Hi, all.

We've grown considerably since rebuilding the sub (see https://lemmy.ml/post/2262830). Active monthly users 150 -> 380. 3.5k -> 5.42k subs. It seems to be growing organically now, and the higher we go, the more people will stumble across it. There is always a need to get away from Google, and hopefully our community can help people with this.

If you'd like to join us to help moderate so we have folk in place as we need them, that would be awesome.

If you are interested. Please send a message about why you think you'd be good for the role, and also an example post/comment in this community previously.

Thanks,

CrypticCoffee

Here I will pin a list of recommendations for software. Getting started can be daunting, and it'd be great to pull that information together here for newcomers so they can take practical steps to degoogle their lives.

Disclaimer: These are recommendations by regulars here and on privacy forums. Use at own risk. We cannot due diligence on these, so if people do have issue with items in the list, please create a post and raise your concerns.

Recommendations

Browser -

• Firefox (Strongly recommend in light of WEI and Google's plan that could potentially restrict access to websites)
• Librewolf
• Brave (Not recommended, due to Google's WEI changes. Using chromium is a bad idea. I left this in case you really must)

Search

• Duck Duck Go
• Brave

Email

• Proton mail
• Tutanota

Cloud storage

• Proton mail

Productivity Suite (Alternative to google docs)

• Libre office (Maybe not cloud based)
• Only office (for MS doc compatibility)

Degoogled Android phones

Phone OS - https://lemm.ee/post/663113

• GrapheneOS

• LineageOS (wihh or without MicroG)

• /e/OS

Android app store -

• F-droid

Messaging

• Signal

• Element (Matrix)

Maps - https://lemmy.ml/post/2211048

• Organic Maps

• OsmAnd+

SMS - https://lemmy.ml/post/2256135

Organisation

Task lists - https://lemmy.ml/post/2249613

Calendar - https://lemm.ee/post/704703

• Fossify Calendar - https://github.com/FossifyOrg/Calendar

Discussion

These items are ones either recommended multiple times or seem to have some form of consensus on them being good and privacy focussed. I will link discussion topics so people can see the logic and reasoning behind recommendation. If you are not happy with anything here, please discuss here: https://lemmy.ml/post/2262409

If you would like another item in this, please create a post discussion and we can pull it in and link to it.

I'm trying searx, but like duckduckgo, qwant and ecosia doesn't give me direct answer (Firefox both PC/android). Just google and bing works, any idea (maybe some site that use ai directly without agree or choose the model every time like in DDG) My user scenario will be to use it with kiss launcher on android (will be great if someone know a way to use some ai search with it too) Thanks

I have OnePlus 7 Pro that I successfully flashed with LineageOS 21 with MicroG. Do you have some interesting apps or ideas to take advantage of it? I thought of some Magisk modules. Maybe someone is more experience than me! This is the spare smartphone, the main one is GrapheneOS, so I don't mind breaking stuff.

I'm considering buying a pixel 7(a/pro) or pixel 8(a/pro). I was wondering if the longer updates for the pixel 8 impacts grapheneOS, and if that means I should go for the pixel 8. And have any GrapheneOS users here had any issues that they wouldn't have had on Android.

Thanks alot in advance!

I have completely stopped using google services and software on my personal devices (even have lineageos + microg on my phone. The problem is that I can't just explain to the technically uneducated people that I changed mail providers. How should I go about doing this?

This might be a dumb question so apologies in advance. I'm looking into degoogled phones but haven't taken the plunge yet. If I logged in and used the aurora store to get apps I paid for in the past, will that ''regoogle" my device and allow google to track me again through signing in and using those apps?

I'm looking to replace gboard and I have spent about a decade using gesture based typing. Is there any alternative that is private that gesture based typing actually work on?

Has anybody else had problems using the Capital One mobile app? I have a Samsung S21 Ultra 5G that I thoroughly degoogled and de-Samsung'd over a year ago. No problems running any other apps including Key Bank, Charles Schwab, Tile, etc. but Capital One will not even load to the login screen. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! What would be the best way to limit play serbices to only selected apps. I still need notifications to work from them, but would like to be sure that google can't access anything else

Recently I have bought a Cat S75. On their website they stated at the time that I will get at least Android Version 13. currently its still on 12, which is fine cause its end of life is not reached yet. With the current Version cycle I'd say the end of life vor 12 is expected in ca 9 months.

I have a Cat s41 as well, of which I had to switch away from cause there is some ancient android (~8) on it and it doesn't get any updates.

I am cautious with just trying out a new OS on my device, because I dont know how I would get back the old OS if nothing works, and Cat beeing a rather small smartphone producer makes finding experience-reports rather difficult.

Can I just expect a Linux/ degoogled Android to work on my devices? I'd guess not, therefore: Can I test that somehow? Is there a way to go back to the factory settings or smth like that if I am lost?

