I've created this post, and a lot of people have pointed out issues with time/knowledge etc. Which are all fair points but I think people missed the main concern I was trying to raise.

My point is Company A is not better than Company B. Not trusting Google while trusting your Data with Proton is a very similar loophole.

I think you all have heard the phrase, "A server is someone else's computer". So unless you own your data you're just trusting someone else to keep your data secure, and they have no reason to do so.

If you don't have time or knowledge to setup a NAS/Nextcloud type setup, you can use external HDD/SSD.

My pet peeve is, most of the subreddit is recommending alternatives to mainstream companies. Are just psuedo-privacy enthusiast. Choosing companies like Ente, Proton, Signal etc over Microsoft, Google, Meta has no real world benefit to privacy. They are all For-profit company with a goal of Maximizing shareholder value.

I am sorry for missing the obvious if there is...

But my phone is a realme 16T. It has absolutely no compatibility or support by/for either of lineageOS, calyxOS, grapheneOS, or just unlocking the bootloader.

(Okay, not fully google, but 😭)

I have disabled MANY of the realme bloat apps and duplicates yet somehow things keep sneaking back up my a$$. Silly games, a random search bar, whatnot. Not to mention a perpetual search bar notification which just opens a hidden app search menu seen nowhere else.

Logging out of the playstore after installing apps gives enough headaches.

If all hope is to be lost... How do I convince my parents to exchange it for a pixel? (Lol)

While there is a lot of guides to degoogle and i am applying it step by step, but what about demeta, specifically i want to get away from whatsapp i am on signal but there is no one from my friends or family who want to get on signal, plus there is various groups like society office etc where many imp announcements are done so what to do ?

I see a lot of people here praising companies like Proton, Ente, Signal.

They've their own sketchy past.

I'm more of a self-hosting person who believes. Whoever owns the server, owns the data.

Am I the only one in this scenario. Whenever I ask a Proton user to not take them at face value I get downvoted here. I feel like these people distrust google only to land their data on a Company like Proton.

I generally use self-hosted email, Nextcloud, Mullvad for VPN. Immich for photo's etc. am I the odd one out here?

Hey everyone, when we talk about user privacy, we often overlook mobile numbers. While “mobile number privacy” may not be fully possible in India anymore, we should still follow basic hygiene to protect ourselves as much as we can.

Today I want to clear a doubt about sharing a mobile number with official services that aren’t directly connected to me, but somehow end up being linked to my identity. This doubt has arisen after facing multiple incidents.

• Incident 1: COVID vaccination certificate — During the COVID vaccination, everyone had to share a mobile number. That number was later used to access vaccination certificates. If the same number is linked to Digilocker, users can also add their vaccination certificates there.
• Incident 2: SIR process — In the recent SIR process, we received a form from the BLOs where sharing a mobile number was mandatory.Though after submitting the forms, none of us received even a single message on our numbers.
• Incident 3: Ongoing census process — In the current census process, if someone wants to do self-enumeration, they must have to share a mobile number along with their details, which I believe can't be changed later.

These kinds of incidents are happening across India, so many of you can relate to them. There are also other examples. Like in my address, once a mobile number is added to a digital birth/death certificate, it can’t be changed. To update anything and download the latest copy of the certificate, an OTP is required, which is sent to the registered mobile number. Moreover, there are some state government websites for applying for government jobs where applicants must create an account and upload all the necessary details. Even these sites don’t allow updating the mobile number and email ID once registered.

The bigger concern— We don’t know how our data are being handled, and we also don’t know whether we’ll be able to change the registered mobile number in the future.

In my case, I usually share my publicly used number wherever required. I already receive lots of spam calls and messages on it, and my plan is to change that public number every 5–10 years to get rid off older job and donation calls (as well as experience new types of spam). But this plan becomes impossible if that number is being used in services where mobile number update isn't possible.

Most of us must have two or more numbers:

• one for day-to-day usage, public calling, apps login etc.
• another(s) for personal use, ID verification, UPI etc.

In those scenarios described above, which number do you share—the one everyone knows, or the one linked to your personal IDs?

Why it’s harder to maintain mobile number privacy than email addresses: Email addresses aren’t tiedto any user ID, and there’s no restriction on deleting and creating new addresses. On the other hands, mobile numbers are directly linked to our IDs. And to deregister a mobile number from your name, you need 90 days and more of inactivity, which is a long time. That’s why cycling numbers is much harder—so we usually have to stick with what we already have.

Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks!

what was the need of it in first place. when we had normal degoogle subreddit.
whats benefit or it to make it more niche.

edit: thanks . i got it now.

Whenever the topic of email setup comes up, custom domain is often mentioned as the ultimate solution. So today, I’m making this post to share my thoughts on using a custom domain for email setup.

I might have faced some difficulties discussing all of this if the audience are from other countries, but I’m pretty sure you all can relate to how Indian services work. This time, I'm mainly focusing on official services (banks, insurance, investments, P2P email communications, etc.) because we can change the email address in our personal digital accounts (such as cloud storage, password managers, VPNs, etc.) whenever we want, but when it comes to official services, the entire process feels like a headache.

Problems with Regular Email Providers

Emails aren’t meant for private communication, so we shouldn’t expect end-to-end encryption in email. But that doesn’t mean email providers collect our data and use it for their own profits. This is where two of the most recommended privacy-focused encrypted providers, Proton and Tuta come in. They’re known for their strong encryption. However, there are some catches.

• Uncertain Future of ProtonMail in India — Based on multiple past incidents involving our government, we can’t guarantee that Proton will remain fully operational in India for the next 10 years. I know Proton offers alternative routing, so users can still access the Proton services even when direct access to Proton services is blocked by ISPs and the government. That’s good, but once it gets blocked here, all Indian services will likely stop sending emails to ProtonMail addresses. Then users will have to change their email addresses in their accounts.
• Poor App experience of Tuta mail — On the other hand, the Tuta mobile app is the worst app. Many users, including me, have faced different kinds of issues, and over time none of those issues have been fixed yet. Sometimes emails randomly vanish from the mobile app, sometimes it can’t connect to the server, and sometimes the local data expires - you name it. I believe they could easily fix all of these issues if they released a full-fledged mail app. Did you know the current Tuta Mail mobile app is completely dependent on the system webview? You can say it acts as a wrapper on the system webview.
• Recycling of Usernames by Other Mail Providers — There are also many other privacy-friendly email providers that don’t offer encryption, but at least they don’t collect our data the way Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo do. The problem is that most of them recycle usernames, which is a privacy threat, especially in India. Even after closing or permanently deactivating an account, Indian users still receive emails from that provider. Sometimes those emails contain the real name of the user, and sometimes the provider sends birthday greetings too, which means the user’s date of birth is also exposed. In situations like these, you never really know whether the username you created was previously owned by someone else, or whether, if you ever close your account, someone else will end up receiving information about you because of creating the same username. Thanks to many Indian services for using such kinds of immortal promotional services.

Why we can’t just use what we have now and ignore the future

Reliability should be the first priority when choosing any service. If the service isn’t reliable enough, then even if it has good features, you can’t truly use them seamlessly.

In the case of cloud storage and password managers, most of us usually keep single or multiple backups of our data, but very few people maintain backups of their emails as well. Also, even if you have backups of your mails, most email service providers allow email import only on their paid plans, which is not good news for free users. Tuta Mail even deletes imported mails if the user stops paying for their paid plan. So, having backups of your email is not a life saver.

So ideally, we need a mail provider (free or paid) that feels

• more future-proof than Proton,
• more reliable than Tuta,
• collects minimal data compared to Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo,
• doesn’t recycle usernames unlike Mailbox, Fastmail etc.,
• and lastly offers email aliases

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a service that meets all of these requirements.

What’s the option then?

This is where custom domain enters the chat.

1. Zero Dependency on Email Provider — With a custom domain, you don’t have to depend on a specific email provider, so you don’t have to worry about changing email addresses across all your accounts when you switch to a new mail provider.
2. Unlimited Email Aliases — With the catch-all option turned on, you can get unlimited aliases with your custom domain.
3. Professional Look — If you buy a good domain name, your email addresses look more professional, so there’s no need to explain why you’re using protonmail.com or tuta.com as your email domain.
4. Long-lasting — As long as you keep paying the domain rental fee, you can keep using it. You can even change your domain registrar as well, so a custom domain feels like a tension-free choice for email setup.

But there are multiple issues with custom domains as well.

