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Moderators PLEASE READ THIS THREAD BEFORE DELETING IT LIKE YOU DID THE LAST ONE
I did a couple of different searches on this board, looking for an alternative to gapps aka google apps. What viable alternatives to the google play store are there? google hangouts and google mail? I came across a thread discussion nogapps and the blank store that comes with it, but i'm not overly convinced that it lacks google's data mining processes.
I am not asking for sites that provide "pirated software" as I already know where to get that. I am asking for a "store" where I can search various phrases, and get a good return without those apps being relinked to google play store.
Have you tried the Amazon App Store? (Yes, they have Android apps)
Am I correct in assuming you are looking for a market that is completely separate from Google's servers? If privacy is your concern, you should know that all services that are provided for "free" employ some sort of data mining, because that is how they can afford to keep those services running. Since Google Play is the largest repository for Android apps, you would be hard pressed to find another service that hosts all of the same .apks, as that would seem redundant.
There simply is no viable alternative to the Play Store.
You can get alternatives, but they won't be nearly as good.
As for the rest of the gapps there are plenty of alternatives that are just fine or better.
Why are you so against gapps though? Washington doesn't care what apps you use.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Even if the app doesn't mine your data, your ISP still does ...
plenty
well there are plenty stores available on internet. if you are on android 4.1 and rooted then you can install NOKIA app store. well its tricky to use, you can find a apk on xda. when you install it just install aptitode market from there, though aptitode can be installed alone too. you can find almost all apps. but still google holds android that will mean they will have the maximum apps and secure and most updated apps. even developers always put latest updated apps on play store first. well i used wildfire which has no gpu so cpu has to do work for most of operations which makes slow and to overcome the low space on that phone i sometime skip the gapps. it depends if you want surveillance free android then go for other market apps.:silly:..google even know when you are walking. i read this on xda somewhere.:laugh:
choice is yours.
100s of stores are available nowadays...
Gmail alternate is aosp email
Maps run without email account...
What else u need?
doctor_droid said:
What else u need?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A way to synchronize (not backup/restore) my contacts and calendars on the Internet (Mega, Dropbox, whatever...) to be shared among other devices. This is bare minimum.
Then, if I could also synchronize (again, not backup/restore)some system stuff like WiFi passwords, call logs, SMS/MMS, instant messaging stuff and some application settings, this would be an extra great feature.
Can you do it without GApps? If you know how to, please share!
I don't know if this idea will benefit the app devs. Getting rid of the play store is like taking away one of their BIGGEST market place. What do you think?
People wouldnt feel the need to seek alternatives if Google wasnt so hardcore with it
Like dam, is it really even reasonable to keep location tracking in the background 24/7 and 15 different types of loggers at once? You'd think those morons would understand how large of a percentage of their would-be-users would actually use more of their services if they didnt chose to make it an all or nothing affair. I literally use only the playstore, and because of whats needed for that I go ahead and utilize the sync. I would definitely be open to gmail, g+, etc. if they werent so retarted with it. Rant over.
carlfinity said:
don't know if this idea will benefit the app devs. Getting rid of the play store is like taking away one of their BIGGEST market place. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think more about my privacy than the app business.
I wish in could use something like CM with some synchronizing mechanism.
Unluckily for me I have a non-dumb-phone, a netbook and a desktop PC.
I use all three for work and would need some synchonization mechanism for calls, SMS and other stuff.
Do you have a suggestion in this direction?
I have read the opening post. So please remember that.
However, this kind of question will always lead to warez sites.... As it already has. And will continue to. And another thread asking same thing will lead to warez app responses yet again.
Google play store and Amazon are really the only ones that are legit and most other sites offer cracked versions of paid apps.
Obviously a website dedicated to Development and developers will not approve of most of the recommendations here, which I have deleted.
Please don't open another one of these threads. There's been enough answers provided already. So this thread is closed.
