DeGoogle Yourself @lemmy.ml Cris16228 @lemmy.today 3 mo. ago

Suggestions for google alternatives/foss apps

Hello everyone!

Recently, I saw so many posts about this and I started to think about degoogling (degoogleing?) my life.

I've started with fdroid and found some nice apps in there and I'm curious to know some alternatives I may or may not know

Youtube: Currently, I use ReVanced and even though is just the default app with something in it, I want an alternative with background listening, import my subscriptions w/ notifications and if possible with sponsorblock
Mail: Using a combo or Gmail + proton. I started to use proton recently and I want to move everything there when I have time. Suggestions here?
Cloud storage: Self hosted/proton? Alternatives
Gallery app: Stock
Video player: Stock
Music player: Stock
2FA app: I have Authy and I tried to install aegis. I also have Ente but I've never used both
Mail app: Using K9 and the app is awesome compared to google or Samsung Mail
Password Manager: Bitwarden
Weather app: Currently, using Breezy weather

If possible, apps with a nice looking UI, modern with/without Material You

I'm using a Samsung S23 and I would like to know how bad it is to change ROM with something better and if it's really worth Pixel + GrapheneOS. Thanks

Edit: I forgot the most important one with probably no alternatives (?) Thanks to @JustMarkov@lemmy.ml (idk how to mention)

Samsung pay

85 comments

Youtube — try Newpipe for background playback. There is a version with Sponsorblock, I believe

Gallery — I use the Fossify one. You'll find a lot of other FOSS utility alternatives searching for Fossify.

Media players — I waffle between different ones, but I always have VLC installed as a fallback. It feels clunky on Android, but it will play almost anything.
- Newpipe fork is called tubular
  
  That's the one. Thanks!
- I have NewPipe and I use it more for downloads. The UI is.. ~~It's okay but more youtube style (because I'm used to it and I prefer~~ TIL you can change it!
  
  Fossify gallery is based on simplemobiletools before ZipoApps bought them
  
  I forgot vlc exists on android
  
  Yeah, Newpipe is pretty great. It's also a Peertube/Bandcamp/SoundCloud client 🙂
  
  Ugh, let's never mention simplemobiletools or Zipo again.
See my Awesome Android Apps list.
- Permanently Deleted
  
  Sure, I have tested Grayjay already when NewPipe was broken by Google.
- A great list! Do you know of a launcher with paging app drawer like nova? Or folders support. Currently using Lawnchair
  
  Neo Launcher is based on Lawnchair and has some extra features I believe. Check the telegram group for newer releases
- I will! Thanks 💚
  
  No problem
Don't forget migrating your accounts in various online services if you used Gmail or Google login for registration.

For mail address, it is best practice to register your own domain and use any reputable mail service provider that allows to use custom domains. This way your address is not tied to the provider and you still own it in case of any issues with the service provider. This means you don't loose access to the online services when Gmail (or anyone else) decides to block you.
- Don't forget migrating your accounts in various online services if you used Gmail or Google login for registration.
  
  This.
  
  Also, there's this "connector" in Proton you plug in to Gmail and it downloads all the e-mails and even keeps labels etc.
  
  Last thing - even after migrating everything and updating your e-mail in services, I'd wait with deleting Gooogle account for example a year to make sure you haven't forgotten about anything. Wait before burning down brigdes, let the Goolge account just sit there lonly, abandoned, forgotten. Set a reminder to delete it.
  
  I did that and I should really move everything to proton, but unfortunately I can't create aliases for every service I use. I know I can use mymail+servicename@proton.me but aliases based on that services would be better so if I get spam somehow, I know from who
- For mail address, it is best practice to register your own domain and use any reputable mail service provider that allows to use custom domains. This way your address is not tied to the provider and you still own it in case of any issues with the service provider. This means you don't loose access to the online services when Gmail (or anyone else) decides to block you.
  
  I wish I could do something like that with my domain + cloudflare + postman (or RPi) but if you can tell me how I can do what you meant, please let me know, it's something I've always wanted to do
  
  Don't try to host your own email server, at least not at the start. It's really hard and the main issue is not technical - makn issue is fighting with big providers so they don't refuse your mail.
  
