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I use GraphineOS and LineageOS without Google Play Services. They are great and are suitable replacements for Apple and Google. - Osmand(FOSS) for maps (suppor

I use GraphineOS and LineageOS without Google Play Services. They are great and are suitable replacements for Apple and Google. - Osmand(FOSS) for maps (supports being fully offline!) - Signal and Discord for messaging (Discord is sandboxed) - Newpipe(FOSS) for Youtube - F-droid(FOSS) for my FOSS appstore - APKmirror for the few non-free apps I need - Libretorrent(FOSS) and VLC(FOSS) for watching movies - Firefox(FOSS) and Vanadium(FOSS) for browser - K9 Mail(FOSS) for email - Infinity(FOSS) for Reddit - Secur(FOSS) for 2FA - Taskkeeper(FOSS) for reminders Almost everything you need is in the F-droid FOSS app repository. It all works, and it works well. You can buy a used Pixel 3a for around $80 on Ebay and have a better experience in every category than iOS, hardware and software.

doc_gunthrop 5y ago
FairEmail is also a nice open-source, privacy-focused email client available on F-droid. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/eu.faircode.email/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/eu.faircode.email/
- commoner 5y ago
  FairEmail is really great, almost as fully featured as Thunderbird with the best support for multiple accounts/identities that I've seen on Android so far. The developer asks for a small donation to unlock a few advanced features,* which I recommend doing. * https://email.faircode.eu/donate/ https://email.faircode.eu/donate/
CountDrewku 5y ago
Just bought a pixel to test lineageOS out. Worth mentioning that if you want less Google and still want to use normal Android services in the OS you need to install the MicroG lineageOS ROM. Otherwise, you're still sending Google a lot of info through Gapps or MindTheGapps. Graphene or lineage without any of those is also an option but you'll be missing a lot of the normal everyday apps you use. IMO if you're going that far though you might as well just go back to a flip phone.
- salusinarduis 5y ago
  I don't agree regarding your flip phone comment, that's silly. I don't use any form of Google Play Services (No OpenGapps or MicroG even) and my phone works completely fine. The only thing that doesn't work is push notifications, which isn't a problem because FOSS apps like Signal bundle their own notification system that does not use Google Play Services. Discord however, does not get push notifications (which I wouldn't want anyway)
  - CountDrewku 5y ago
    Regardless of what software you put on the phone it is a tracking device. It has gps, audio, cameras, and web browsers that are all vulnerable to being hacked or used for tracking. I signed into gmail via the Bromite browser on my Pixe3a. I immediately received an email from google about my new Pixel device. They now know what device I use, what browser etc. I don't care how locked down and FOSS you make your smart phone it's not going to be as secure as a dumb phone. There's a reason criminals don't use smart phones.
    - snypher 5y ago
      If you think Google is adversarial then don't use Gmail; It seems strange to avoid using their 'apps' but continuing to use their products? I think you just handed them that information when you logged into their website.
      - CountDrewku 5y ago
        >I think you just handed them that information when you logged into their website. Obviously and that's my point. You are not going to avoid Google if you use the web. The best you can do is limit exposure. >Google is adversarial then don't use Gmail This is ignorant and unhelpful. Do you think I just decided not to consider that option? I don't have an option. I have to use it for work. This is the problem with the "don't use it" crowd. Most people are not going to get away from the major email provider options. The best I can do is sign in via browser or a 3rd party app.
websap 5y ago
I hope you have recurring donations setup for all these FOSS apps. FOSS still means that developers need to eat.
- websap 5y ago
  It's unbelievable that I'm getting downvoted for asking people to pay for software on a platform where a large % of users are involved with technology. No wonder opensource based businesses are dissatisfied with how they are treated.
  - Throwaway808808 5y ago
    Seconded. The downvote button is for comments that detract from the conversation, not because somebody disagrees. This place is turning into another Reddit.
    - _V_ 5y ago
      How does "I hope you at least pay for these apps" adds anything even remotely relevant to the thread about what apps someone uses as part of their de-googled phone? Yeah, developers do need to eat, but this (IMO) snarky comment is hardly relevant to the OP.
      - websap 5y ago
        The way I read this submission is: 1. Google is tracking you. They track you because they need this data to target better ads, this is how they make money. 2. The OP for this comment, says they use FOSS apps to get around Google’s tracking. My comment is about - if you are against the idea of being tracked from profit, it would be a good idea to vote with your wallet to help open source developers get paid and to show that there is a viable business model for other individual developers.
  - krageon 5y ago
    At a guess, it may have something to do with how rude the original comment was and how you doubled down on that rudeness with this one. If you toned it down a little and actually spoke to other people as human beings it might help you with this problem.
dont__panic 5y ago
Consider Fennec instead of Firefox -- I just switched yesterday, and I think the only difference is that Fennec is usually a couple of versions behind because it removes some Mozilla crapware.
- salusinarduis 5y ago
  Does it support extensions? I can't go anywhere without uBlock Origin :D
  - COGlory 5y ago
    It does
  - aqfamnzc 5y ago
    FWIW, Mozilla has worked with devs of some popular extensions to get them working on "new" mobile FF, including uBo.
  - dont__panic 5y ago
    There's a workaround to support pretty much any FF extension at this point -- but you have to create a "collection" with your firefox account and then point your Android FF install at that collection. Not too hard, but a little bit of a PITA. If you're like me and maintain the same couple dozen extensions on every FF install, though, it actually works pretty well.
- colordrops 5y ago
  What about Firefox Focus? It's private by default and VERY unbloated. The ephemeral nature of sessions also forces me to not leave a hundred tabs open.
- commoner 5y ago
  Nowadays, Fennec F-Droid is usually on the same version as the release channel of Firefox, or at most a version behind for a week or so. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/ Fennec also lets you install any add-on from addons.mozilla.org through a tedious process,* which is still an improvement over Firefox release/beta on Android. The only channel of Firefox that supports this process on Android is the nightly channel. * https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/09/29/expanded-extension-support-in-firefox-for-android-nightly/ https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/09/29/expanded-extensio...
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- deleted 5y ago
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_V_ 5y ago
What do you use as Dialer/SMS/Contact app? I tried to switch myself from iPhone and almost everything was OK but these were the worst to get right... I ended up using suite from Tibor Kaputa (Simple Dialer etc) but I ran into some rather annoying issues. Also, do you use phone recoding? This was actually my breaking point, because i have an iPhone w/ jailbreak that enables me to record phone conversations (for my use only, not trying to get into the legal discussion). I did not find anything for GrapheneOS (or Android in general) - just some info that I need to root my phone to get this working and with that I just reverted to my jailbroken iPhone.
- commoner 5y ago
  The only functional FOSS call recording app for Android that I'm aware of is the Call Recorder app on F-Droid: - Call Recorder: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.callrecorder/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.callrecorder... To use this app, you'll need to root your phone using Magisk[1] and the install the Magisk module for Axet's Call Recorder.[2] Then, upgrade the Call Recorder app to the latest version in F-Droid. Note: do not enable "System Mixer Incall Recording" in Call Recorder, since it is not needed and may cause issues with recording. [1] https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk [2] https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/callrecorder-axet https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/callrecorder-axet The default dialer and contact apps are both FOSS and functional, so I never felt the need to replace them. Signal can take over as the default SMS/MMS app, and there are alternatives with more features such as QKSMS: - QKSMS: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.moez.QKSMS/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.moez.QKSMS/
  - keyb0ardninja 5y ago
    LineageOS's default phone app supports call recording out of the box. I'm using LineageOS 18. I don't know if this is true for earlier versions.