Thanks for understanding,
Darth
Forum Moderator
Hello, I am about to order a Google Pixel phone, but can someone tell me whether it is possible to get it without Google Assistant in the stock ROM or there are some custom ROM's without Google Assistant?
I don't like such products due to privacy violating issues but this phone is awesome.
polartux said:
Hello, I am about to order a Google Pixel phone, but can someone tell me whether it is possible to get it without Google Assistant in the stock ROM or there are some custom ROM's without Google Assistant?
I don't like such products due to privacy violating issues but this phone is awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't order it. All your questions have answer of no. Maybe roms in future will exist without assistant. Not yet.
Sent from my sailfish using XDA Labs
It's like a corvette is awesome but can I get it with a 4 cylinder... Don't buy the corvette buy the Honda
Thanks guys!
Turn it off and don't use it. Most services Google provides on Android has an "off" switch.
Yea I don't use any of that stuff either. Not for privacy reasons just think there's no useful features
Some features I use, some I don't. As far as privacy goes just using a smartphone, email, surfing the web, etc. gets enough "user data" out there it doesn't matter all that much anyway. Unless one is doing something "questionable" it doesn't really mean much. Big business and big brother collect more about us than we realize. Phish away.......
A Google Pixel w/o the Assistant would be false advertising. Anyways, you can disable the assistant through editing the build.prop file.
FernBch said:
Some features I use, some I don't. As far as privacy goes just using a smartphone, email, surfing the web, etc. gets enough "user data" out there it doesn't matter all that much anyway. Unless one is doing something "questionable" it doesn't really mean much. Big business and big brother collect more about us than we realize. Phish away.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that really hard to prevent stealing of our data, it's not inevitable, I think we just need to choose carefully what we use.
Privacy not just goes when you use a smartphone that simply isn't designed to leak your data (we don't really need to use GAPPS), or by using an email service hosted on your own secured server with GPG encryption.
Surfing the web without being signed in to google account and using Tor is also a way to surf the web anonymously.
Big brother can't watch you if you don't use his services. It's similar to a deal with the devil
Just saying, nothing is impossible.
In general I just openly declare my mistrust of government, corporatocracy and their avarice on every media channel.
And I turn off my phone sometimes.
If anyone listens in I'm more likely to be censored than snooped! Hah.
I however DO have a secure point to point encrypted private messenger.
Use of phone is definitely complex to say least.
Sent from my sailfish using XDA Labs
I think in today's age of information, there is entirely too much of it. The government would need a reason to watch you or search your information before any of it is of any use to them. Now, if you become a murder suspect, they might question why you Googled body disposal and why you purchased supplies for such. If they're looking for someone to bust doing something illegal they only need to browse social media to find pictures of people doing illegal drugs, wearing gang colors, and God knows what else. Unless you have something to hide, you should be ok... Again, in my opinion.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
Don't recall if I deliberately turned off the assistant. What I've done is:
Long-press Home screen > Select Settings > Disable Show Google App
Navigate to Settings > Select Apps > Disable Google app
Pretty sure I didn't take any further steps. I no longer have Google Assistant accessible and Google App on home screen is no longer visible.
I think Android has a Big Problem - There is little Real FOSS on Android. It's partly Google's fault. It's partly the Linux communities fault. It's partly the Developers fault. Yeah guys i'm talking about You. Or perhaps I'm just really bad at searching but no, I won't accept that. I've seen whats on the Google Play Store.
Sure there is F-Droid which is Awesome but it's not enough. I get that people want to make money. If you have a good app you want to charge for that's fine but Don't expect me to use a Keyboard App for example that wants to access my SD Card and have permission to delete files or view my contact list. Whats wrong with you developers? Don't you even care that most of your apps use unscrupulous practices?