  Instead, use a professional mail provider allowing custom domains (I use mailbox.org). You can still keep using your domain for web / http access for other services you selfhost, you just point mail-related DNS records to the mail provider (they all have guides about how to do that).
Here's what I use:

YouTube:

LibreTube has really nice UI/UX and integrates SponsorBlock and DeArrow. It relies on Piped for fetching subscriptions (since the newest version it will play just fine with a broken Piped server though).

NewPipeX is what I use when LibreTube doesn't work and for downloading YouTube content. It is a fork of NewPipe which integrates SponsorBlock.

Mail:

I use posteo.de as a provider, but it isn't fully liked here due to it not supporting custom domains.

mailbox.org is another solid provider (with support for custom domains AFAIK) if you don't want to use Proton for E-Mail.

FairEmail is my mobile client of choice (Geary or Thunderbird are good for Desktop).

k9 Mail is an equally good choice.

Cloud Storage:

For Cloud Storage I prefer the selfhosted Seafile.

If you just want to share files temporarily, Wormhole is a good tool for that.

Gallery App:

Aves Libre is solid if you don't want to selfhost, but it doesn't have fancy features like automatically (od manually) detecting faces.

Immich is pretty much the selfhosted Gallery app.

Video Player:

Just (Video) Player is what I use, but honestly the stock player should be fine.

VLC will play pretty much anything you throw at it, but I don't like its UI that much.

Music Player:

Vanilla Music is alright, but nothing special. Musicolet, while not FOSS, is a privacy respecting Music Player that has a bunch of handy features, most notable one for me is the ability to have multiple queues.

2FA App:

Aegis has never let me down, although you should keep in mind it doesn't have any sort of cloud sync.

For password manager and weather I use the same apps as you.

I run a Pixel with GrapheneOS. I actually also came from Samsung, and for me there are quite a few creature comforts missing that I didn't even think about (eg. Samsung Dex, DP altmode, I really like the One UI Dialer, Miracast, Brightness Slider in notifications, switching recents and back button, headphone jack, SD card slot, ...).

As for the Pixel being worth it, I'm ok with it as I was due for an upgrade anyway (Galaxy S10 -> Pixel 6). I'd recommend, if you value your privacy and are fine with losing some Samsung features, to either go all the way and upgrade to a new Pixel when your S23 gets old / dies or buy a cheap used Pixel (Pixel 6 and 7 currently has pretty decent value) to just test it out.
- I just installed LibreTube and I want to try it. What does NewPipeX offers more than NewPipe? Sponsorblock and Return to the dislike button, anything else? I'm curious to see if it's worth switching to it
  
  Someone else suggested mailbox.org and I'll check it later! I tried FairEmail but their github page says:
  
  Notification settings (sounds) per account/folder/sender (requires Android 8 Oreo) (instructions)
  
  biometric unlock Both features are paid, which is not ideal. However, if the application proves to be valuable, I would be more than willing to pay for it or support the developer(s). Before making the switch, I must test the application, and for me, email-based notifications are a must-have feature. As a result, I will continue to use Proton for the time being.
  
  For cloud storage I've always wanted to use my website + Raspberry Pi to host stuff on there but I was never been able to do it so I'm looking for something worth and safe
  
  Others suggested Aves and I will definitely check it later at home
  
  I will check both music players but I prefer privacy focused/foss apps
  
  Authy is my main and I have to switch. For some reasons they revamped the UI and removed dark more, I hated it SO MUCH
  
  I don't use Dex anymore, I'm on linux and with KDE connect I'm more than happy. DP altmode? Slider in notifications is good but I don't use it that much, I have it set to auto brightness, the dialer is nice yes and the good thing about Samsung phones is Good lock/guardian even if it's crazy to think you have to use an app made by someone (or Samsung?) to change how the recents app look (iphone style, stacked, grid, etc) and I hate it a lot
  
  AFAIK you nailed the differences between NewPipe and NewPipeX.
  
  As for FairEmail, I've used it for well over a year without paying and it's been great (I plan on buying the pro version soon). It has kind of a pay what you want model, technically you can unlock all features for literally 10 cents.
  