doc_gunthrop 5y ago

FairEmail is also a nice open-source, privacy-focused email client available on F-droid. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/eu.faircode.email/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/eu.faircode.email/

commoner 5y ago
FairEmail is really great, almost as fully featured as Thunderbird with the best support for multiple accounts/identities that I've seen on Android so far. The developer asks for a small donation to unlock a few advanced features,* which I recommend doing. * https://email.faircode.eu/donate/ https://email.faircode.eu/donate/

CountDrewku 5y ago

Just bought a pixel to test lineageOS out. Worth mentioning that if you want less Google and still want to use normal Android services in the OS you need to install the MicroG lineageOS ROM. Otherwise, you're still sending Google a lot of info through Gapps or MindTheGapps. Graphene or lineage without any of those is also an option but you'll be missing a lot of the normal everyday apps you use. IMO if you're going that far though you might as well just go back to a flip phone.

salusinarduis 5y ago
I don't agree regarding your flip phone comment, that's silly. I don't use any form of Google Play Services (No OpenGapps or MicroG even) and my phone works completely fine. The only thing that doesn't work is push notifications, which isn't a problem because FOSS apps like Signal bundle their own notification system that does not use Google Play Services. Discord however, does not get push notifications (which I wouldn't want anyway)
- CountDrewku 5y ago
  Regardless of what software you put on the phone it is a tracking device. It has gps, audio, cameras, and web browsers that are all vulnerable to being hacked or used for tracking. I signed into gmail via the Bromite browser on my Pixe3a. I immediately received an email from google about my new Pixel device. They now know what device I use, what browser etc. I don't care how locked down and FOSS you make your smart phone it's not going to be as secure as a dumb phone. There's a reason criminals don't use smart phones.
  - snypher 5y ago
    If you think Google is adversarial then don't use Gmail; It seems strange to avoid using their 'apps' but continuing to use their products? I think you just handed them that information when you logged into their website.
    - CountDrewku 5y ago
      >I think you just handed them that information when you logged into their website. Obviously and that's my point. You are not going to avoid Google if you use the web. The best you can do is limit exposure. >Google is adversarial then don't use Gmail This is ignorant and unhelpful. Do you think I just decided not to consider that option? I don't have an option. I have to use it for work. This is the problem with the "don't use it" crowd. Most people are not going to get away from the major email provider options. The best I can do is sign in via browser or a 3rd party app.

