4 ms·

> I use FolderSync on my android phone Genuinely curious, if you use Android can you truly de google your life?

FazJaxton 3y ago
I tried for a while. You can use a ROM based on AOSP with microg services in place of the google binaries. It was about 80-90% of what the normal android experience is. I finally got frustrated with it and reinstalled with the Google binaries, but it is doable.
hn92726819 3y ago
To add to that second point, stock android is tied to google still. last I checked, it would phone home on internet connectivity check, I think hal but I could be wrong, and a few more. But, if you use grapheneos, they replace the google services with their own alternatives and sometimes let you disable the feature entirely. Also, on any rooted android. You can use AFwall+ to firewall any google connection or app. This way, even system services can't make network requests.
seszett 3y ago
It probably depends on what you mean by "de-google", but if you simply do not want to host your data at Google or depend on Google services, it's quite easy. As far as I can tell, the only place you really need to be logged in to a Google account to get a "normal" Android experience is the Play Store, which makes sense. I use Google Maps for example (Osmand when I can, but Google Maps is the only free app that has good traffic information) while not logged in, but my photos are hosted by Photoprism, my emails are not at Gmail, my backups are on my home server, etc. I find myself largely independent from Google and if that's your goal, as opposed to trying to hide yourself from Google (which would be better, but I find it unrealistic for my needs), it's easy to achieve on an Android phone and certainly easier than independence from Apple on an iPhone.
- folmar 3y ago
  If you want google-free experience then Play Store is not that important, as (1) it hardly can be said to be degoogled (2) most apps there would want GCM for a start, so you connect to G. even is using microG. Fdroid should be your best friend.
  - seszett 3y ago
    I think that's the point I made on the meaning of "degoogled". It doesn't have to mean "Google-free".
sureglymop 3y ago
You definitely can. I use GrapheneOS and F-Droid as the app store. I guess the phone itself is from Google but other than that nothing. I even get OTA updates asap. I use NewPipe instead of YouTube, my own Nextcloud instead of Google Drive etc.
dillydogg 3y ago
Extremely good point! I think with stock android, not really. I use grapheneOS so I guess as much as reasonable.

I tried for a while. You can use a ROM based on AOSP with microg services in place of the google binaries. It was about 80-90% of what the normal android experience is. I finally got frustrated with it and reinstalled with the Google binaries, but it is doable.

hn92726819 3y ago

To add to that second point, stock android is tied to google still. last I checked, it would phone home on internet connectivity check, I think hal but I could be wrong, and a few more. But, if you use grapheneos, they replace the google services with their own alternatives and sometimes let you disable the feature entirely. Also, on any rooted android. You can use AFwall+ to firewall any google connection or app. This way, even system services can't make network requests.

seszett 3y ago

It probably depends on what you mean by "de-google", but if you simply do not want to host your data at Google or depend on Google services, it's quite easy. As far as I can tell, the only place you really need to be logged in to a Google account to get a "normal" Android experience is the Play Store, which makes sense. I use Google Maps for example (Osmand when I can, but Google Maps is the only free app that has good traffic information) while not logged in, but my photos are hosted by Photoprism, my emails are not at Gmail, my backups are on my home server, etc. I find myself largely independent from Google and if that's your goal, as opposed to trying to hide yourself from Google (which would be better, but I find it unrealistic for my needs), it's easy to achieve on an Android phone and certainly easier than independence from Apple on an iPhone.

folmar 3y ago
If you want google-free experience then Play Store is not that important, as (1) it hardly can be said to be degoogled (2) most apps there would want GCM for a start, so you connect to G. even is using microG. Fdroid should be your best friend.
- seszett 3y ago
  I think that's the point I made on the meaning of "degoogled". It doesn't have to mean "Google-free".

sureglymop 3y ago

You definitely can. I use GrapheneOS and F-Droid as the app store. I guess the phone itself is from Google but other than that nothing. I even get OTA updates asap. I use NewPipe instead of YouTube, my own Nextcloud instead of Google Drive etc.

dillydogg 3y ago

Extremely good point! I think with stock android, not really. I use grapheneOS so I guess as much as reasonable.