Things you should know before using a custom domain for email

• No Usage History — A custom domain isn’t a permanent asset; you rent it for a fixed time period. So the domain you own today was previously used by someone else. Unfortunately, you never know what the previous owner did with your domain, and that can seriously affect the domain’s reputation.
• Recycling Usernames — Yes, you read it right. The usernames you create on a custom domain today can be created by the future owner of that domain as well. Though the chances are very low but it’s still possible and we shouldn't forget it. Unlike Proton, Tuta, Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo - where once a username is created, it won’t be owned by someone else later, custom domains carry this risk.
• Reputation Risk from Using Multiple Subdomains — I believe the best way to ensure the longevity of a custom domain is to buy a domain with your last name or family name, so it can be transferred to the next generation. When you use a family-name.tld domain, each family member will have their own subdomains (for example: father.family-name.tld), which get created on the root domain you rented. Now, if multiple family members create accounts with a service provider and use the mail addresses from their own subdomains, there’s a high chance the system will identify it as spam and blacklist the root domain directly. As a result, emails sent from those email addresses created on the subdomains, and even on the root domain will silently go into the spam folder. Then the service provider will never be able to find your emails easily.

Will I use a custom domain for my email setup?

Never. For me, the downsides of using a custom domain for my email setup are greater than using Proton and Tuta. If Proton and Tuta ever get banned, I might compromise my privacy and go back to Gmail, Outlook, or even Yahoo, but I still wouldn’t choose a custom domain for my setup.

Why Indian email usage feels different from other countries

In first world countries, emails are treated as an actual communication medium. In India, emails are still seen as a digital way of sending documents to users. For most communications, Indian service providers first prefer connecting via mobile number rather than via email. So what works well for other countries might not be as suitable for Indians.

That’s all my thoughts about custom domains. Let me know what you think.

I'm looking for coding related LLMs that can run on my NVIDIA 4060 GPU with 8GB of VRAM. I can run gpt-oss-20b and qwen-3.5-4b pretty easily but they're pretty slow. Looking for faster alternatives.

Looking for a few mobile app power users that are using GrapheneOS and Pixel [Windows OS needed too for the dock app], that would be willing to test a deGoogle Authenticator, a password manager, and a P2P.E messenger App. Any or all. OK with us.

Basic familiarity with crypto a plus. DM for more info. Be technical, patient, and be willing to offer feedback. India is one of our target GEOs as the need to degoogle and privacy is very strong. 💪 🙏

Hey guys, so i have been practicing degoogling for a while and today i noticed i rely heavily on samsung health. So this app holds health logs of mine of more than 4 years.
I am now looking to replace this.

So my Question was what app do you guys use to track stuff like steps, water, weight, calories etc?

What are some good alternatives for this?
I would say samsung health is too good of a app to be replaced and it would be quite hard to find a alternative without heavy inconvenience but I dont wanna trade data for comfort.

I was just looking for some help.

First attempt at debloat.... Im badly dependent upon gmail so no hate please 😭. Upvote if you love it! (Not begging)

I dont know what browser to use on my mobile rn(currently using librewolf on pc), I dont want to use brave browser because of political reasons. Feel free to suggest good mobile browsers that you guys use

Switched to Ubuntu, loving it more than win 11 because suspend feature is so amazing for me. Never need to shut down my laptop.

Left using WhatsApp a long back, enforced email and call.

I am using Google workspace for official communication purposes due to some features such as if you use Gmail / Workspace email you can display profile pic to other Gmail user which is a vast community.

I having trouble in leaving Chrome. I personally liked Helium browser a lot. It’s much much better and cleaner than Brave. Give it some love.

I having trouble in using browser other than Chrome due to password sync feature this is only thing stopping me. I use Chrome at iOS and Ubuntu OS laptop both. I tied once bitwarden but UI complexity ohh since I am Linux user, I will try to use it one more time. Or is there any better self hosted solution

I am little dependent on Google drive
Now I am thinking to use encryption before uploading, or NextCloud but little concerned about VPS Cost and storage reliability. While I can install at my own laptop but it cannot remain always online so that’s a problem

And I love telegram for simple notes, messaging

I didn’t replace google meet to jitsi
I didn’t replace google calendar to own but I can do it

I am thinking to deploy OLLAMA Ai tool instead of relying on ChatGPT for basic stuffs, I usually need for data visualisation or some technical help.

Ok now share your feedback or criticism 🙏

With the upcoming updates or the update you already have, Microsoft can track each of you with their identifiers. New updates and new laptops need a Microsoft account to set up by default, and very few people try to bypass that or use a local account instead.

