I just got a tablet that uses a de-Googled Android (Amazon Kindle Fire HDX). I'm aware you can install the Play Store and turn it into a useable tablet, but I wonder if this couldn't be achieved in a simpler way - or rather, a way that didn't require installing the Google framework.
I'm thinking of the Chrome/Chromium plugin that lets you spoof the Play Store and download the APKs straight to your computer. I'd like something similar, but that could run on the device itself, so you could install stuff without needing a computer nearby. Unfortunately Chrome for Android doesn't support the same extensions as the desktop version, so that option is a no-go. I've checked a few apps that claim to download APKs, but they all use the Google API and won't work if the PlayStore isn't already installed.
Any ideas?
head over apkleecher.com, put the package name there and download the apk from g0ogle play, in any browser
Hi everyone,
I have been researching and I've compiled a list of all the options available to use an Android device with Cyanogenmod without a Google account and I was wondering if anyone has a better solution considering the options I've found are all lacking.
Here is what I found including the issues for each option:
- Amazon web store (Not every app is available)
- Third party repositories, like apkmirror (Security implications of running apk that anyone can upload)
- F-Droid (Not every app is available)
- Getting the apps I need from the play store once and then backup the apks with a file manager (No updates) or I am going to need a different phone with a Google account and the play store.
Moral of the story, it's not easy to run an android phone without a google account.
Ps. A solution that I think could work (but I wasn't able to find a project that works) is an open source apk downloader (maybe on github) that get the apps straight from google via command line but all the projects I've seen are either out of date or not working...
Any suggestion is really appreciated! Thank you all!
Keep an android device with google play installed, then move the apks of things i really want, or bought already.
But honestly, after some choices I've made (running my own dropbox-like service on my server) I could definitely live with just F-Droid. Of course I'm not using some stuff like facebook or snapchat, so my needs in terms of apps isn't as extensive as others. Sometimes it does feel like i'm hamstrung when the next new fad comes and goes, but I'll live without them.
surfinpika said:
Keep an android device with google play installed, then move the apks of things i really want, or bought already.
But honestly, after some choices I've made (running my own dropbox-like service on my server) I could definitely live with just F-Droid. Of course I'm not using some stuff like facebook or snapchat, so my needs in terms of apps isn't as extensive as others. Sometimes it does feel like i'm hamstrung when the next new fad comes and goes, but I'll live without them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi surfinpika,
thanks for your input, I am starting to feel like your solution (of having a separate device with just the google account setup) is the cleanest option.
I am not into facebook or snapchat or the next fad either... but f-droid wouldn't cut it for me, stuff like keepass2android or some of the other apps I use are definitely not there. I wonder what are the security implications of using F-Droid compared to getting the apks from apkmirror. Considering my level of paranoia I wouldn't feel safe with either option.
_polymar said:
Hi surfinpika,
thanks for your input, I am starting to feel like your solution (of having a separate device with just the google account setup) is the cleanest option.
I am not into facebook or snapchat or the next fad either... but f-droid wouldn't cut it for me, stuff like keepass2android or some of the other apps I use are definitely not there. I wonder what are the security implications of using F-Droid compared to getting the apks from apkmirror. Considering my level of paranoia I wouldn't feel safe with either option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One issue I can think of with this approach is that both the device with google play store and the device where the apps are going to be installed will require the same CPU architecture.
Won't be able to download the apk on a cheap android (most likely ARM) and install it on ARM64...
_polymar said:
One issue I can think of with this approach is that both the device with google play store and the device where the apps are going to be installed will require the same CPU architecture.
Won't be able to download the apk on a cheap android (most likely ARM) and install it on ARM64...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, luckily my back up is the same architecture as my non-gapps phone.
And there are also ways of getting some of the apks straight from the sources, like keepass2android from the project's website. but even if it is google, they sort of give a sense of security in that the apk won't be messed with.
It's such a mess though otherwise, hard to separate the google from the android, and no other viable OSs are any better. hope some competition at least makes a nice little niche to get away from the big G.
I wonder if I can create two (or more) user profiles on my android device, one of which I will use only open source stuff and everything else on the other.
As far as I know, it is possible to create several user profiles in Android that are isolated from each other.
I would probably install LineageOS for this as it doesn't have google play services pre-installed on it and it seems very "clean" in terms of these things (I have never used this system).
There is something like OpenGApps that allows you to install google play services but as far as I know it requires installation from twrp. So I suspect google play services will then be installed for all user profiles on the device.
So is there any possibility to install google services for one user only?
I also know that there is such a thing as microg (and Aurora stora). When I heard that there was such a thing as "LineageOS for microG" I thought it would be a very good option (on one android profile I just wouldn't use microg). But later I also found out that it is supposedly against the google policy and that they can ban my account for it, which I would prefer to avoid.
So I wanted to ask if the only option to do this is to install LineageOS, check what applications are installed by default, install OpenGApps to it and then disable all google related applications on one of the user profiles?
Does such disabling the application also ensure that Google will not be able to "work" on my device in any way? Does OpenGApps install any system level google stuff that will run in the background anyway?
And are OpenGApps not something that I should not install when I don't want to get a google ban?
You are confusing (Open)GApps - Google themselves call them Google Mobile Services (GMS) - and Google Play Services what are two completely different things.
Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of Android. It helps connect everything together and hold it all there. The Google Play Services are the interface to the Google Mobile Services as well as to the hardware functions of the Android device. Many of your apps use Google Play Services everyday.
GMS is a bunch of apps what includes
Google Play Store,
Google Now,
Google Play Music,
Google Maps,
Google+,
Gmail,
Google Photos,
Youtube
and the Android Device Manager.
Knowing the difference it should be clear that GMS can get installed on a per-user basis whereas Google Play Services not.
jwoegerbauer said:
You are confusing (Open)GApps - Google themselves call them Google Mobile Services (GMS) - and Google Play Services what are two completely different things.
Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of Android. It helps connect everything together and hold it all there. The Google Play Services are the interface to the Google Mobile Services as well as to the hardware functions of the Android device. Many of your apps use Google Play Services everyday.
GMS is a bunch of apps what includes
Google Play Store,
Google Now,
Google Play Music,
Google Maps,
Google+,
Gmail,
Google Photos,
Youtube
and the Android Device Manager.
Knowing the difference it should be clear that GMS can get installed on a per-user basis whereas Google Play Services not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification, although I still don't really know what you meant. I thought that google play services is the name for all those components that are needed to run, for example, the google play store. If the google play store needs also other components (?), then when I wrote google play services, I meant all the components that are needed to run the play store.
In any case, I mean in practice whether I am able to install both the play store and the components needed for it only for one user in Android, but from what I understand it is not possible in your opinion.
The questions at the end of my post probably still remain the same. I can only clarify that I meant more general cases in these questions:
Does installing the play store (along with the necessary components) install any system-level Google stuff that will run in the background anyway even if I disable these apps?
And isn't installing the play store (along with the necessary components) by hand something that I shouldn't be doing when I want to avoid a Google ban?
Again:
Google Play Store simply is an ordinary user app as any other user app, too, nothing else. It itself installs , except some Android OS libraries, nothing. Only thing is it requires Google Play Services ( which are running in background ) to properly run. As already said: Google Play Services can only get installed once because it extends Android OS. And Android OS always is the same for all created users.
Don't understand what you mean with "Google ban".
Dani3I said:
I would probably install LineageOS for this as it doesn't have google play services pre-installed on it and it seems very "clean" in terms of these things (I have never used this system).
There is something like OpenGApps that allows you to install google play services but as far as I know it requires installation from twrp. So I suspect google play services will then be installed for all user profiles on the device.
So is there any possibility to install google services for one user only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install those apps but you have to flash it via recovery. Also, you need to do that prior to booting into the os for the first time, which I think is related to encryption.
If you already booted into your os, you need to boot into recovery and perform a factory data reset, then flash those gapps (as far as I know dirty flashing those gapps will introduce instability to those gapps. That's why you need a factory data reset).
Keep in mind that factory reseting will delete all your person data.
After you flashed it, those gapps will be available for every user
Dani3I said:
I also know that there is such a thing as microg (and Aurora stora). When I heard that there was such a thing as "LineageOS for microG" I thought it would be a very good option (on one android profile I just wouldn't use microg). But later I also found out that it is supposedly against the google policy and that they can ban my account for it, which I would prefer to avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aurora Store provides an anonymous google account. It's data isn't linked to you which means they cannot ban your account.
Dani3I said:
So I wanted to ask if the only option to do this is to install LineageOS, check what applications are installed by default, install OpenGApps to it and then disable all google related applications on one of the user profiles?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOS comes without any google apps preinstalled. So first flash LOS, then OpenGApps (follow their official guide. They describe it there).
And yes, after that you have to disable every google app you don't want to use for every new user profile.
Dani3I said:
Does such disabling the application also ensure that Google will not be able to "work" on my device in any way? Does OpenGApps install any system level google stuff that will run in the background anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you disable it for the current user, it won't run in any way, yes.
OpenGApps itself shouldn't install anything on system level. But those apps will be installed on system level since you flash them to the system (using your recovery). However, if you disable them they won't run in the background.
Dani3I said:
And are OpenGApps not something that I should not install when I don't want to get a google ban?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know.
jwoegerbauer said:
You are confusing (Open)GApps - Google themselves call them Google Mobile Services (GMS) - and Google Play Services what are two completely different things.
Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of Android. It helps connect everything together and hold it all there. The Google Play Services are the interface to the Google Mobile Services as well as to the hardware functions of the Android device. Many of your apps use Google Play Services everyday.
GMS is a bunch of apps what includes
Google Play Store,
Google Now,
Google Play Music,
Google Maps,
Google+,
Gmail,
Google Photos,
Youtube
and the Android Device Manager.
Knowing the difference it should be clear that GMS can get installed on a per-user basis whereas Google Play Services not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep that's absolutely correct
Don't want to flash a new rom or try recovery based stuff. Have a smart TV that has had google play stuff omitted entirely. Tried installing the apks that seemed most appropriate to the underlying OS version (8.0), but any apps that will even open that rely on services give that message above.
Is this thing hard locking google apps out of operating? Or Is there a guide or something for working around it?
I installed LineageOS on my pixel 2 without google apps (using lineageOS for microG).
For some applications as duolingo, I am missing speech to text to be able to learn with duolingo by speaking. I was able to use the built-in speech recognition feature in the past with lineageOS, but lost the support when Upgrading. I remember I installed some app, but do not remember which one. I do not want to install the whole Gapps, only the apps needed for this specific feature.
Can someone help me out here please?