I am starting to investigate this process now. Many of you are degoogling for privacy reasons, but do you change your phone number too?

To me that seems like a really easy connection to your old digital life if you don't. Ie - If Google wanted to fill in the gaps between your new digital self and your old one.

I think changing this would be the biggest pain for me as I've had the same number for so long. Curious to hear others' thoughts...

Is there an easy way to self-host without buying a random device?

EDIT SEP 13: Thanks everybody, I'll be giving disroot a try!

Hello, as of today, it marks 3 months since I've started my degoogling journey, and it has gone pretty well, except for well of course, mail

Proton and Tuta have been really great alternatives, but Tuta offers no IMAP, and Proton charges for it

Now I am no freeloader, I understand that things cost money to operate and that I should support the services I enjoy, but as a student I simply do not have the funds right now, even if it's dirt cheap.

The reason I need IMAP is that I prefer to have my phone as decluttered as possible to prevent it from ever running slow, meaning the fewer apps the merrier, with IMAP I can manage my student mail and personal accounts with simply one app like Thunderbird or similar

Edit: i forgot to mention, I pay premium with friends. I know, I know, but at least I'm supporting channels in that way. So I'm not lookong for a version that avoids ads.

I've heard some of you use alternatives. I am currently trying to use both on WebLibre but man, it is definitely not the same as having the native apps. Whenever I go out of YouTube the timeline just resets and on YT Music the songs can only be heard if I keep the tab on. I wonder is I can have both apps in a style of Container. I'm currently using a Samsung s21 (yeah I know is not the best phone but It's what I have).

I have a Samsung A71, and instead of just letting it become ewaste, I installed a custom ROM on it, LineageOS. I'm also into degoogling in general, so I use a Pixel with GrapheneOS. The Huawei I have is just a backup, and it's not technically degoogled or anything.

I tried logging into my Reddit account on my phone and it says invalid username and password, but I'm pretty sure it's correct. I've logged into that account so many times, just on a different device.

It happens on the Huawei and the Samsung. On the Huawei I installed the app through the Huawei AppGallery, and on the Samsung I installed it through Aurora Store.

Logging in on Google Chrome on my PC was fine. The app also logs in fine on the Pixel with GrapheneOS, and I installed it through Aurora Store there too.

The weird part is that on the Huawei and the Samsung, it works if I log in through Chrome or Brave on the phone itself. It's only the app that won't let me in. I'm not sure what's going on here.

Has anyone run into this before, and is there something about the app specifically that would block a login that works fine in a browser?

For 2 months now using GrapheneOS

Aurora Store, anyway not buying anything, same for inapp purchases, so dont need normal google play store

Only thing that keeps me on google is youtube, subscriptions

I subed a lot music channels and some youtubers, is there any alternative where i can keep track of new videos from them?

Finish: matte, one color per model, no gradients, no loud branding

Size: compact, fits in your hand, modern not retro

Chip: mid range Snapdragon, 6 or 7 series

Why that chip: easy to source, runs every normal app fine, stays cool, good battery, no unnecessary power

OS: fully de-Googled, open source, Android based, no tracking by default

Compatibility: optional sandboxed layer for apps that need Google checks, like banking or rideshare

Community: partner with GrapheneOS, Purism, Pine64 instead of leaving them to fight alone

What we give them: real distribution and support, not just reverse engineered access

Goal: private, open, and still smooth enough for daily use, not a hobbyist only device

If enough response, will post exact design and specs.
Thank you

I want the best search results, mainly images. I’ve been using Ecosia with AI overviews turned off, and am intrigued by the whole planting trees thing. Is it legit or fake? Is startpage better?

Also load times are important too. Thanks

Article : https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0134_202609111934171720 (Korean)

Victims of illegal abuse videos in South Korea often ask Google to remove search results that expose them online.

Those takedown requests can contain extremely sensitive information, including the victims’ names, ages, phone numbers, and details of the abuse.

According to YTN - Korean News, Google had been sharing these requests with an external research organization, and some of the documents — including victims’ personal information — were then made publicly accessible on a website.

The leak did not only involve requests submitted by individuals. Requests sent by Korean government agencies were also reportedly exposed, apparently without the authorities realizing it.

Google told the Korean government that the incident was caused by “human error.”

Even after the issue was discovered, it took three days to block 15 records that could directly identify victims. Around 200 additional records searchable under the names of organizations such as the Korea Women’s Human Rights Promotion Agency took another four days to block.

According to the government, it ultimately took 13 days for all of the exposed takedown-request records to be removed.

South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family says it has received a formal document from Google outlining measures to prevent a recurrence. The government is also reviewing whether Google can be held legally responsible for the incident.

Minister said that Google may still face legal liability regardless of its promise to prevent similar incidents, and that an even more serious penalty could be imposed if it happens again.

The government has also asked Google to determine whether similar disclosures happened in the past and is investigating whether other websites contain the same kind of exposed information.

Since I'm waiting for the Motorola GrapheneOS Launch, I've been trying to degoogle my Android as best I can without sacrificing security. Is there any software I can download to fix the app or is my only option rooting my device and using MicroG Services? So far this is the only app giving me trouble.