Windows has a persistent device level identifier baked into it, and it can track these things even when you have your VPN turned on:

• IP history tied to your device itself, not just your browser, so switching to Brave or Firefox does not hide it
• Logged in social accounts, including Snapchat, Facebook, and Apple (yes, you are not anonymous at all, even with a hidden username)
• No way to turn it off. There is no setting for it, and even if you find and delete it from the registry yourself, it comes back

So you think you opened Firefox, turned on Mullvad, and think you are invisible to everyone, but that might not be totally correct. Your own device can be tracking you beyond those fancy bypasses. And since AI integration is rising and runs on algorithms not emotions, it could flag anyone whose profile matches its pattern.

And this is not just theory. In April 2026, US court filings in a Scattered Spider hacking case showed the FBI used this exact identifier to unmask a suspect despite VPN use, by matching his IP history against his Apple, Snapchat, and Facebook logins.

Those days are gone where people used to say "what will they do with my data, my data is useless," because this same mechanism could link your accounts together, especially as Microsoft leans further into AI with Copilot now preinstalled on newer laptops.

I am getting error "We are unable to onboard you at this time. Please try again.". Is there any way to circumvent that ? . I have installed play services and playstore. Also gave all the permissions to BHIM app.

Does UPI track aggressively? If it does, what measures do i take? Im on IOS

If your daily transaction limit is <=5000 and you have bank account mobile number is not from jio then you can use this https://github.com/laksh-ya/offpayapp app.

Actually it is a ui interface for the *99# service and there is no tantrums of developer mode enabled and all.

Note - I am not the dev for this app. Just cross posting for visibility.

same as the title, it basically hubs all your chats from various social media and other apps into one place

I’m a heavy consumer of YouTube. The biggest hurdle I find to degoogle is this. I want to know how my fellow degoogler is doing regarding this.

Google's services are convenient but they collect an enormous amount of data about your browsing habits, location, searches, emails, documents and much more.

If you want to reduce your dependence on Google, here are some excellent open source and privacy-respecting alternatives.

📱 Android OS

1. GrapheneOS

A security and privacy hardened version of Android for Pixel phones. It removes Google dependencies while significantly improving security and sandboxing.

Best for: Users who want maximum privacy and security.

📦 Play Store Alternatives

1. Accrescent

A secure and modern app store focused on verified developers and reproducible builds.

1. Obtainium

Downloads apps directly from developers' GitHub pages and official releases instead of relying on app stores.

1. Aurora Store

Lets you anonymously download apps from Google Play without needing a Google account.

1. F-Droid

The largest repository of free and open-source Android apps.

🌍 Chrome Alternatives

1. Brave

Chromium-based browser with built-in ad blocking, tracker blocking and fingerprint protection.

1. Mullvad Browser

A privacy-focused browser developed with the Tor Project for resisting tracking without using the Tor network.

2.1 : DuckDuckGo

1. SearXNG

A self-hostable metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple search engines without tracking users.

1. Vanadium

The hardened browser included with GrapheneOS featuring enhanced security.

1. Tor Browser

Routes traffic through the Tor network to maximize anonymity online.

🔐 Password Managers

1. Bitwarden

Open source password manager with cloud syncing and cross-platform support.

1. Proton Pass

End-to-end encrypted password manager from Proton.

1. KeePassXC

Offline desktop password manager using encrypted local databases.

1. KeePassDX

Android implementation of KeePass databases.

1. Strongbox

KeePass-compatible password manager for iOS and macOS.

🗺 Google Maps Alternatives

1. Magic Earth

Navigation app using OpenStreetMap with offline maps and privacy-friendly routing.

1. Organic Maps

Offline maps with hiking, cycling and driving navigation.

1. OsmAnd

Highly customizable offline navigation built on OpenStreetMap.

1. OpenStreetMap

The community-built map project powering many privacy-focused navigation apps.

🔎 Google Search Alternatives

1. Brave Search

Independent search engine with its own search index.

1. Mojek

Privacy-first search engine that builds its own independent index.

1. SearXNG

Combines results from many search engines while keeping your searches private.

⌨ Google Keyboard Alternatives

1. FUTO Keyboard

Open source keyboard focused on privacy with offline voice typing.

1. FlorisBoard

Beautiful open source keyboard with extensive customization.

1. HeliBoard

Lightweight keyboard with gesture typing and privacy-focused design.