I'm in the process of de-googling, and for the most part I'm pretty okay with using separate services for things like email, photos, calendar, etc... but the few things that I really like having bundled are Google Docs and Sheets in my Google Drive.

There's plenty of good alternatives for cloud storage, but I haven't seen any that come with any sort of office-like products. I know that I can self host my own private cloud storage and something like OpenOffice, but I'm hoping to find an existing cloud solution so I don't have to bother with that maintenance.

Any recommendations?

I've been using many apps and from few months, It's seems I'm quite stable so I think it's time to share a list of awesome Android Apps I'm using everyday as I've removed Google from my life!

I finally gave up on Nova Launcher after watching the various "calls home" its doing now after the acquisition by analytics company Branch. I held out for probably way too long considering the way things were inevitably going to go. I've tried Kvaesitso, KISS, and Neo Launcher so far. There are a couple of features I really miss from Nova that I thought I'd check to see if anyone knows of a workaround or a launcher that has these features:

> ! App Drawer shortcut

> ! Ability to remove browser badge from PWA and browser shortcuts added to homescreen

And lastly, while I don't have a photo example, pull to search in app drawer. This is the same gesture used in most mobile browsers to refresh the current page, if that makes sense.

I'm aware that the road to degoogle is paved with compromises, and I'm willing to make them if I need to. But if there are options out there, I haven't found them. Thoughts?

Just switched to a new phone carrier, and they had a promotion that included a free phone: the Google Pixel 8. I'm not a fan of Google, but I am a fan of free, so I took the bait.

It's already bombarded me with pitches for their new AI bullshit. I've opted out of as much as the settings allow, but I'm under no illusion that doing so actually provides any real privacy.

So, damage control time.

On my previous device I used YouTube Vanced for music and videos, but I guess Vanced isn't around anymore, and I'm pretty out of date on what the current options are... any insight on streaming specifically?

 

*I'm a medic who's only surface-level competent with tech, so please idiot-proof any instructions.

Thanks all!

I haven't used it much if at all in the past year, but I finally took the last step and deleted it! Sorry if this is low effort I just don't have anyone I know to share it with.

Awesome Android Apps

AAA

Hi all,

for 2 years, sporadically, I've been adding awesome FOSS apps with the following:

Rules

• Open Sourced
• Free of charge (on F-Droid and source code repository releases)
• Free as in Freedom
• Ad-free
• Installed and tested by me or by contributor
• Privacy-friendly aware
• Easy to use
• Still in development or polished experience
• Does not lack features compared to proprietary app
• Does not need an account (the only exceptions are self-hosted) apps)
• Has dark theme

...tested by my and then later by contributors. I think many of you will appreciate this simple README.md repo, and I would love some help with it.

🏔️ Codeberg version

I hope you will find it useful! 🤩

I didnt need even more motivation to degoogle but got it anyway.

... And damm it feels good! Before starting this step, I had to migrate to a better browser that respects privacy (Brave, because🖕Firefox, I mean Mozilla at this point doesn’t even want you to be safe on the web anymore!) And a better “Google-style” ecosystem (Proton is the best they have an email service, a calendar, a password manager and the holy drive).

The last step was YouTube. How to do without a Google account? Well, thanks to Piped + Yattee, the best combo I had a hard time finding. For those who do not know, Yattee is a great app that is an interface for Piped on Apple devices, besides, do you consider Apple to be respectful of privacy?

In short, today I am the happiest of men.

Hi all,

Currently trying to DeGoogle my phone. I'm down to the last few apps. I want to replace the Phone and Messages apps.

I tried the Fossify versions from FDroid but was met with mixed problems. The first is the phone app. The Fossify version doesn't have Spam call warnings like the Google version. The Fossify version also doesn't have a voicemail button, not really a deal breaker but nice to have.

Second was a bigger problem though, the messages app. At first it seemed to work, but couldn't send pictures after a short time. I usually send picture links anyway so not the worst but kind of annoying. After a while I would start getting delays in receiving standard SMS messages and finally wasn't able to send any messages at all. I switched back to Google messages and everything worked flawlessly immediately. Also I turned off RCS in Google messages prior to switching.

If any of you could recommend a good SMS/Phone app i would appreciate it.

• QKSMS is unmaintained as are a lot of other SMS apps in the stores.
• I've got a Pixel 7 with the stock OS, but will be moving to LineageOS soon.
• I use Signal when I can, but I have clients that I can't simply request they use a whole separate app just for me.
• Using T-Mobile

I'm not sure about my phone, maybe I'd like to keep Google Lens, but on a TV box it seems completely unnecessary. Its identifier com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox also sounds like it shouldn't contain anything important for the working of a device, but who knows with Google. Is there anything unexpected that would stop working when uninstalling / disabling updates for this?

I've seen that LTT made a video about degoogling our lives, that's a great point that a big youtuber like him would make videos like this!