  I'm not that knowledgeable on security for hosting services with external access either, I'm sure there are some great YouTube videos out there.
  A Raspberry Pi should be perfectly fine for hosting something like Seafile or Nextcloud though (Nextcloud might be a pain in the butt to host).
  
  DP altmode means being able to output HDMI over your phone's USB-C port, the Pixels are famous for missing that feature. But I believe from Pixel 8 onwards it was added again, if this is important for you you should do your own research on it though.
- Imported my youtube subs and they're random In libretube, I've set to sort by new but I get like 2 from a youtuber from 3/4 days ago, below 1 from a youtuber posted yesterday, etc... Is it normal...?
  
  Edit: Changing piped instance changes the order but it's a mess. It looked nice though
I use a Fairphone with e/os, which works fairly well as an os. Regular updates and they listen to user feedback. And e/os has an app lounge where you can download apps from the play store (without a google account) and f-droid, which is very easy. And the fairphone is great with interchangeable parts.

For maps I use a combo of organic maps and Magic earth. Magic Earth isn't Foss but is privacy focused and has traffic alerts for driving.

YouTube - Newpipe

And for mail, passwordmanager, VPN, calendar, and drive I use Proton.
- I would love to try it for a month before saying if it's worth or not, sadly I recently changed phone so I'm not sure if I should do it again.
  
  I will try both apps for maps
  
  I know about protons alternatives to google but I've never tried them. Is it worth the monthly plan (if you use it)?
  
  To be fair, the Fairphone is not the greatest in terms of specs, its more middle of the road but on the expensive side. But its has a way longer life. So I get that you want to think on it, because it's more of a commitment to justify the cost
  
  I'd say the paid plan is definitely worth it. The VPN is awesome. Very fast and with a lot of servers around the world. The drive is solid and they keep adding more features like automatic backup for you photos and secure file sharing. Lately they added a Docs to the drive, similar to google docs.
  
  I have a family plan with my wife and brother in law and we share the costs, that makes it even more worth it.
- @runwaylights @Cris16228 I just checked out magic earth, it's amazing
Here are the ones I use:

YouTube:

This is the hardest and you might need to hop a lot. But, these are the ones I have: FreeTube, Grayjay, LibreTube, NewPipe, PipePipe, and if none of these work, then YTDLnis (yt-dlp client)

Mail:

ProtonMail (Tuta is heavily suggested too, but I personally have never used it)

Cloud Storage:

Proton Drive (although I don't use cloud storage much)

Gallery:

Stock and AvesLibre (I heard Immich is good too, but I cannot afford self hosting atm)

Video Player

VLC

Audio Player

VLC

2FA

Proton Pass and KeepassXC

Mail App

ProtonMail and K9Mail

Password Manager

Proton Pass and KeepassXC

Weather app

Breezy Weather
- :O libretube has both sponsorblock and DeArrow, that's cool!
  
  I know about proton storage but is it good?
  
  Out of curiosity, why KeepassXC over bitwarden?
  
  I don't use Proton Drive too much, but for my use case, it works great. I sometimes save files in there and share them via urls, and it works great for that use case.
  
  The last time I used Bitwarden, the base plan did not support 2FA which is a must for me. Keepass keeps it local, and supports 2FA too. These days, I use Proton Pass more because I want easier sync across my devices, but I back up everything to Keepass every once in a while.
Cloud storage: kDrive
- I'll check it after works. Looks interesting
As Video player VLC, it's fantastic.
If you're considering self hosting, Immich is an amazingly complete replacement for Google Photos.

Firefox has a pretty good password manager built in.

I use k9 mail, which I really like, although a lot of people like FairEmail (both FOSS)

Also check out YouApps in addition to fossify for a different suite of useful, well designed apps
- I have a domain + a Raspberry and if it works, I could try to host on it🤔
  
  I've tried a lot of clients and none was good for me, Samsung Mail was okay-ish but it didn't notify me half of the times. Tried K9 and it's amazing, even if it sync every 15 mins it sends a notification for every mail.
  
  I use Firefox but I'd like a password manager outside of it, foss of course and I'm using Bitwarden now
  
  There is also a way to get realtime notifications from k9 if you prefer.
  
