7 ms·

In the mobile/tablet OS area, the mainstream choices are either Google or Apple's walled garden. I'm still tied to Google account on mobile devices unless I wa

by devsda 2y ago

In the mobile/tablet OS area, the mainstream choices are either Google or Apple's walled garden. I'm still tied to Google account on mobile devices unless I want to venture into the wilderness of custom roms and all the fun but exhausting challenges they bring in. If anyone has managed to use a de-googled Android phone as a daily driver without sacrificing much functionality(like financial apps), I would like to know how long has it been and the challenges involved.

q0uaur 2y ago
i've been using my Fairphone 5 without any google account since last december, so about 5 months now i guess? Not fully de-googled yet, not even a custom rom - just the stock OS, but not signing into an account. Most importantly, this means no Play Store for me - i get the majority of my apps from Obtainium (directly download + install APK releases from the app developer's source repository) and f-droid. The apps i use most by far are messaging apps like Signal and Telegram which offer direct downloads and easy updating without play store, Organic maps for navigation, breezy weather, Immich (google photos replacement, self hosted) and etar (calendar, but its kinda clunky). oh and keepass2android-offline for my password managing needs, which is synced to my homeserver using Termux (linux running on android, with certain differences/limitations). For sacrificed functionality: my bank's website works just fine on mobile browsers. for the 2 factor auth, it uses something called "Mobile ID", seemingly a standard different from sms or app-specific ones, i'm not sure how widely available it is but it works great for me. Chatgpt says it's used in a couple of European countries. For buying public transport tickets, i used the website for a while, but in my country the website is kinda shitty compared to the mobile app, it takes like 15 clicks to get a ticket where on the app it's 3. so i went to apkmirror/apkpure (ad-infested websites that offer direct download of APKs without google acc) and got the app there - this is both a security risk and inconvenient, but in this case it works for me and i can buy tickets with the app without problems.
swaptr 2y ago
I used a degoogled phone for over 3 years (but mind you it was mostly through the pandemic). 1. Maps was the biggest challenge imo. Post pandemic, I needed to use maps and the alternatives were not great. It started off with MicroG and then I had no choice but to flash the google services. 2. Some payment apps do not work without google play services. There is a workaround by flashing Magisk but they would occasionally throw errors. 3. SD Card is the biggest life saver. You need to take backups of your data frequently and also keep emergency ROMs and custom firmware ready. 4. Some of your favorite apps may use Google on device APIs and may not work (this was the case with one of the food delivery service here). 5. For most of the custom ROMs you will not get updates. This means if there is a new version, you have to reflash the new version yourself. Since security updates are usually bundled with the ROM, every 3-4 months you may need to flash the updates. 6. If your device isn't well supported and you're only grabbing ROMs from random folks on the internet, there's a security gamble baked right in. If youre a minimalist user, then you should be good for the most part.
MRPockets 2y ago
I have been running de-googled LineageOS since before it renamed/reformed from CyanogenMod, so since somewhere around 2013/14. That has looked rather different depending on what exactly I need from my phone but I'll share what my current set up looks like. First, I have don't use any kind of Google/Samsung/Apple Pay wallets so if you do, this may not be helpful; I've never looked into trying to get any of those working. Also, by "de-googled" I mean that I don't have GApps installed on my phone. I do have microG[0] installed as a Magisk[1]/LSPosed[2] module; this allows a few apps to believe I have GApps while most apps do not see/have access. I do not turn on microG for any apps (i.e. no connection to the Google servers/services via microG). Most of my apps come from F-Droid[3], a few from Aurora Store[4] (a 3rd-party frontend for the Play Store that does not require either an account or GApps installed), a very few from FFupdater[5], and have played with using Obtanium[6] but currently only have one (weather) app updating via it. I have several different repositories configured in F-Droid but I don't generally keep mental track of which repository I am dependent on for which apps; the default, IzzyOnDroid[7], Bitwarden[8], NewPipe[9], microG[10], and Collabora[11] are some of them. I have two banking apps installed via Aurora Store, one of which requires microG and root-hiding (via Magisk module) while the other doesn't require either. My browsers (Firefox, Firefox Klar, Brave) come from FFupdater and none require microG. My texting (QUIK SMS), email (K-9 Mail), TOTP authenticator (Aegis), password manager (Bitwarden), GPS/Maps (OsmAnd), file syncing (Nextcloud), notes (Nextcloud Notes), HN reader (HN), and Contacts/Calendar sync (DAVx5, ICSx5) apps all come via F-Droid (either the main repo or others). I have many others apps which come from F-Droid or Aurora Store but the above are my most used. For file, calendar, notes, photo, & contact syncing, I have a Nextcloud server set up and find it to work quite well; the Nextcloud apps are also quite good. Someone who doesn't want to run their own could use a hosted account[12]. Contacts & calendars are synced to Nextcloud via DAVx5 & ICSx5. The primary challenges I am aware of at this point are hardware (it is increasingly difficult to install LineageOS on most hardware due to bootloader locks), and navigation (OpenStreetMap data usually doesn't include addresses in the USA). For hardware, the solution is essentially just to properly research the phone you want to buy; I always make sure the model is well supported by LineageOS before purchasing and then tend to hang on to it for several years. For navigation, I usually find the address on my desktop or mobile browser (via DuckDuckGo) and then manually input the location into OsmAnd before the trip but I also keep WeGo Here maps installed in case I don't have time for that (it usually takes <2 minutes and rarely more than 5 to manually find & enter the address). Additionally, getting the one banking app to work without GApps was a pain in the butt initially (requiring testing several Magisk & LSPosed modules), but now it just works and I don't really think about it. Overall, I don't find my version of de-googled to be a detriment; my phone is useful and I have more control over my data and over annoyances (such as unnecessary notifications) than I would otherwise. [0] https://microg.org https://microg.org [1] https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk [2] https://github.com/mywalkb/LSPosed_mod https://github.com/mywalkb/LSPosed_mod [3] https://f-droid.org https://f-droid.org [4] https://aurorastore.org https://aurorastore.org [5] https://f-droid.org/packages/de.marmaro.krt.ffupdater https://f-droid.org/packages/de.marmaro.krt.ffupdater | https://github.com/Tobi823/ffupdater https://github.com/Tobi823/ffupdater [6] https://f-droid.org/packages/dev.imranr.obtainium.fdroid/ https://f-droid.org/packages/dev.imranr.obtainium.fdroid/ | https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium [7] https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid [8] https://mobileapp.bitwarden.com/fdroid https://mobileapp.bitwarden.com/fdroid [9] https://archive.newpipe.net/fdroid/repo https://archive.newpipe.net/fdroid/repo [10] https://microg.org/fdroid.html https://microg.org/fdroid.html [11] https://www.collaboraoffice.com/downloads/fdroid/repo https://www.collaboraoffice.com/downloads/fdroid/repo [12] https://nextcloud.com/sign-up https://nextcloud.com/sign-up

