Most Android security advice you have heard is years out of date. Nine common beliefs are wrong, and myth 8 quietly hands your phone to the next owner.
Play Protect already checks apps before you download them and rescans your phone periodically. Confirm it is on: Play Store, tap your profile, then Play Protect.
The FTC now says connecting through public Wi-Fi is usually safe, because most sites encrypt traffic. Check for the lock symbol or https in the address bar.
The FTC is blunt: a VPN app generally will not make you anonymous. It shifts trust from the network to the VPN company, and free ones often sell ads instead.
Google says it plainly: the sites you visit, plus your school, employer or internet provider, may still observe you. Incognito only skips your local history.
Juice jacking works in the lab, but the FCC says it knows of no confirmed case. It is still cheap insurance to use the AC outlet or a charge-only cable.
Most of what arrives is security patches, and Google Play system updates ship separately from Android itself. Check both in Settings, System, Software updates.
Add a Google Account and Find Hub switches on by itself. From any browser it rings the phone for five minutes, locks it with your PIN, or erases it entirely.
A wipe alone leaves Factory Reset Protection armed, so your buyer hits a locked setup screen. Remove your Google Account from the phone before you reset it.
Passwords can be phished; passkeys cannot be typed into a fake site. A passkey signs you in with your fingerprint, face or screen lock, and never leaves the phone.
Leave Play Protect on, install updates, add a passkey, and sign your Google Account out before you sell. A VPN is optional, and picking a trustworthy one matters.