Since some time I've searched photos related apps, to edit and take pictures but I've not found anything interesting in open source... Does someone has an explaination?

I'm looking for a Google Photos search replacement in local, preferable FOSS. Does anyone know one?

> Google is one of the biggest obstacles to privacy. This article will explore how and why to de-Google yourself to reclaim and protect your digital privacy.

Like instead of google docs or google sheets use this?

• /e/OS V2 is a de-Googled Android operating system with Android Auto support, UI enhancements, and privacy improvements.
• The update includes features like a new launcher app, App Lounge app store with privacy ratings, and a "wall of shame" for tracking apps.
• Based on LineageOS 20, /e/OS 2.0 offers bug fixes, security updates, and performance enhancements, along with device-specific improvements.

I've found helpful guides for de-googling here, but I wasn't able to find any for limiting the personal data that is shared with Google before making the switch to other services.

I'd greatly appreciate if anyone could link me to existing guidance or offer guidance here. Some questions I have:

• If you've de-googled, were you able to clear out any of your data from wherever Google captures it?
• Does Google allow you to clear out data upon account deactivation?
• What is the extent of control we have (if any) over our personal data once Google has captured it? Once Google has sold it elsewhere?

Hey there, I'm looking for an alternative to Google pay that'll allow me to use NFC payments etc. Thoughts?

I don't have a Google account, nor am I interested in opening one.

E: Just to clarify, the payment part would be convenient, more annoying is how I don't get to use a single place for my subway/gym/ticketmaster passes.

It seems that the motherboard is dead, and that it's a common issue with the 5a and I "should've known better," despite it being impossible to find decent information on phones these days.

I got it because it was the last Pixel with a headphone jack, and because it had good official LineageOS support. But I compromised: giving up the SD slot was tough for me, and now that I've been burned by not having one (I typically auto-backup my Signal history and other things to the SD card) I don't want to get another phone without it.

But the landscape seems bleak. The vast majority of phones that are officially supported by LineageOS are Pixels. It's impossible to find easy information on which phones have non-official LOS ROMs. Search results are useless these days, and I also keep running into an issue where after researching a phone for half an hour I discover that it has some arcane process to unlock the bootloader that doesn't always work, and the forum posters imply that the purchasers "should've known better." I'm just at my wit's end.

If anyone can suggest something that has decent deGoogled ROM support with the following features, I'd be very grateful:

• OLED screen (a must-have for my photosensitivity)
• SD card slot
• I am willing to give up the headphone jack in order to expand my options

I am in need of a separate degoogled phone for some things that require high level of privacy (nothing illegal).

I have 2 phones that I can use. One of them is my business phone (it has my business number, apps, data and that sort of stuff) which is now running an OS with all the Google spyware because it's necessary for the apps to work. I can reinstall everything on the second phone and use the first one as the secure device since it supports everything I need. The problem is that it has some issues on vanilla ROMs that I don't really want to deal with and the reinstalling will take a lot of time.

The issue with the second phone is that it is rocking an old MTK chip and rooting instructions are let's say a bit beyond my ability to understand. I still want to use it without Google if possible though. So can I degoogle its stock ROM with ADB or something? And is it worth trying or there will still be some vulnerabilities?

EDIT: to clear some possible misunderstandings, the reason of why I need a separate secure phone is that I am forced to use a very invasive proprietary app that I'd prefer just keeping on a separate device instead of trying to limit its spyware abilities with firewalls and that kind of stuff. I don't trust the last solution much. Also I can't use it in a VM because I need it to always be accessible wherever I am and yk carrying a PC is not an option

I have 5 of the older generation google home speakers that i dont use because google assistant got dumber and dumber so that in the end it was just easier to get up and turn off the light instead of having google do it.

It seems like a waste though to throw them away. Could I re purpose them in any way?

I really want to try Filen as my main cloud provider but my main brake point is that the app doesn't automatically upload my images in the background. I'm not sure if this is because I'm on the free plan or because of my device, has anyone had better luck with the automatic image upload in the background?

Sounds like trouble for Newpipe, Sponsorblock, etc...

Hi y'all, in my quest to de-goog my life, I've switched from using google's calendar to a new service from a company I trust more. (Someday I will self-host but not today)

In any case, I am looking for a way to have any new invitations which are sent to my google account be auto-forwarded to my new calendar. I was able to set up something similar for my gmail, but is there a way to do with with calendar events? I've searched around and not found anything yet.

Thanks for any ideas.

I've thinking about ditching my Protonmail email address with Posteo since I need IMAP support (because I hate using the Protonmail app) and honestly paying for Proton Mail Plus didn't worth the money because they are pushing me to buy the Protonmail Unlimited but I don't need all those capabilities nor would I use them and the best alternative I've found is Posteo and honestly I like it, I even got CalDAV support which I didn't have in Protonmail, but personally I don't know anybody who use Posteo, so I post this here.