I go about looking for a simple app to increase the size of the icons so my tired eyes can actually read the text below the icon. (Marshmallow 6.0.1) F-Droid doesn't seem to have one. Google Play has lots of ways to do this but they all have ads. O.k. I think, perhaps I can live with an ad or two but then I look at the Permissions and balk! Why does an icon app need to view my network connections or have full network access or change my system settings when all I need it to do is make a bigger icon - It doesn't. ( I won't even go into the Flashlight spying on you issue, Goggle it)
I consider these apps spyware that should NOT be offered on Google Play. That's 99 % of all apps on Google Play. No telling what these apps may be doing in the background and here is the problem. Why this practice seems to be accepted in our society is way beyond me. Or I can admit the truth that we live in a corrupt society where people no longer care.
My 89 year old Mom has had the same IPhone for the past 7 years. It has a tiny screen, poor resolution. She uses it for a phone - that's all. She wont use the internet or any apps on it at all - yet she calls me to look stuff up for her all the time. I'd like to switch her to a much cheaper and more modern Android phone that she can actually use but I Can't and Won't because she don't need the nightmares of ads every 5 minutes and apps that want to access things they have no business accessing.
Android doesn't need virus's, the apps have become the virus. It's sad this has become the norm. Perhaps things will change but I doubt it. Why doesn't Google Play offer a Foss category? Where are all the real Foss apps, does anyone know cus I'm just not seeing them and I think that's sad. It screams volumes that reflect badly on this community. Thank you for reading my rant.
https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/how-the-cia-made-google-e836451a959e
Google = CIA
F-droid = can replace most embedded spyware apps. Rooting your device and going nuts with a good root uninstaller are the first steps. Get rid of all Google crap. Installing AdAway is next. Replacement of nearly all bundled spyware is possible.
You will never achieve perfection while using the most popular spyware OS on the planet. But you will not get perfection on Windows or iOS or blackberry or Symbian either. Though it's much worse now.
I understand the basic architecture of standard Android and how Google adds Google Play Services and Google apps to make it their own. Even as a privacy fan, I like the architecture of implementing APIs in this add-on to remove dependency from the OEMs, and allow updating Android apart from the OEM participation. I am a bit disturbed by the amount of data that can go through these API's, which would be transmitted to Google.
My question is, is Google Play services simply providing privacy intrusive APIs? If I owned an Android device with no Google Play Services, and absolutely no Google apps (other than AOSP), would adding Google Play Services itself (removing all permissions from it) reduce privacy in any way? I guess what I'm asking is, does Google Play Services perform any privacy intrusive functions in and of itself without other Google apps? If it simply provides an API for apps to use (mainly Google apps) to access functions that are privacy violators, but no app was on your device that utilized these functions, do you sacrifice anything?
Thanks
brainysmurf said:
I understand the basic architecture of standard Android and how Google adds Google Play Services and Google apps to make it their own. Even as a privacy fan, I like the architecture of implementing APIs in this add-on to remove dependency from the OEMs, and allow updating Android apart from the OEM participation. I am a bit disturbed by the amount of data that can go through these API's, which would be transmitted to Google.
My question is, is Google Play services simply providing privacy intrusive APIs? If I owned an Android device with no Google Play Services, and absolutely no Google apps (other than AOSP), would adding Google Play Services itself (removing all permissions from it) reduce privacy in any way? I guess what I'm asking is, does Google Play Services perform any privacy intrusive functions in and of itself without other Google apps? If it simply provides an API for apps to use (mainly Google apps) to access functions that are privacy violators, but no app was on your device that utilized these functions, do you sacrifice anything?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been wondering about the same thing and am surprised that your post has received zero replies so far. Since posting the question did you find out anything more about this that you think is worth sharing?
From my understanding Google Play services are like a black box that you have no control over so I am not sure that removing permissions would work or be feasible. My understanding* is that Play Services can be upgraded/changed by Google without requiring your permission and are effectively working like a backdoor - so from that point of view it may be best to avoid them completely.
*I am no Android expert and if anyone with more knowledge cares to chime to correct me please do!
fishnetfancy said:
I have been wondering about the same thing and am surprised that your post has received zero replies so far. Since posting the question did you find out anything more about this that you think is worth sharing?