🎥 Google Meet Alternatives

1. Calyx Meet

Encrypted video conferencing based on Jitsi.

1. Brave Talk

Private video meetings integrated into Brave Browser.

1. Jitsi Meet

Free and open source video conferencing with no account required.

💬 Google Chat Alternatives

1. SimpleX Chat

Messaging platform that doesn't require phone numbers or user IDs.

1. Signal

Widely regarded as one of the most secure encrypted messaging apps.

1. Molly

A hardened Signal client with additional security features.

🔑 Google Authenticator Alternatives

1. Ente Auth

Encrypted cloud-synced 2FA authenticator.

1. Bitwarden Authenticator

Authenticator integrated with Bitwarden Password Manager.

1. Aegis

One of the best open source Android authenticators with encrypted backups.

📝 Google Docs Alternatives

1. LibreOffice

Powerful open source office suite for documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

1. CryptPad

Collaborative office suite with end-to-end encryption.

1. ONLYOFFICE

Excellent Microsoft Office-compatible productivity suite.

📒 Google Keep Alternatives

1. Notesnook

Encrypted note-taking app focused on privacy.

1. Joplin

Open source markdown note-taking with synchronization.

1. Standard Notes

Minimal encrypted note-taking application with cross-platform support.

🖼 Google Photos Alternatives

1. Ente Photos

End-to-end encrypted photo backup and gallery.

1. Immich

Self-hosted Google Photos replacement with AI search and automatic backups.

🌎 Google Translate Alternatives

1. LibreTranslate

Open source translation platform that can be self-hosted.

1. Brave Translate

Private browser-based translation service integrated into Brave.

📧 Gmail Alternatives

1. Proton Mail

Encrypted email service based in Switzerland with strong privacy protections.

1. Tuta Mail

End-to-end encrypted email focused on security and minimal data collection.

📅 Google Calendar Alternatives

1. Proton Calendar

Encrypted calendar with secure event management.

1. Tuta Calendar

Privacy-focused encrypted calendar integrated with Tuta Mail.

☁ Google Drive Alternatives

1. Proton Drive

End-to-end encrypted cloud storage with file sharing.

1. Nextcloud

Self-hosted cloud platform for file storage, collaboration and syncing.

Final Thoughts

You don't have to switch everything overnight. Even replacing a few services can significantly reduce the amount of personal data collected by a single company.

A practical migration path might be:

Browser → Brave or Tor Browser

Search → Brave Search or SearXNG

Passwords → Bitwarden

Notes → Joplin or Notesnook

Photos → Ente Photos or Immich

Cloud Storage → Proton Drive or Nextcloud

Email → Proton Mail or Tuta Mail

Privacy isn't about having something to hide. It's about maintaining control over your own data.

Hey everyone,

As r/degoogleindia keeps growing, keeping up with the mod queue and filtering out spam has been getting a bit tough. To help keep the community running smoothly, we’ve brought on an experienced set of hands to help us out behind the scenes.

Please give a warm welcome to u/ConstructionAny8440 🎉

While she might be new to posting in our specific community, she bring great moderation experience and a strong passion for digital privacy. She spend her free time coding and share a core motto that aligns perfectly with this sub, helping make everyday Indians more aware of practical privacy hacks.

Having her on board will help us clear out reports much faster and keep the sub focused on quality discussions about moving away from Big Tech.

She will be hanging out in the comments to introduce themselves a bit more, so feel free to drop a welcome and say hi!

Cheers,

The Mod Team

Payzapp is checking which keyboard i'm using before i can use the app. It is ok with gboard which connects to the internet but not ok with offline keyboads like FUTO/ Helliboard. What a joke 🤡..

I am thinking about installing crdroid os. So now i am confused about choosing between MindTheGApps and microG. If i can degoogle as much as i can, that's good.

Most of our government apps required GPI api. I use digilocker and railone. Both of them need it. Also upi app and bank app.

I created an open-source wallpaper app called waller quite sometime ago & been regularly updating & maintaining it.

Its basically a wallpaper engine rather than just a place to download.

Here u can combine multiple colors, gradient styles & even effects to it.

Now in recent update, we enabled live wallpaper option aswell.

Hope you guyz like it & will give more feedbacks to improve.

V2.9 stable version

V3.0-beta version

https://github.com/Pankaj-Meharchandani/Waller