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A distinction needs to be made clear here with regards to the data being transmitted to Google by LineageOS in this study. In the cited paper (https://www.scss

A distinction needs to be made clear here with regards to the data being transmitted to Google by LineageOS in this study. In the cited paper (https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/Android_privacy_report.pdf https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/Android_privacy_report.pd...), the device used to test LineageOS was a Google Pixel 2 running LineageOS 17.1 which also included an installation of OpenGapps 10.0 nano. It's not the OS that is transmitting the data over to Google, but rather OpenGapps (ie. Google Play). OpenGapps is software that can be optionally installed after the initial installation of LineageOS (but before first boot). A user can still use LineageOS without OpenGapps, though they just won't have the benefits (and drawbacks) that come with it (such as being able to use apps that require GSF). The user can instead opt for an app manager like F-droid or possibly Aurora Store. In addition, there exists an alternative to OpenGapps called MicroG. This is like Google Play but allows users the option to anonymize themselves. One can find custom LineageOS builds that include MicroG from the MicroG website (as the members of the LineageOS project do not advocate for its use, instead giving preference to OpenGapps). Keep in mind, however, that there are fewer devices supported by those builds.

CountDrewku 5y ago
Yep MicroG is the route I'm going on Pixel3a I just bought. You don't need to sign into any Google services to use them. For now I'm just using maps. I found a nice Reddit article on de-googling even more as well. If you install OpenGapps you might as well forget it- https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/comments/clg2ca/how_to_degoogle_lineageos_in_2019_xpost/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/comments/clg2ca/how_to_de...
- tertius 5y ago
  My exact setup. Using Gaia for maps.
cookiengineer 5y ago
Technically, the Internet Connectivity Check on LineageOS also sends your position/IP to Google, and also avoids a VPN tunnel because it's lower down the stack. I can recommend LineageOS, however be aware that lots of malware infected builds have made it to xda dev in the past, so you should build it yourself if possible (or use the official downloads). Regarding the Connectivity Check: You can add all google related domains to /system/etc/hosts if you have root/sudo access. Additionally I'd recommend everyone to use RethinkDNS as a DNS adblocker and app firewall - and AppWarden to patch out the Analytics parts of proprietary Apps.
- hansel_der 5y ago
  > Regarding the Connectivity Check the last (stock) android phone i touched had an option to change the url used for the check. i was pleasently surprised - comments here suggest this is not "normal"? > or use the official downloads ime the meaning of the word "official" has been severely diluted esp. in the android community
- kekebo 5y ago
  One used to be able to change the captive portal url using adb [0], although I'm not sure that's still the case in current android builds. [0] https://gist.github.com/tonyseek/bc5b72197ddb15418c61406061720186 https://gist.github.com/tonyseek/bc5b72197ddb15418c614060617...
  - commoner 5y ago
    I can confirm this used to work, but I'm not sure if that's the case now. These were the instructions I used: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/186995 https://android.stackexchange.com/a/186995
- johnbrodie 5y ago
  I can't recall the exact settings to push via ADB, but the Internet Connectivity Check is "easy" to fix. Create a server that's always up that responds with a 301 (or whatever the check expects), and push the address to the phone. Done. It's a shame that Google's servers are the default, and I wish it were at least called out by Lineage. That said, I doubt they want to cover hosting costs of such a service (although I'd think they'd be fairly minimal).
  - twobitshifter 5y ago
    This internet connection check actually caused problems for us when we started having users in China on android. Our code was checking for a connection before transmitting data and android thought the device was disconnected due to the great firewall. I think there’s just a hack around it for now that disabled the android connection check for those users.
JasonFruit 5y ago
I'm using LineageOS with neither OpenGapps nor MicroG, and can confirm that Aurora works without. There are numerous apps available from Aurora that will not function, of course, and many other inconveniences of varying severity, but it's overall a good experience.
- chasil 5y ago
  I am using Lineage without Gapps, and every app on my phone came from F-Droid. I assume that my carrier sees location data on my device, but as I have learned to live within F-Droid on my daily driver, I assume that I am immune from this Google intrusion. I do have an older stock phone that keeps my Google login for when I need access to Google services. If it is powered down for a month, I am assuming that I am free of Google for that month. Google is a destructive force upon their customer base. Abandoning Google is always the correct action.
  - muixoozie 5y ago
    > I am using Lineage without Gapps, and every app on my phone came from F-Droid. Did you transition or quit cold turkey? I switched to Lineage OS with micog. Actually, now that I look through what I installed via Aurora, I'm surprised how few apps there are. 3 required for work. I guess I could reduce that to one with some effort. A few financial / shopping apps that are nice to have vs using their website. Google maps (not sure the replacement to that is).
    - RussianCow 5y ago
      > Google maps (not sure the replacement to that is). Try HERE WeGo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m... It’s not quite as polished as Google Maps, but I use it as my primary maps app and have mostly not been disappointed.
    - chasil 5y ago
      I used the MicroG respin of Lineage for perhaps a year, then on my next hardware upgrade I switched to naked Lineage. I keep an iPhone 7 for corporate apps, but I'm on a Pixel 3a XL that hasn't talked to Google since I bought it.
xanaxagoras 5y ago
> One can find custom LineageOS builds that include MicroG Why bother? Just use Calyx.
- CountDrewku 5y ago
  Because it's not well supported on many devices
FormerBandmate 5y ago
For the average end user however, this is a distinction without a difference. A Galaxy S21 you buy from the store has Google Play and will be sending info of 99.99% of users to Google
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  A Galaxy S21 comes without Lineage pre-installed.

