this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
88 points (94.9% liked)

Android

28026 readers
179 users here now

DROID DOES

Welcome to the droidymcdroidface-iest, Lemmyest (Lemmiest), test, bestest, phoniest, pluckiest, snarkiest, and spiciest Android community on Lemmy (Do not respond)! Here you can participate in amazing discussions and events relating to all things Android.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules


1. All posts must be relevant to Android devices/operating system.


2. Posts cannot be illegal or NSFW material.


3. No spam, self promotion, or upvote farming. Sources engaging in these behavior will be added to the Blacklist.


4. Non-whitelisted bots will be banned.


5. Engage respectfully: Harassment, flamebaiting, bad faith engagement, or agenda posting will result in your posts being removed. Excessive violations will result in temporary or permanent ban, depending on severity.


6. Memes are not allowed to be posts, but are allowed in the comments.


7. Posts from clickbait sources are heavily discouraged. Please de-clickbait titles if it needs to be submitted.


8. Submission statements of any length composed of your own thoughts inside the post text field are mandatory for any microblog posts, and are optional but recommended for article/image/video posts.


Community Resources:


We are Android girls*,

In our Lemmy.world.

The back is plastic,

It's fantastic.

*Well, not just girls: people of all gender identities are welcomed here.


Our Partner Communities:

[email protected]


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Previously on Lemmy: Tablets

Let's talk about deGoogling Android this week, since it's a common topic of interest around here to talk about GrapheneOS and CalyxOS.

I feel like Google services has been lacking for the better part of a decade to the degree that I am reluctant to rely on most Google services nowadays. However, I don't think I have the effort to actively remove all traces of Google from my phone, as the cost of bootloader unlock and rooting is a bit too much for me.

So, I would like to hear what your deGoogling experiences, since I'm unlikely to do it myself.

Past Discussions

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

After MUCH trial and error I've found a way that works for me to degoogle any phone without root or a custom ROM.
I use the universal android debloater to uninstall all Google apps including play services, play store, default dialer, SMS app, files, camera, launcher, etc. If it's from Google, I don't trust it.
Basically I search for "Google" in the tool and remove everything that shows up, except for apps in the Unsafe category (those are core parts of Android like package installer, network stack, permissions system, etc).

The removed apps are replaced with alternatives from F-Droid. I use the entire Simple Mobile Tools suite, Fennec, Organic Maps, and K-9 Mail.
All my messenger apps (Signal, Telegram, Threema) have FOSS forks that receive push notifications without Play Services if you install them AFTER degoogling.
Location fix is slower than with Google, but good enough for using it as a GPS while driving.
Many apps that require Play Services can be replaced by Fennec web apps.
All in all, functionality is more basic than with Google (no text to speech, no speech to text, no AI assistant, no cloud stuff, no commercial apps), but I actually like it that way.
The only thing I'm genuinely missing is Gboard.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

if you install gboard and disable network access, it cant do anything spooky... although i would personally recommend florisboard or openboard