[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Darnell_Chat_TN:
Here's how I stop Android from phoning home.

Here's an earlier article that mentions Android phoning home and one means to prevent it that was already mentioned here: Google mobile apps collect Wi-Fi location data

We all already know we agreed to some collection of data via the settings option that informed us anonymous data would be collected. As I've mentioned in the first post, many of us simply didn't realize how frequently this was occurring although we knew some was taking place. This occurring frequently goes beyond privacy into even other practical matters such as data usage which we must pay for and battery life. Given as mentioned in the video at the top of the article, this goes on at a very constant rate. I'm not here to debate anyone's personal preference. This thread is about how to stop Android from phoning home and so only people with that view are going to find this thread useful. But please if you don't want to discuss "stopping Android from phoning home" make another thread for the sidebar discussions and debates.

One option is to go under Settings > Location & security and unchecked the "Use wireless networks" box. But even with that option it seems oddly enough that Google Maps continues to come on without prompting. (If you're monitoring active apps you see it running and even after being killed it comes back rather quickly.) Until more recent updates to the "Maps" app, it would stay off most of the time. And it seems the aforementioned

setting did not always require accepting continual and ongoing data collection. So it's apparent phoning home is something increasing in Android with time.

So in addition to the settings adjustment above, I block the following using DroidWall, to try and keep all bases covered:

Network Location, Google Calendar Sync, Google Services Framework, Google Contacts Sync (See 5/1/2011 and 5/2/2011 updates below, sometimes must be enabled when using Android Market.)

(Kernel) - Linux kernel

It seems Google Maps and Navigation send data via Kernel and Maps to work. So with all that disabled, if I want to use Google Maps/Navigation, at minimum I have to go into DroidWall and grant Kernel and Maps data access. And with that it will work best outdoors and indoors may take a long while to get a location lock. Turning back on the "Use wireless networks" setting helps give the fastest location lock when using Google Maps/Navigation.

But for me, I rarely use Google Maps/Navigation. I'm more into CoPilot for navigation and that with help from GPS Status & Toolbox give me all I would get from Google Maps/Navigation without all the phoning home from Android.

So how do I keep my Android device from phoning home? I do all of the following:

Settings > Location & security and unchecked the "Use wireless networks" box

In DroidWall disable access for Network Location, Google Calendar Sync, Google Services Framework, Google Contacts Sync

In DroidWall disable access for Maps

In DroidWall disable access for (Kernel) - Linux kernel

Use a 3rd party navigation program that uses maps that are local on the device (maps on MicroSD), such as CoPilot

Sync data locally with MS Outlook via MyPhoneExplorer.

And since doing that, I must say, I don't see nearly as much network activity on my device as I used to see. I have confirmed this helps battery life.

Update 5/1/2011: For some reason, today I could no longer use Android Market until I enabled access in DroidWall for "Network Location, Google Calendar Sync, Google Services Framework, Google Contacts Sync". Until today I was able to keep that blocked with no issues connecting to Market. So now whenever I want to use Market I must enable that :( .

Update 5/2/2011: Today after a reboot I was able to use Android Market with "Network Location, Google Calendar Sync, Google Services Framework, Google Contacts Sync" still disabled in DroidWall. So the need to enable this must be a periodic issue. Just something to keep in mind when issues occur when trying to use Android Market.

Update 6/8/2011: I now use AutoStarts to prevent Maps from autostarting. I only use Maps when I need it and then kill it with a Task Killer.