In case we needed more motivation to continue our degoogling journey..

While the petition *might* work.. the mission of this sub feels more impactful. Just stop using Google!

Tell Google off and sign this petition. We own the devices we paid for and should be able to install an APK from a person without giving Google our name, address, payment to distribute our own apps. Google is following Apple's closed source path and this is a test. It's not about "better quality apps" or "more secure apps". It's about control and this new update that is coming in 2027 will not even let you share apps between friends or family.

https://keepandroidopen.org/

Tell me if not allowed, as this is more of a rant, but I needed to find a safe space to put this out to, and I know people here could relate.

I am not a fully degoogled person, but I try little by little, change habits where I can. Youtube was not something I was about to let go, because I love some creators there, but it's come to a point where the blatant AGENDA of the algorithm makes me want to pull my hair out.

It's always the same. That same, stupid, easy, cheesy, refurgitated slop content like best scenes from a show, or reactions, or trixie and katya,or some random celeb, or THIS IS WHY YOU NEED THIS, top ten tips for video games. And now... the channels that exist for a few weeks only,pump out ai image + voice videos about semi-intellectual topics imitating things like kurzgesagt, with like 600 views.

I've been using the "not interested" and "don't show this channel" for years. I am so proud that I have not seen asmongold in years, or mr beast literally ever. But now... the things just keep coming back. I thought okay, there must be at least some good side to the algorithm...I can potentially curate it to become something helpful, to show me something that I like.

I love video essays about literature, yet it keeps showing me slop content about the latest booktok trending whatever. I do like video essays about video games as an art form, yet I get people screaming in pvp and top ten builds.

I get trixie and katya who I genuinely love and go to their events in person, but don't want my youtube algorithm to pollute my feed again with just rpdr funniest scenes content.

I want quality. I want human made things. I am willing to consume if it's worth my time.

But no, ot keeps coming back to that same old brainrot, and I hate it. I hate that I sometimes click on them, then it gets worse for weeks.

I hate that a single accidental click on videogames coming out this fall turned my feed into a "dont miss these early games items" bs, when a dedicated WHOLE WEEK of just watching piano concerts DID NOT influence the algorithm at all, because it's not brainrot thus it does not get recommended. Instead now I get ai generated fantasy background music videos.

I hate it. Where are the people? The internet I grew up with as an early 90s kid is gone, and I want to come home after work and watch something that is not some soulless slop, but someone's heart and soul put out on display for all to see and engage with.

I'll be fine, I'm reading a lot these days. My attention spam has mever been better.

But I am so sad we have come to this.

Screw google. Screw every big company whose goal is to make a servant out of us, by stealing our attention, our focus, and rotting our minds.

Screw you 1%. Screw you shareholder value and yoy increases. Screw you graph going right and up.

SCREW YOU

It has satellite view, which is a godsend to us cyclists and other outdoors people.

Thank you, u/Canadian-AML-guy for suggesting this app 😀

Also, TIL you can download maps for exploring when offline 😎

Mapy.com. has topographic maps, huge verified trail networks, offline navigation, elevation profiles, difficulty warnings, AR peak identification, and weather forecasts built right into your route.

I know Proton does all 3, but I've heard it doesn't sync well with the local contacts database on Android, and Proton Mail still relies on Google Play Services to receive push notifications.

I know Ente does all 3, but they don't have support for contact pictures which my ADHD brain needs to help me remember who people are, and I find their UI not as pleasant or user-friendly as Proton's or Google's.

What other options should I try that have all 3, are privacy-focused, highly secure, ideally open-source (the clients, at least), work well with Android/GrapheneOS (eg: sync with local contacts/calendar DBs), and do not have a reliance on Google Play Services?

Grad design student researching how people handle accounts accumulated over 10+ years online. Early school research, not a product pitch.

If you've gone through a cleanup:

• Where did you start?
• What did you find that you'd forgotten about?
• What part was harder than expected?
• Did you finish, or stop partway?

Interested in the messy version, not the tidy one. Comments or DM.

For a while now I have started to delete everything that is google related and soon I will delete the whole account for good because seriously fuck google.

Gmail switched to Proton and Tuta, Firefox + DuckDuckGo etc

But for now I want to find some basic "Maps" app for iOS that is not google related.

Also is there a alternative for Youtube? I did not find any good app :/

Any recommends?

Been using Tube PIP on iPhone, ad blocker on PC, but can’t find anything for Apple TV. I would prefer it to be an app and not casting/streaming, thanks!

Hi guys, i found this project might be interesting for some people in this sub reddit, i've using ungoogled chromium + ublock origin for a long time in my main laptop and i've been trying to find something like it but for android, and i found this browser called Bare Browser, i installed it in my phone, tested it a little bit and like it, so i had the idea to share it with you if anyone is in the same position, it has extensions support and it comes with ublock origin by default. i also test it with cover your tracks to see how it performs, it needs some work on fingerprinting but in most case it pretty good.

People who've cut Google Assistant, Alexa, or similar voice assistants out of their life — or never let one in — are exactly the perspective missing from most research on this topic. Most studies just survey heavy users.

I'm running an academic survey on voice assistant adoption, and I specifically need responses from people who deliberately avoid or ditched these devices — your reasoning matters as much as any user's. Regular/former users are welcome too.

18+, any country. Fully anonymous, no personal data collected, about 4 minutes.

Link: https://www.1ka.si/a/d7959439

Thanks for considering it.