From my understanding Google Play services are like a black box that you have no control over so I am not sure that removing permissions would work or be feasible. My understanding* is that Play Services can be upgraded/changed by Google without requiring your permission and are effectively working like a backdoor - so from that point of view it may be best to avoid them completely.
*I am no Android expert and if anyone with more knowledge cares to chime to correct me please do!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't since discovered much on the matter. The details behind GPS are still obscured. Sometimes I hear that it is another android app, constrained by the standard permissions model. Other times, I hear that it is a special systems application that can "do things"... Nevertheless, I have heard from many that using android devices without GPS is easier these days. You can try that out... I too was surprised that I didn't get much response, though there are other discussions which can help inform you on how to deal with the privacy concerns over GPS.
Hello.
I plan to turn my phone as "dumb" as possible, leaving only apps that are absolutely necessary and practical, essentially making my phone as minimalistic, simple and distraction free while at the same time maximizing the hurdle to install new apps due to the lack of willpower aswell as the general battery life.
I have the POCO F1 with LineageOS 19.1, root is currently enabled via Magisk.
I considered just buying a regular dumb phone, but unfortunately I do not feel they are worth it; plus I'd want to still use Spotify.
I'd greatly appreciate ideas/solutions for this particular project. Thank you in advance!
EnigmaticLife said:
Hello.
I plan to turn my phone as "dumb" as possible, leaving only apps that are absolutely necessary and practical, essentially making my phone as minimalistic, simple and distraction free while at the same time maximizing the hurdle to install new apps due to the lack of willpower aswell as the general battery life.
I have the POCO F1 with LineageOS 19.1, root is currently enabled via Magisk.
I considered just buying a regular dumb phone, but unfortunately I do not feel they are worth it; plus I'd want to still use Spotify.
I'd greatly appreciate ideas/solutions for this particular project. Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you'd like to do isn't really "dumbing down" XD - it is simply making a "barebones Android" phone with only the apps/functions you need without usual bloat that comes preinstalled on the new devices. This is in fact something a lot of people on XDA are passionate about, as it helps optimize for space, speed, battery life and privacy.
For the Android phone to be considered usable in modern day and age, it needs a handful of apps:
Dialer
SMS messenger
Contacts
File manager
Gallery
Clock
Calendar
Calculator
Web browser
Camera
Installing vanilla LineageOS rom (or any other rom with no GoogleApps) will give you this default Android experience. For 99% of tasks that do not involve Google this is enough.
However, most people want something more than just a dialer, and so phone manufacturers pre-install some other stuff for them: Google (play store, chrome, maps, drive, mail), Payment (Samsung Pay), Gallery/Music apps, social media apps, fancy wallpapers etc. This is what makes the phone "smart" for you, I guess?
In case you want to cut it down further, you can use adb to remove certain apps from this list. This includes certain system apps too, like unnecessary fonts or accessibility services (web search is your friend here). Theoretically the phone can serve as a GSM calling brick only with the following:
Dialer
SMS messenger
Contacts
But then you'd be doing the hardware a misservice - why lug around Octa-core 8GB RAM 4000mAh HD TFT6.1" 999GB device if you could achieve the same with a Nokia 1100 or 3310? These are still being sold
UPDATE: Just saw your additions about Spotify. If you only want to use the phone for Calling/Web browsing/YouTube/Spotify, go with the "Install No GApps LineageOS -> Sideload apps you need and nothing else".
Word of WARNING though: a lot of popular messaging/steraming/quality of life (maps) apps APSOLUTELY DEPEND on google ecosystem (i.e. GApps like google play, google play services and google services framework).
WITHOUT GOOGLE THESE APPS WILL LIKELY CRASH or won't work as intended. I.e. Whatsapp will not give you "New message" notifications and will not ring UNLESS you have it open in your face right when the call comes in. Delivery/Ride sharing apps that need google maps will not show you the map. Facebook messenger will has the same problem as Whatsapp. List of risks is far too long, and you will need to have an idea of whether the app requires google and whatsnot.