by devsda 2y ago

q0uaur 2y ago

i've been using my Fairphone 5 without any google account since last december, so about 5 months now i guess? Not fully de-googled yet, not even a custom rom - just the stock OS, but not signing into an account. Most importantly, this means no Play Store for me - i get the majority of my apps from Obtainium (directly download + install APK releases from the app developer's source repository) and f-droid. The apps i use most by far are messaging apps like Signal and Telegram which offer direct downloads and easy updating without play store, Organic maps for navigation, breezy weather, Immich (google photos replacement, self hosted) and etar (calendar, but its kinda clunky). oh and keepass2android-offline for my password managing needs, which is synced to my homeserver using Termux (linux running on android, with certain differences/limitations). For sacrificed functionality: my bank's website works just fine on mobile browsers. for the 2 factor auth, it uses something called "Mobile ID", seemingly a standard different from sms or app-specific ones, i'm not sure how widely available it is but it works great for me. Chatgpt says it's used in a couple of European countries. For buying public transport tickets, i used the website for a while, but in my country the website is kinda shitty compared to the mobile app, it takes like 15 clicks to get a ticket where on the app it's 3. so i went to apkmirror/apkpure (ad-infested websites that offer direct download of APKs without google acc) and got the app there - this is both a security risk and inconvenient, but in this case it works for me and i can buy tickets with the app without problems.

swaptr 2y ago

I used a degoogled phone for over 3 years (but mind you it was mostly through the pandemic). 1. Maps was the biggest challenge imo. Post pandemic, I needed to use maps and the alternatives were not great. It started off with MicroG and then I had no choice but to flash the google services. 2. Some payment apps do not work without google play services. There is a workaround by flashing Magisk but they would occasionally throw errors. 3. SD Card is the biggest life saver. You need to take backups of your data frequently and also keep emergency ROMs and custom firmware ready. 4. Some of your favorite apps may use Google on device APIs and may not work (this was the case with one of the food delivery service here). 5. For most of the custom ROMs you will not get updates. This means if there is a new version, you have to reflash the new version yourself. Since security updates are usually bundled with the ROM, every 3-4 months you may need to flash the updates. 6. If your device isn't well supported and you're only grabbing ROMs from random folks on the internet, there's a security gamble baked right in. If youre a minimalist user, then you should be good for the most part.