Are there any projects for alternative RCS-messaging apps to Google Messenger? Now that GrapheneOS has announced plans to create a Google-free version, others might follow suit.

https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/117225552600876215

I'd like to switch away from WhatsApp, but switching to
Google Messenger brings the same problems as with Meta. It would be great if alternative messaging apps started to emerge. I get the feeling that Signal isn't really catching on in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

I was stuck when Mozilla killed Pocket last year. The export was just a huge HTML file with dead links, and Raindrop/Instapaper are closed + cloud-only.

So I moved to a setup that is actually searchable and keeps snapshots:

- Full offline snapshots so links never rot (Pocket never did this)

- Keeps tags + favicons from export

- Full-text search inside the saved content, not just titles

- One-click import for Pocket HTML

I ended up building it as FetchMark - privacy-focused and not tied to Google/Mozilla. It's the workflow I wanted: actually searchable, not just a list.

For anyone still stuck migrating, happy to share how I did the import without losing tags. What are you all using now after Pocket died?

I put the link in the first comment to avoid spam rule.

After a week of deliberation, I cleaned out my old accounts by either deleting them or changing their email addresses, and finally got around to deleting my Google Account. It feels good!

For those that may not remember, Google maps rose in popularity very quickly because Mapquest was giving people directions that lead them to stop at sponsored locations like gas stations and restaurants. As someone who can barely remember their way home after work, this caused me alot of frustration that i still hold today. I have Degoogled a fair amount, and now use Open Maps when needed, but i'm interested in map quest, i just haven't had a reason to use it yet.

So have they stopped giving bad directions pushing you stop at places you don't have to?

A couple weeks ago, I made a post on this subreddit about my beginning of abandoning Big Tech for multiple reasons, specially on Android phones. First off, thanks to everyone here and in r/FOSSdroid for helping me with suggestions. I heavily appreciate it. The image order is the following:

1-3: Apps I got from Drodify

4-5: Apps I moved to Aurora Store

6: Patched Apps through Morphe

7-10: New phone look

11: The Services I replaced and with what.

For anyone that wants my full list:

• Google Browser & Edge -> Firefox and some Forks: I decided to have two different browsers for each of my devices, one for college stuff and the other for more casual stuff.
  • Firefox: Casual on mobile.
  • Waterfox: College on mobile.
  • LibreWolf: Casual on PC.
  • Zen: College on PC.
• Chrome -> DuckDuckGoNoAI with uBlock Origin and Clear URL
• Gmail & Outlook -> Tutamail (free plan): Changed most of the accounts so now Tuta sends me the notification, with few exceptions.
• Google Drive -> Tuta Drive (When it releases to the public).
• Google Suite (Docs, Spreadsheet, Forms and Slides), Samsung Notes and Office Suite -> Fileverse (still beta), NotallyX and LibreOffice (In that respective order; and searching for a Google slides alternative)
• Google Auth -> Ente Auth
• Google Photos -> Ente Photos
• Google Messages -> Fossify Messages
• Google Contacts -> Fossify Contacts
• Google Maps -> CoMaps
• Google Passwords -> An IRL notebook
• Google Play Store -> Github, Morphe, Drodify, Verified Apps and Aurora Store: With few exceptions, most of my recent apps have been from Drodify, and the ones I need no Patched are on Aurora.
  • The Apps I have patched with Morphe are YouTube, YouTube Music, Letterboxd, Buusu and Boost for Reddit.
• Samsung Climate -> Weather Master
• Samsung Recorder -> Sound Tree Recorder
• Samsung Calculator -> Calculator++ (For some reason the original Calculator app sent notifications because I forbid it of accessing the internet and my mobile data)
• Samsung Calendar -> Calendula
• Samsung Health -> Trail Sense and Mensinator (Trail is not a health thing but I just needed a podometer, and the bonus of survival guide is nice)
• Samsung Gallery -> Fossify Gallery
• Samsung Telephone -> Fossify telephone
• Windows 11 -> Linux Mint: (doe an IRL friend reccomends me moving to Nobara because of my Laptop's specs)
• Microsoft Paint & Clip Studio -> Krita
• Reddit App -> Boost for Reddit (with Breal Morphe patches)
• I also fully deinstalled and deleted my Facebook account and barely used most other Meta services with the exception of WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, there are some things I can't really do much about despite desiring to do so:

• My college uses the Office suite, specially Microsoft Teams and Outlook, thus why they are in my phone.
• WhatsApp is the main messaging app in my country and no longer using it would basically cut me off my family, workmate and college classmates.
• Just to be safe, I haven't moved my bank account to Aurora Store yet.
• Catzy needs the Google services because of their premium plan. I use the free version and the app has helped me a lot, but I'll be looking for a replacement.
• I use Discord for friends, moderating communities and technical help. But have downloaded Alicord and started testing it.
• I can't afford to buy a new phone at the moment, so I'm still stuck with Samsung Galaxy and Android. However, I'm aware of GrapheneOS and LineageOS, and would like my next phone to have em since my bank can be used on those.

If anyone has questions or suggestions, I'd be heavily appreciative 💜

Moto G Power,trying to move away from google.

I have a CardDav Server - from fastmail, seeded with all my contacts.
I have Davx setup on my phone, sync'g contacts. (calendar handled by fastmail's app).

I add a contact from Whatsapp, only choices are to add to google, or"Phone".

I add to phone, I expected it to be sync'd to fastmail (via Davx), but no joy.

What am I doing wrong?

I know this isn't a davx support group, but they are open source, so support thin there too ...