CountDrewku 5y ago

Yep MicroG is the route I'm going on Pixel3a I just bought. You don't need to sign into any Google services to use them. For now I'm just using maps. I found a nice Reddit article on de-googling even more as well. If you install OpenGapps you might as well forget it- https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/comments/clg2ca/how_to_degoogle_lineageos_in_2019_xpost/ https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/comments/clg2ca/how_to_de...

tertius 5y ago
My exact setup. Using Gaia for maps.

cookiengineer 5y ago

Technically, the Internet Connectivity Check on LineageOS also sends your position/IP to Google, and also avoids a VPN tunnel because it's lower down the stack. I can recommend LineageOS, however be aware that lots of malware infected builds have made it to xda dev in the past, so you should build it yourself if possible (or use the official downloads). Regarding the Connectivity Check: You can add all google related domains to /system/etc/hosts if you have root/sudo access. Additionally I'd recommend everyone to use RethinkDNS as a DNS adblocker and app firewall - and AppWarden to patch out the Analytics parts of proprietary Apps.

hansel_der 5y ago
> Regarding the Connectivity Check the last (stock) android phone i touched had an option to change the url used for the check. i was pleasently surprised - comments here suggest this is not "normal"? > or use the official downloads ime the meaning of the word "official" has been severely diluted esp. in the android community
kekebo 5y ago
One used to be able to change the captive portal url using adb [0], although I'm not sure that's still the case in current android builds. [0] https://gist.github.com/tonyseek/bc5b72197ddb15418c61406061720186 https://gist.github.com/tonyseek/bc5b72197ddb15418c614060617...
- commoner 5y ago
  I can confirm this used to work, but I'm not sure if that's the case now. These were the instructions I used: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/186995 https://android.stackexchange.com/a/186995
johnbrodie 5y ago
I can't recall the exact settings to push via ADB, but the Internet Connectivity Check is "easy" to fix. Create a server that's always up that responds with a 301 (or whatever the check expects), and push the address to the phone. Done. It's a shame that Google's servers are the default, and I wish it were at least called out by Lineage. That said, I doubt they want to cover hosting costs of such a service (although I'd think they'd be fairly minimal).
- twobitshifter 5y ago
  This internet connection check actually caused problems for us when we started having users in China on android. Our code was checking for a connection before transmitting data and android thought the device was disconnected due to the great firewall. I think there’s just a hack around it for now that disabled the android connection check for those users.

JasonFruit 5y ago

I'm using LineageOS with neither OpenGapps nor MicroG, and can confirm that Aurora works without. There are numerous apps available from Aurora that will not function, of course, and many other inconveniences of varying severity, but it's overall a good experience.

chasil 5y ago
I am using Lineage without Gapps, and every app on my phone came from F-Droid. I assume that my carrier sees location data on my device, but as I have learned to live within F-Droid on my daily driver, I assume that I am immune from this Google intrusion. I do have an older stock phone that keeps my Google login for when I need access to Google services. If it is powered down for a month, I am assuming that I am free of Google for that month. Google is a destructive force upon their customer base. Abandoning Google is always the correct action.
- muixoozie 5y ago
  > I am using Lineage without Gapps, and every app on my phone came from F-Droid. Did you transition or quit cold turkey? I switched to Lineage OS with micog. Actually, now that I look through what I installed via Aurora, I'm surprised how few apps there are. 3 required for work. I guess I could reduce that to one with some effort. A few financial / shopping apps that are nice to have vs using their website. Google maps (not sure the replacement to that is).
  - RussianCow 5y ago
    > Google maps (not sure the replacement to that is). Try HERE WeGo: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m... It’s not quite as polished as Google Maps, but I use it as my primary maps app and have mostly not been disappointed.
  - chasil 5y ago
    I used the MicroG respin of Lineage for perhaps a year, then on my next hardware upgrade I switched to naked Lineage. I keep an iPhone 7 for corporate apps, but I'm on a Pixel 3a XL that hasn't talked to Google since I bought it.

xanaxagoras 5y ago

> One can find custom LineageOS builds that include MicroG Why bother? Just use Calyx.

CountDrewku 5y ago
Because it's not well supported on many devices

FormerBandmate 5y ago

For the average end user however, this is a distinction without a difference. A Galaxy S21 you buy from the store has Google Play and will be sending info of 99.99% of users to Google

selfhoster11 5y ago
A Galaxy S21 comes without Lineage pre-installed.