I was a Google fan for years. But that has changed. Google killed assisysnt and forced Gemini on my phone. It did the ssme on Google search. It is locking down Andoid just like Apple. And the list goes on and on. Bottom line, I am de-googling my life.
First Steps
First two steps was to switch to DuckDuckGo for search and Firefox for my browser. This was not too hard.
Next step was to ditch Gmail. This has turned out to be the hardest. It has been my main email address for everything for over a decade. I switched to Proton mail. This will likely be the last Google service I kill.
I deleted my Google YouTube channel and account. I canceled my premium subscription. I installed NewPipe app from F-Droid.
By the way, Google is currently in the process of eliminating side loading apps using apk files and is now requiring all apt developers to register with Google, a pay $25 fee, and submit a copy of their government ID to Google before they can submit an app to the Play Store. Google wants to owns your phone and tell you what you can do with it – evil.
One Glaring Issue
The glaring issue was that I own a Google Pixel phone running Googles Android operating system. It has Google baked into it.
Google collect information you provide—such as your name, email, phone number, payment details, emails, photos, documents, contacts, and other content—as well as your searches, websites and apps used, YouTube viewing history, voice and audio recordings, purchases, interactions with advertisements, device information, IP address, cookies, browser and app identifiers, crash and performance data, approximate or precise location from GPS, Wi‑Fi, cell towers, Bluetooth, and activity, plus information from public sources, partners, and third-party websites or apps that use Google services such as ads, Analytics, or Maps; when you are signed in, much of this can be associated with your Google Account, while signed-out activity may be linked to unique identifiers tied to your browser, app, or device. Google is a stalker.
GrapheneOS
So I made the radical choice to de-google my phone. I choose GrapheneOS. It is a private and secure mobile operating system with Android app compatibility. Developed as a non-profit open source project.
I used their WebUSB-based installer. I downloaded everything I wanted from my phone, including a screen shot of my apps. I exporter my contacts, my bookmarks, etc.
The install was not hard, but the bare bones of the system was challenging. The system was functional for calls and texting, but that was about it. I eventually has to install a sandboxed Google Play and Sevices to get Android Auto and banking apps.
Just a note, you MUST use compatibility mode (app settings) to get the banking apps to load. Note that Cash App did not work on my GrapheneOS system.
I stall F-Droid but switched to Droidify as my front end. I use Aurora app store for all my apps instead of the Google Play Store (same source but anonymous).
So far the friction has been moderate. It reminds me when I switched to Ubuntu two decades ago. I feel good having a mostly Google free phone.
