGitHub repository
- 45 Stars
- 1 Forks
- 0 Open Issues
- Updated
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What is TrackerControl?
TrackerControl aims to inform, empower, and educate users with regards to tracking in apps, that is, collection of data about user behaviour.
To visualise this tracking, a compehensive database of tracker companies from the X-Ray project, developed by Professor Max Van Kleek (University of Oxford) and others, is used to reveal the companies behind tracking to users and to allow users to block tracking selectively.
The app further aims to educate users about their legal rights under current EU Data Protection Law (i.e. GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive).
Under the hood, Tracker Control uses Android’s VPN functionality, to analyse apps’ network communications locally on the Android device. This is accomplished through a local VPN server, through which all network communications are passed, to enable the analysis by Tracker Control. In other words, no external VPN server is used, and hence no network data leaves the user’s device for the purposes of tracker analysis.
Tracker Control provides
- real-time monitoring of app tracking,
- granular blocking of app tracking,
- access to apps’ privacy policy websites without trackers (which they often contain), and
- one-click data requests as granted under EU Data Protection Legislation (to be added soon).
Contrary to similar solutions, this application does not intercept SSL connections, minimising privacy risks and allowing for usage on unrooted Android devices. Only the meta data about network communications is logged, and displayed to the users.
Comments and Reviews
This is the best app by far for not only tracker control but it makes traffic logging super easy with filters that allow you easily see other items besides only trackers. It is like using Wireshark could be easily filtered with a couple clicks.
Best feature is you can enable/disable items by individual trackers and it does excellent job on its own of identifying necessary ones and blocking rest. You can block all though and if anything breaks, turn them back on one at a time. That is awesome since some apps use CDNs from some companies that track and have valid function and most other apps you would have to leave other items unblocked to keep open the one essential connection.
And do not even need root. Plus, they keep on improving it further. I am blown away by this after using numerous tools including enterprise ones for years and years now.
It even assisted with catching 3 of my apps breaking their rules and trying to communicate back to analytics that I only knew because of the traffic log.
It's controversial but I think Android is imperfect on security and privacy of data, a lot of things leak from phones and more with Google but thanks to applications like this one help to patch and see what leaks.