Therefore Make absolutely sure that barebones phone is what you want. If it is, a lot of apps that reliably work with the barebones setups can be found on Fdroid.
Despite having "dumb" in the name, this procedure requires one to be amazingly smart about it
To conclude, you have the following ways of achieving this:
1. Install no-Gapps (i.e. "vanilla") lineageOs, delete what you wont need, sideload .apk of apps you are after
2. Install stock android rom, then Degoogle and Debloat it. Guides for your particular model can be found here on XDA
3. Install SlimROM, a custom Android distro whose developers had the same idea as you did, i.e. optimized for simplicity.
Totesnochill said:
What you'd like to do isn't really "dumbing down" XD - it is simply making a "barebones Android" phone with only the apps/functions you need without usual bloat that comes preinstalled on the new devices. This is in fact something a lot of people on XDA are passionate about, as it helps optimize for space, speed, battery life and privacy.
For the Android phone to be considered usable in modern day and age, it needs a handful of apps:
Dialer
SMS messenger
Contacts
File manager
Gallery
Clock
Calendar
Calculator
Web browser
Camera
Installing vanilla LineageOS rom (or any other rom with no GoogleApps) will give you this default Android experience. For 99% of tasks that do not involve Google this is enough.
However, most people want something more than just a dialer, and so phone manufacturers pre-install some other stuff for them: Google (play store, chrome, maps, drive, mail), Payment (Samsung Pay), Gallery/Music apps, social media apps, fancy wallpapers etc. This is what makes the phone "smart" for you, I guess?
In case you want to cut it down further, you can use adb to remove certain apps from this list. This includes certain system apps too, like unnecessary fonts or accessibility services (web search is your friend here). Theoretically the phone can serve as a GSM calling brick only with the following:
Dialer
SMS messenger
Contacts
But then you'd be doing the hardware a misservice - why lug around Octa-core 8GB RAM 4000mAh HD TFT6.1" 999GB device if you could achieve the same with a Nokia 1100 or 3310? These are still being sold
UPDATE: Just saw your additions about Spotify. If you only want to use the phone for Calling/Web browsing/YouTube/Spotify, go with the "Install No GApps LineageOS -> Sideload apps you need and nothing else".
Word of WARNING though: a lot of popular messaging/steraming/quality of life (maps) apps APSOLUTELY DEPEND on google ecosystem (i.e. GApps like google play, google play services and google services framework).
WITHOUT GOOGLE THESE APPS WILL LIKELY CRASH or won't work as intended. I.e. Whatsapp will not give you "New message" notifications and will not ring UNLESS you have it open in your face right when the call comes in. Delivery/Ride sharing apps that need google maps will not show you the map. Facebook messenger will has the same problem as Whatsapp. List of risks is far too long, and you will need to have an idea of whether the app requires google and whatsnot.
Therefore Make absolutely sure that barebones phone is what you want. If it is, a lot of apps that reliably work with the barebones setups can be found on Fdroid.
Despite having "dumb" in the name, this procedure requires one to be amazingly smart about it
To conclude, you have the following ways of achieving this:
1. Install no-Gapps (i.e. "vanilla") lineageOs, delete what you wont need, sideload .apk of apps you are after
2. Install stock android rom, then Degoogle and Debloat it. Guides for your particular model can be found here on XDA
3. Install SlimROM, a custom Android distro whose developers had the same idea as you did, i.e. optimized for simplicity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really interesting. I am thinking of trying to do this with a Google pixel 4a. Would I be able to do the lineage OS with that? I haven't found other threads that speak on this topic, am I right? Thinking that I would like to customize exactly what apps I have on the phone etc.
LineageOS for Google Pixel 4a exists:
LineageOS Downloads
download.lineageos.org