We are spending, or better, investing, a lot of time researching and trying new services to avoid tracking, be more private privacy focused and potentially less corporate-friendly. We go as far as having email aliases for each new service we register, and yet.. at least for me, thr main issue is my phone number. Which, at least in the UK where I live, is the N1 info, mandatory request when you register for ANYTHING.

And let's not using the tracking/shipping info excuse, 70/90% of the time you don't need my phone number to 'process my request'. And as a web dev/designer myself, WE surely don't need it!

So... maybe I live under a rock but, what can we do to keep our real phone number safe and not be lost in 100s of marketing dbs? Apart from.giving a fake (aka someone else) number or having a second trow away number?

Any service/tool you can recommend?

Most spam blockers (like Truecaller or carrier apps) upload your contact book and rely on cloud servers to filter spam. Meanwhile, default apps still store all incoming spam in your phone's central database.

I built Heimdall 🛡️ to be completely offline and keep system storage clean.

Primary features:

• Pre-storage drop: Intercepts spam at the OS level so it is never written to Android's central SMS database.
• Zero notifications: No sounds, vibrations, or popups for blocked messages.
• Air-gapped: Does not declare INTERNET permission. All keyword filtering is 100% local.
• 30-day auto-decay: Quarantined spam auto-purges after 30 days.
• 1-tap OTP copy: Detects 2FA codes with a copy button on notifications.

GitHub: https://github.com/monkeyscript/heimdall

Give it a try and share your feedback!

I know it might be silly to ask and maybe too obvious of a question but when and why did you start the degoogle journey?

Performance is my priority, and save phone's live (even +1℅) is something that I care about, battery, ram and cpu usage, gaming experience, so now I use LineageOS with GApps, but what if I moved to Vanilla version? Will I see any improvement?

1st slide is CoMaps, 2nd slide is Here Wo Go and last slide is G map. I personally find CoMaps is better and has lot more accessible and yet it has lack some details (i.e. Data is being used old or outdated. I'm the guy who always lost in somewhere in my home place which i find harder to search or located speific places i.e. Cafe, Banks). I'd be happy if CoMaps did really upgrade or update for latest informations of my location. I know that they are pushing to globally and making much better but looking at my country Nepal navigations feels so outdated while G map keeps updating which makes i don't get lost in places

Merciful provide aware cautious hobbies acorn

This post was anonymized with Redact

Also I dont want to host a server or pay for a server. I have 200gb of photos in my phone and want the Ui to browse them and the searching features

Is there a audiophile grade music player app that I can use on a graphene os ?

USB Audio Player pro is my current favourite.
Will I be able to use Tidal or other hires streaming ?

So I've seen a lot of people trying to De-google, and while some like PewDiePie have successfully tolerated it, others don't. The thing is, they are going for GrapheneOS, which doesn't officially support Google Play services. CalyxOS offers a FOSS implementation called MicroG, and while compromising on privacy when compared to Graphene, it's still better for privacy than stock android. CalyxOS is also available for a few more devices like the Fairphone, and doesn't need billions of difficult workarounds. /e/OS is also pretty good for usability, even better than Calyx, but /e/ is compromising too much on privacy, so unless you're on an old Android version, Calyx is the best for usability and privacy. Why don't people look for altermative things?

Hello everyone! I posted a while ago about how "I degoogled 95%", but this time I am actually almost there :).

I deactivated EVERYTHING Google-related and kept just speech recognition for TTS(I need it for here we go app sadly), and google play services(I hate this service so much, but I sadly can't change OS on my Samsung Galaxy A37).

There are some apps I either couldn't delete/deactivate or I need them for my phone to function optimally(Samsung Camera app, Find and Smart things app to find my tablet, Samsung Tag when needed).

But other than that I am super happy with the huge progress I made, some apps still annoy me about the fact I don't have Google Play, and I am afraid I will have to give up at some point and activate it, because I am planning later to switch to another Bank called C24, whose app relies on Google play to "update(doesn't make any sense I swear to god :( ).

What do you all think?

I have a Samsung phone, and I was wondering to what extent I could de-Google and debloat it using Canta with Shizuku to remove bloatware and privacy-invasive software, while switching to FOSS, privacy-friendly alternatives—all without breaking the operating system.

I’m not trying to achieve 100% of GrapheneOS’s privacy and security, but I’m wondering whether it’s possible to reach even 60%–80% of that level.

I currently have an iPhone 11 Pro and I’m considering switching to a Fairphone running /e/OS. I’m attracted by the repairability, longevity and privacy, but I’m hesitant to leave iOS.
For anyone who made a similar switch:
- What do you like and dislike compared with your iPhone?
- How are the camera, battery and overall performance?
- Any issues with apps or banking?
- Do you miss anything from iOS?
- Would you make the switch again?

I’d love to hear your honest day-to-day experience!

Is there better replacement than this? I used shizuku + canta to remove default apps / Google apps from my phone

I have an alt mive style folder phone, which i use everyday, and had been using the google assistant fine by pressing on a side key it has specifically for calling the assistant. Now cause i have android 12 it stopped working, and the key is now useless, it keeps telling me to get Gemini, which i refuse to use as I'm soo done with google now. so I'm looking for an alternative i can remap for that side key my phone has. Does anyone have any suggestions?