Later Android versions also let you set a custom DNS in settings, so you can have DNS level traffic filtering without an app that does it via local VPN.

Big fan of HeliBoard

Kvaesitso and Lawnchair are launchers that get recommended a lot. I prefer LaunchTime. Unexpected Keyboard is my favorite, minimalist but great. All of these are on F-Droid,

The launcher is just an app, but the way it's set up ensures that different launcher apps cannot offer the same experience as the stock one.

Rabbit hole I dove into trying to figure out why my back to homepage didn't feel snappy (like the swipe up animation goes and only after it's done the icons load). Turns out that's pretty much intentional and the solution is rooting your phone.

• Wait for real Linux phones to become viable and use that in a couple years

God, as a GOS user I want this so bad. I know I can buy used, but having that G on the back of my phone feels dirty. I refuse to go back to Apple, Samsung sucks ass, and I don't want Chinese phones, so I'm stuck here. But I want to be free.

I dont think we are ever going to see a third consumer level production phone with an alternative Linux based OS. There aren’t enough people out there in the main stream to make a product like this truly viable. Maybe Fairphone or a equivalent. But that’s a tall maybe. Definitely not a flagship level phone.

What’s more realistic is seeing graphine gain availability on more devices.

This is the one place I haven’t taken the plunge. My experience with Linux desktops over the years leaves me a little concerned being stuck without making calls in an emergency situation. I’m also using MVNOs and I worry they won’t be compatible with a different OS.

Wait for real Linux phones to become viable and use that in a couple years

Is anyone actually working on that?