MRPockets 2y ago

I have been running de-googled LineageOS since before it renamed/reformed from CyanogenMod, so since somewhere around 2013/14. That has looked rather different depending on what exactly I need from my phone but I'll share what my current set up looks like. First, I have don't use any kind of Google/Samsung/Apple Pay wallets so if you do, this may not be helpful; I've never looked into trying to get any of those working. Also, by "de-googled" I mean that I don't have GApps installed on my phone. I do have microG[0] installed as a Magisk[1]/LSPosed[2] module; this allows a few apps to believe I have GApps while most apps do not see/have access. I do not turn on microG for any apps (i.e. no connection to the Google servers/services via microG). Most of my apps come from F-Droid[3], a few from Aurora Store[4] (a 3rd-party frontend for the Play Store that does not require either an account or GApps installed), a very few from FFupdater[5], and have played with using Obtanium[6] but currently only have one (weather) app updating via it. I have several different repositories configured in F-Droid but I don't generally keep mental track of which repository I am dependent on for which apps; the default, IzzyOnDroid[7], Bitwarden[8], NewPipe[9], microG[10], and Collabora[11] are some of them. I have two banking apps installed via Aurora Store, one of which requires microG and root-hiding (via Magisk module) while the other doesn't require either. My browsers (Firefox, Firefox Klar, Brave) come from FFupdater and none require microG. My texting (QUIK SMS), email (K-9 Mail), TOTP authenticator (Aegis), password manager (Bitwarden), GPS/Maps (OsmAnd), file syncing (Nextcloud), notes (Nextcloud Notes), HN reader (HN), and Contacts/Calendar sync (DAVx5, ICSx5) apps all come via F-Droid (either the main repo or others). I have many others apps which come from F-Droid or Aurora Store but the above are my most used. For file, calendar, notes, photo, & contact syncing, I have a Nextcloud server set up and find it to work quite well; the Nextcloud apps are also quite good. Someone who doesn't want to run their own could use a hosted account[12]. Contacts & calendars are synced to Nextcloud via DAVx5 & ICSx5. The primary challenges I am aware of at this point are hardware (it is increasingly difficult to install LineageOS on most hardware due to bootloader locks), and navigation (OpenStreetMap data usually doesn't include addresses in the USA). For hardware, the solution is essentially just to properly research the phone you want to buy; I always make sure the model is well supported by LineageOS before purchasing and then tend to hang on to it for several years. For navigation, I usually find the address on my desktop or mobile browser (via DuckDuckGo) and then manually input the location into OsmAnd before the trip but I also keep WeGo Here maps installed in case I don't have time for that (it usually takes <2 minutes and rarely more than 5 to manually find & enter the address). Additionally, getting the one banking app to work without GApps was a pain in the butt initially (requiring testing several Magisk & LSPosed modules), but now it just works and I don't really think about it. Overall, I don't find my version of de-googled to be a detriment; my phone is useful and I have more control over my data and over annoyances (such as unnecessary notifications) than I would otherwise. [0] https://microg.org https://microg.org [1] https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk [2] https://github.com/mywalkb/LSPosed_mod https://github.com/mywalkb/LSPosed_mod [3] https://f-droid.org https://f-droid.org [4] https://aurorastore.org https://aurorastore.org [5] https://f-droid.org/packages/de.marmaro.krt.ffupdater https://f-droid.org/packages/de.marmaro.krt.ffupdater | https://github.com/Tobi823/ffupdater https://github.com/Tobi823/ffupdater [6] https://f-droid.org/packages/dev.imranr.obtainium.fdroid/ https://f-droid.org/packages/dev.imranr.obtainium.fdroid/ | https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium [7] https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid [8] https://mobileapp.bitwarden.com/fdroid https://mobileapp.bitwarden.com/fdroid [9] https://archive.newpipe.net/fdroid/repo https://archive.newpipe.net/fdroid/repo [10] https://microg.org/fdroid.html https://microg.org/fdroid.html [11] https://www.collaboraoffice.com/downloads/fdroid/repo https://www.collaboraoffice.com/downloads/fdroid/repo [12] https://nextcloud.com/sign-up https://nextcloud.com/sign-up