websap 5y ago

I hope you have recurring donations setup for all these FOSS apps. FOSS still means that developers need to eat.

websap 5y ago
It's unbelievable that I'm getting downvoted for asking people to pay for software on a platform where a large % of users are involved with technology. No wonder opensource based businesses are dissatisfied with how they are treated.
- Throwaway808808 5y ago
  Seconded. The downvote button is for comments that detract from the conversation, not because somebody disagrees. This place is turning into another Reddit.
  - _V_ 5y ago
    How does "I hope you at least pay for these apps" adds anything even remotely relevant to the thread about what apps someone uses as part of their de-googled phone? Yeah, developers do need to eat, but this (IMO) snarky comment is hardly relevant to the OP.
    - websap 5y ago
      The way I read this submission is: 1. Google is tracking you. They track you because they need this data to target better ads, this is how they make money. 2. The OP for this comment, says they use FOSS apps to get around Google’s tracking. My comment is about - if you are against the idea of being tracked from profit, it would be a good idea to vote with your wallet to help open source developers get paid and to show that there is a viable business model for other individual developers.
- krageon 5y ago
  At a guess, it may have something to do with how rude the original comment was and how you doubled down on that rudeness with this one. If you toned it down a little and actually spoke to other people as human beings it might help you with this problem.

dont__panic 5y ago

Consider Fennec instead of Firefox -- I just switched yesterday, and I think the only difference is that Fennec is usually a couple of versions behind because it removes some Mozilla crapware.

salusinarduis 5y ago
Does it support extensions? I can't go anywhere without uBlock Origin :D
- COGlory 5y ago
  It does
- aqfamnzc 5y ago
  FWIW, Mozilla has worked with devs of some popular extensions to get them working on "new" mobile FF, including uBo.
- dont__panic 5y ago
  There's a workaround to support pretty much any FF extension at this point -- but you have to create a "collection" with your firefox account and then point your Android FF install at that collection. Not too hard, but a little bit of a PITA. If you're like me and maintain the same couple dozen extensions on every FF install, though, it actually works pretty well.
colordrops 5y ago
What about Firefox Focus? It's private by default and VERY unbloated. The ephemeral nature of sessions also forces me to not leave a hundred tabs open.
commoner 5y ago
Nowadays, Fennec F-Droid is usually on the same version as the release channel of Firefox, or at most a version behind for a week or so. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/ Fennec also lets you install any add-on from addons.mozilla.org through a tedious process,* which is still an improvement over Firefox release/beta on Android. The only channel of Firefox that supports this process on Android is the nightly channel. * https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/09/29/expanded-extension-support-in-firefox-for-android-nightly/ https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2020/09/29/expanded-extensio...

deleted 5y ago

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deleted 5y ago
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_V_ 5y ago

What do you use as Dialer/SMS/Contact app? I tried to switch myself from iPhone and almost everything was OK but these were the worst to get right... I ended up using suite from Tibor Kaputa (Simple Dialer etc) but I ran into some rather annoying issues. Also, do you use phone recoding? This was actually my breaking point, because i have an iPhone w/ jailbreak that enables me to record phone conversations (for my use only, not trying to get into the legal discussion). I did not find anything for GrapheneOS (or Android in general) - just some info that I need to root my phone to get this working and with that I just reverted to my jailbroken iPhone.

commoner 5y ago
The only functional FOSS call recording app for Android that I'm aware of is the Call Recorder app on F-Droid: - Call Recorder: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.callrecorder/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.callrecorder... To use this app, you'll need to root your phone using Magisk[1] and the install the Magisk module for Axet's Call Recorder.[2] Then, upgrade the Call Recorder app to the latest version in F-Droid. Note: do not enable "System Mixer Incall Recording" in Call Recorder, since it is not needed and may cause issues with recording. [1] https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk [2] https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/callrecorder-axet https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/callrecorder-axet The default dialer and contact apps are both FOSS and functional, so I never felt the need to replace them. Signal can take over as the default SMS/MMS app, and there are alternatives with more features such as QKSMS: - QKSMS: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.moez.QKSMS/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.moez.QKSMS/
- keyb0ardninja 5y ago
  LineageOS's default phone app supports call recording out of the box. I'm using LineageOS 18. I don't know if this is true for earlier versions.