How Much Space?!
In our recent article about setting up a secure, private travel phone on our trip to the West Indies (Sun, Sand, and Security: Our GrapheneOS Experience in the West Indies), one specification raised a lot of eyebrows: storage.
We used a Google Pixel 8a, which has the smallest available storage: 128GB. "How did you manage?" people asked. The surprising truth is that we barely touched it. At its maximum, only 19% of the storage was ever in use. How on earth was that possible?
Zeroing In: Only Install What You Actually Need
Our approach comes from a key strategy: Privacy Strategy: Ditch the Apps. We commit to only downloading apps for a specific, non-negotiable capability and rely on the website for everything else.
People tend to collect apps far too easily. But think of each app as a privacy vampire. They demand direct hardware access to your device and its resources—your contact lists, calendars, and location data. To make matters worse, every new app is an additional attack surface that hackers can potentially exploit, raising your risk profile.
Most apps simply mirror their website companions without offering any real benefit. So, why grant that level of invasive access? The smarter solution is to use the website inside a browser sandbox, especially with privacy-focused browsers like Brave that automatically prevent ads and tracking.
This philosophy is supported by cybersecurity experts like Bruce Schneier, a renowned cryptographer and security technologist, who has warned that "People often represent the weakest link in the security chain and are chronically responsible for the failure of security systems" Each unnecessary app adds a layer of human-enabled vulnerability.
Here are the few mission-critical apps we did install:
- Organic Maps: Provided essential offline map capabilities with zero tracking.
- Molly: Our Signal client for end-to-end encrypted communications.
- Ente Photos: Allowed for constant, encrypted cloud backups of all our pictures.
Everything else? Browser!
Storage on Demand: Managing the Load
We knew photos would be the priority—they always are on vacation. With Ente Photos constantly backing up every picture, we had the freedom to delete local copies if our storage ever got tight, though we never needed to. Similarly, offline maps in Organic Maps could be easily downloaded and removed as our travel plans evolved. The device storage was perfectly manageable, though the active management turned out to be completely unnecessary.
The Takeaway: Rethink Your Storage Defaults
The biggest lesson is clear: we often overbuy storage. Why? Maybe it's planning for an unknown future—"What if I take tons of video?"—or maybe it's simple laziness to avoid managing data.
But there's a serious financial downside to that laziness. Storage is expensive.
Consider the alternatives:
- A large USB-C thumb drive for physical photo backups is far cheaper than the equivalent installed device storage.
- Encrypted cloud storage, like Proton Drive, can cost significantly less over time than the one-time premium for extra onboard storage.
From a cost and resource management perspective, choosing the smaller amount of storage can actually be the perfect decision.
The next time you're shopping for a smartphone, pause and truly assess your habits. Understand your real needs, not just your wants, and consider how you'll actually use the device over its lifetime before paying a high premium for storage you may never utilize.
Remember: We may not have anything to hide, but everything to protect.