  If you have a huge number of photos, LMK, I'm working on setting up my server now and there are a few tricks to share with getting your photos from Google.
For email migration / Proton:

Proton has an import tool but I think it's still for paid customers only. You could pay for a 1 month subscription and do your thing.

The import tool has labels matching, pay attention to them if you want to migrate them too. If you have multiple addresses, create a label for each when importing so you'll have an easy time identifying/filtering later.

I would encourage a paid Proton subscription if you can afford it, for its extra features. I.e. unlimited folders / labels; I also use the Export tool from time to time to backup all Proton email messages offline.

When changing your email address for accounts, you need to make sure all are accounted for in your password manager, and use a status for each of them (ie To migrate, Migrated, Cannot migrate / To delete, Cannot migrate / create new). This is going to be a tedious process, but it will be rewarding at the end.

Don't leave your accounts that you cannot migrate in the air (ie they don't have a change email option), even if they're not important. Delete them. You might have to contact support on some of them to try to change email or request deletion. Consider this a spring cleaning and make the efort.

When deleting accounts, use the GDPR option if possible / you're in the EU.

Keep your old Gmail around for some time to catch any accounts linked to it that you might have missed. As somebody else mentioned, there might be some for which you used Gmail login and those are easy to miss, especially if they don't send any emails. You won't be able to recover them without access to your Google account.

I wouldn't bother with forwarding emails (why let Google know of your new identity?). Delete emails already imported. Use the import tool multiple times to import any new ones.

When you do the email address migration, even if you didn't have multiple email addresses in Gmail, this could be a good time to separate online identities and have multiple addresses and/or aliases in Proton (ie 1. for personal/official/utilities accounts - your real identity, 2. shopping - still real identity, but these might be spammier, 3. rest/disposable/not tied to your real info/no payment enrolled; even more, depending on your use case). Any Proton paid plan allows you to have multiple addresses under the same login (10 for Mail Plus for example).

Personal opinion: Proton is awesome. Every year, even on the cheapest Mail Plus plan, Proton awards a 1GB Storage Bonus to all paying users.

The free plan has a limit of only 1 custom filter (they used to limit them for Mail Plus too, some time ago). To bypass that (Proton even encourages it because it's more efficient for their servers), learn Sieve Filters, and that way you can group multiple filters into one sieve (or have all of them in one sieve, if on the free plan). You can use comments in sieve filters.

Proton supports the "+" in the address, just like Gmail does. It's a quick way of creating aliases.

The Proton password manager also has some feature of creating aliases (for paid plans) - they call them "hide-my-email aliases"; but it's limited for the lower tier plans (10 for Mail Plus), and maybe you wouldn't want to bother with it since you won't be using it as your actual password manager.

Something I learned the hard way, don't use a short 3-4 characters username / email address (probably hard to find any available anymore, as Proton exists for some time); it will attract more spam from spammers randomly generating email addresses / generating them from a dictionary.

For Youtube, on Android:

I use Youtube in Brave browser, which for the time being can still block the ads, and also keeps playing in the background.

When I want to avoid Youtube, for Youtube links, I use UntrackMe (F-Droid), which (among others) redirects to an Invidious instance opened in the browser. Initially I installed it for Twitter, but Nitter doesn't work anymore.

Cloud storage:

I'd go the self hosted route - NextCloud + DAVx5 (contacts sync), and VPN to access it when out of home (if needed; otherwise, set it to sync over unmetered WiFi connections only, and mark your home WiFi as unmetered). But this is me - I could probably safely use Proton Drive, but wouldn't have the same flexibility and would force me to a higher cost plan. For you, this means entering homelab territory and it gets complicated. But IF you do, there are other self-hosting apps you could benefit from (ie PiHole, Jellyfin, Home Assistant if you're into home automation, etc).

2FA app:

Never tried Authy, but I use Aegis and it's good. Open source, it has backup, export, custom icons for entries, (bulk) import via QR, etc.

Video player:

You could try VLC if you need subtitles support.
- but Nitter doesn’t work anymore
  
  It looks like Nitter might be back in some form.
  
