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How to Android without Google

bytemybits.gitlab.io

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Re: How to Android without Google

#71

Post by zamadatix »

gcb0 wrote: post #65
sigfubar wrote: post #17

LineageOS is no longer the CyanogenMod it once was. Where CM received regular updates and supported a plethora of devices, LOS has been dropping devices and doesn't do Oreo. My Galaxy S7 is no longer supported by LOS for absolutely no valid reason: https://lineageos.org/Changelog-18/ > Removed 14.1 devices > Samsung Galaxy S7 (herolte) and S7 Edge (hero2lte) due to licensing issues of the device trees

neither of them do updates for the same reason. Yeah, you might get a few updates for a few phones, but that is because the OEM did the work too. Every off-brand android distro does the same thing: they get the kernel+drivers from the OEM image, and repackage the rest (the rest being AOSP). besides the android libraries, nothing is visible. It is all a binary blob picked from the OEM image. So if the android version…

This all true an a pre-Treble world, we are already starting the post-Treble world now (I'm booted to a Treble GSI).

Re: How to Android without Google

#72

Post by wilsonnb »

gcb0 wrote: post #61
rehemiau wrote: post #59

I don't even run microg. Here WeGo is great for maps. Firefox is great as a browser, and has nice things like playing youtube in background (after adding an extension) or ublock. Slack works (without notifications), Spotify, Netflix, Authy, Signal... Many things have PWAs that work because they are platform-independent. For installing things there's F-Droid or APKUpdater. You could even use Facebook Messenger without…

OSMand for maps is even better than google maps, in terms of map correctness and navigation options.

I just installed OSMand to try it out, and it didn't have the street I live on. It also didn't have my place of work on it, although it did have that street at least.

Seems worse than Google maps to me.

Re: How to Android without Google

#73

Post by cosmojg »

Animats wrote: post #55

Enable Google device registration Enable Google Cloud Messaging I run Android without Google. I bought a new phone, and when I powered it up, it tried to get me to "sign into Google". I declined. I downloaded F-Droid. Then I disabled every Google thing that could be disabled.After that, all apps came from F-Droid. Mail is via K-9 mail and an IMAP server. Browsing is Fennec F-Droid, which is Firefox minus some unwante…

Which phone did you buy? Depending on the stock software, you could very well still be running all sorts of Google services in the background unless you reflashed it with a privacy-respecting ROM.

Re: How to Android without Google

#74

Post by opencl »

biafra wrote: post #63
opencl wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And for the Pixel models it also costs $500 per device unless you want to run your own build server.

Do they not provide fastboot images for the Pixel devices? I know I could just flash those images on a Nexus 5X.

For Pixels they only provide images to paying customers. They were mad about people resellling flashed devices because it violated their noncommercial license and even disabled the update servers for Nexus devices entirely for a while.

Re: How to Android without Google

#75

Post by forapurpose »

Animats wrote: post #55

Enable Google device registration Enable Google Cloud Messaging I run Android without Google. I bought a new phone, and when I powered it up, it tried to get me to "sign into Google". I declined. I downloaded F-Droid. Then I disabled every Google thing that could be disabled.After that, all apps came from F-Droid. Mail is via K-9 mail and an IMAP server. Browsing is Fennec F-Droid, which is Firefox minus some unwante…

Last time I looked at it, maybe a couple of years ago, the parent's approach was not nearly sufficient if you don't want your phone communicating with Google. There was so much, including things baked into Android, that it would have been a full time job to identify and find solutions to everything. The only hope was another OS (including Android forks/ROMs), and none of those available at the time seemed sufficient secure - many didn't focus on security, didn't know what they were doing, or lacked resources to complete the job - or capabilities.

As one simple issue, I'm pretty sure Android uses Google's DNS and that is hard to change.

Sorry to be vague; I wish I had more details but don't have time to look them up right now. The basic message is: It's not sufficient, depending on your goals. to rely on settings in the GUI and to avoid Google applications.

Re: How to Android without Google

#76

Post by z3t4 »

Android is just the base. Smart-phones run pretty much custom firmware. You could get a "flagship" smarthone a couple of years old, basically for free, and the hardware would still be very good, but good luck upgrading to latest Android version.

Re: How to Android without Google

#78

Post by pmlnr »

milankragujevic wrote: post #2

Unfortunately my phone isn't supported and I don't know how to build LineageOS for it, so I'm stuck with Google and also some other spyware that straight up sends contacts and SMS to servers in either China or US. Guess I should try and sue Alcatel under GDPR (but given they're owned by TCL, which is Chinese, I don't think it'll help).

I wrote a guide how to ungoogle a stock, odexed rom: https://petermolnar.net/odexed-android-6-marshmallow-with-mi...

Re: How to Android without Google

#79

Post by CapacitorSet »

forapurpose wrote: post #75
Animats wrote: post #55

Enable Google device registration Enable Google Cloud Messaging I run Android without Google. I bought a new phone, and when I powered it up, it tried to get me to "sign into Google". I declined. I downloaded F-Droid. Then I disabled every Google thing that could be disabled.After that, all apps came from F-Droid. Mail is via K-9 mail and an IMAP server. Browsing is Fennec F-Droid, which is Firefox minus some unwante…

Last time I looked at it, maybe a couple of years ago, the parent's approach was not nearly sufficient if you don't want your phone communicating with Google. There was so much, including things baked into Android, that it would have been a full time job to identify and find solutions to everything. The only hope was another OS (including Android forks/ROMs), and none of those available at the time seemed sufficient…

I agree with the general feeling, but for the DNS issue specifically you can use iptables' DNAT if you're root. It is unlikely that Google went as far as bypassing iptables just to use their DNS.

Example usage:

    iptables -t nat -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 1.2.3.4
    iptables -t nat -A OUTPUT -p udp --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination 1.2.3.4

Re: How to Android without Google

#80

Post by pmlnr »

wilsonnb wrote: post #72
gcb0 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OSMand for maps is even better than google maps, in terms of map correctness and navigation options.

I just installed OSMand to try it out, and it didn't have the street I live on. It also didn't have my place of work on it, although it did have that street at least. Seems worse than Google maps to me.

Did you also download the map for your area?
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