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How did you de-Google's your Android device?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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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.
if you install gboard and disable network access, it cant do anything spooky... although i would personally recommend florisboard or openboard