  There seem to be a few working public instances visible on: https://status.d420.de/
Ente is an awesome Google Photos alternative.

RiMusic is a great Youtube music frontend.

Tubular is a NewPipe fork with sponsorblock that I currently enjoy. Used LibreTube but Piped was fucked for me for awhile.
- I only know ente auth, didn't know there was a photo-like alternative
  
  I don't use youtube for music but thanks.
  
  I will try LibreTube and Tubular, thanks!
Permanently Deleted
- Uuuugh no thanks. I mean, I'm from Europe but too much problems and... WHY THE CAMERA?!
- Permanently Deleted
  
  Permanently Deleted
For email, you can get Migadu and use your domain (in fact, I think that's their only option unless I'm mistaken ie no foo(at)migadu.com). I'm biased cause I use them but I think their prices are fair and they have a student discount, if that applies to you. It works with K9 nicely.

For gallery, I use Aves Libre.

Also idk if I missed it but if you're looking for a calendar the Fossify calendar is good.
- I was thinking about using my domain with cloudflare, postman on an ubuntu based server I own so I could make mails like: myname@, spam@, service@ but I don't know if Migadu allows it and if I have to do something with cloudflare
  
  I'll check it later at home for the gallery. Calendar yes, I'm interested In switching and I thought to see for the most used first
  
  Migadu hosts it all for you, you don't need postman or the like. I don't recall how many addresses you can make at the moment
Also,I setup my own Next cloud in my garage. Use it for entire family 's contacts, calendars...shared to phone via DAVx free on droid.

Nextcloud also holds files, pictures, shared bookmarks.
Maps: Organic Maps Wearables and other smart gadgets: Gadgetbridge
YouTube: Grayjay

Mail: Riseup, Disroot or Posteo

Cloud storage: If you only want to backup photos, videos and the like, self hosted Immich, PhotoPrism or Ente is good. Online Ente otherwise.

Gallery app: Fossify Gallery

Video player: NextPlayer or VLC

Music player: InnerTune (also supports YTMusic and downloads)

2FA app: Aegis

Mail app: K-9 Mail

Password manager: Bitwarden or self hosted Vaultwarden

Payment app: GNU Taler (in the future; EU only)
- Noooo is a demo app :( I guess there's no alternative someone can trust/free and open source for that
  
  What's a demo app? GNU Taler? Yeah, I said in the future. The preparation phase for the digital euro just started. If GNU Taler gets selected, you can start using it after 2025-2027
YouTube: newpipe

Mail: fairmail

Cloud: nextcloud (you need to host a Server or join one hosted by someone you trust though)

Music: phonograph

Video: vlc

2FA: freeOTP

Passwords: keepass(XC)

I am using grpahene on a refurbished pixel 6a for 250€

I was coming from lineage os, and while I loved lineage for not having ads, possibility for no google etc. I AM SO HAPPY WITH GRAPHENE

it is better optimized, has higher security and the multiple users, sandboxes Google and stuff are soooo nice and easy to use

Also the pixel is a very nice phone (crazy camera, perfect oled) but I don't like that it doesn't support wired headphone and SD cards. Still very much worth it IMHO
- I'll check them but why keepass over bitwarden?
  
  Is the battery good with GrapheneOS? I know is refurbished but how bad is it? I would love to try it but spending for a refurbished to use it as second phone?🤔
  
  Comes down to preference in security vs. Convenience: Keepass is local, so more safe, but with the downside of no automatic sync. can be solved with KDE connect (completly local) or nextcloud (trusted server) though it is not as smooth of a user experience.
  
  Battery is good in my opinion, had an used LCD smartphone before, which held barely a day in the end, this one has two days and a half with battery saver kicking in at 25% which is more than enough for me.
  
  I think most use who use keepass instead of bitwarden do so because keepass is offline, unlike bitwarden. At least that's what I understand.
Recommend you a post from some times, but it's still up to date : https://lemmy.ml/post/13094884
- The problem is youtube... LibreTube is great but it doesn't shows up to date subs videos, the official shows some videos and other instances shows others
  
  Since them it was working really good, know since 2-3 weeks it's kind of a no-go

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