Android Phone use case question

General
1

I have identified the below several use cases for PlugMate and need some clarification from the admins. May be some of the below use case have already been mentioned or explained but would just like to double-confirm for peace of mind before I invest in one or more PlugMates.

1/ Use Case 1 - Insecure Android phone with insecure mainstream app installed + PlugMate with secure app installed

In this 1st use case, let’s say I have a stock insecure Android phone with several insecure/privacy-invading apps installed inside the phone, and I plug a PlugMate which has a secure app installed inside the PlugMate into the phone, will the insecure/privacy-invading apps installed inside the phone be able to eavesdrop or conduct surveillance on what’s going on inside the secure app installed in the PlugMate?

2/ Use Case 2 - Insecure Android phone with insecure mainstream app + PlugMate with insecure mainsteam app installed

In this 2nd use case, let’s say I have a stock insecure Android phone with several insecure/privacy-invading apps installed inside the phone, and I plug a PlugMate which has an insecure/privacy-invading app installed inside the PlugMate into the phone, will the insecure/privacy-invading app installed inside the PlugMate be able to eavesdrop or conduct surveillance on what’s going on inside the insecure apps installed in the phone?

3/ Use Case 3 - Hardened degoogled Android phone with secure app installed + PlugMate with insecure mainstream app installed

In this 3rd use case, let’s say I have a hardened degoogled secure Android phone with several secure/privacy-respecting apps installed inside the phone, and I plug a PlugMate which has an insecure/privacy-invading app installed inside the PlugMate into the phone, will the insecure/privacy-invading apps installed inside the PlugMate be able to eavesdrop or conduct surveillance on what’s going on inside the secure apps installed in the phone?

4/ Use Case 4 - Hardened degoogled Android phone with insecure mainstream app + PlugMate with secure app installed

In this 4th use case, let’s say I have a hardened degoogled secure Android phone with several insecure/privacy-invading apps installed inside the phone, and I plug a PlugMate which has a secure/privacy-respecting app installed inside the PlugMate into the phone, will the insecure/privacy-invading apps installed inside the phone be able to eavesdrop or conduct surveillance on what’s going on inside the secure apps installed in the PlugMate?

Thanks a lot in advance for your reply and answer. PlugMate looks very promising and nothing like it exists on the market as of this moment.

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2

Thanks for the thoughtful scenarios. They all point to the same core question about isolation between PlugMate and the host phone.

In short: PlugMate and the host device run as two separate systems with hardware-level isolation.

  • Apps on the host phone cannot access PlugMate storage, apps, or internal data.
  • Apps running inside PlugMate cannot access or inspect apps or data on the host phone.

So for all four scenarios you described:

  • Host apps cannot see or monitor what happens inside PlugMate.
  • PlugMate apps cannot see or monitor what happens on the host phone.

One additional note: PlugMate’s client app includes protections against things like screen capture and similar risks from host. However, if the host phone itself is fully compromised (for example, if the operating system or kernel is fully under an attacker’s control), it may still be possible for the host phone to capture parts of what is displayed on the screen. In such extreme scenarios, the safest solution is simple: switch hosts. PlugMate is portable and works across multiple phones and PCs.

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Great, thank you! PlugMate is indeed revolutionary then.

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