Non-Google ROM - Nexus 5X Android Development

Hello everyone, to start let me tell you a little about myself. I have been on XDA for over 4 years now, and haven't really posted too much. More or less just sat on the side lines to see what developers could create. Now, I'm not much of a developer myself, (know some code) but I am huge into security.
Recently a lot of companies security tactics are being questioned, and since Google is showing little effort to no effector to protect us from the government listening in on our calls and intercepting texts. I've decided to start building a ROM that is not Google based, and preconfigured to work once flashed. This, won't be the typical flash, it'll be a restore through TWRP.
I can build this ROM using any ROM requested, but for the first upload, I'll be using an Omni ROM with ElementalX kernel based ROM. The ROM also includes MicroG services, which has everything but Snapchat working. Including, but no limited to; Google Maps, Hangouts, Play Store, Pokemon Go, all location features, and all Google features. I am also including Xposed Frameworks, with PMP module and Sudo Hide preloaded. Both modules aim to help with privacy.
lll be uploading the link to the build ROM Sunday.
I will not ask for donations, all I ask is for help to build and keep making this better.
Apps Included:
AFwall+
BusyBox
Calculator
Calendar
Camera X
Clock
Documents
Downloads
DSPmamager
DuckDuckGo
Email
FDroid
Gallary
Kernel Auditor
Lastpass
Maps
MicroG
MicroG Framework
Mega
Mozilla Location Backend
NominatimGeocoderBackend
Omni Note
Tor (Browser and Service)
Phone
Play store
PMP (Protect My Privacy)
Protonmail
Signal
TugaBrowser
Xplore
XDA Labs
Xposed Installer
YouTube
About 90% of these apps can be removed upon installation. Each and every app installed can be used to help protect your privacy. Feel free to ask me why I chose certain apps.
**Quick tour:
**
To install,
Extract,
Put in the following path,
TWP>backups>{Random numbers}
DOWNLOAD LINK
https://mega.nz/#!cp8EnBAZ!gnPymFBuxrXXNkPcTvwb2fTep8vhlrOJ90a-wuxKevQ
The last thread was closed, but here is as I promised.
EDIT:Uploaded ROM with all apps

If it is using google apps them how it is google free?
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

myawan said:
If it is using google apps them how it is google free?
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to lie to yourself about it. Just like you lie to yourself if you think owning a smartphone can be secure.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

PiousInquisitor said:
You have to lie to yourself about it. Just like you lie to yourself if you think owning a smartphone can be secure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually this is google free. The only google apps on this ROM can be removed. MicroG, and omni ROM are both made from scratch, allowing one to use both and create a google free ROM.

If you're worried about the government snooping on your calls and emails, you'll need not only your own ROM but your own cell service provider.

Duckduckgo is a search alternative to google, that I found works quite well. It can also run through Tor, allowing for encryption and privacy.
You don't exactly need your own cell provider, using signal. Your texts and calls will be encrypted into 256 AES, which, takes a long time to even crack.

I had Snapchat with snaprefs xposed working with microG installed with fdroid. On omni mm for nexus 5. I restored Snapchat backup with titanium backup. I'm gunna try this out. Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Unfortunately I believe google updated to try and block microg, hangouts and google play games do not work. Although, both maps and play store seem to.

Related

adfree/adaway/ad blockers in general are missing from play store

Where the hell is adaway?
Suddenly Google decided adaway was violating section 4.4 of the developer agreement.. Suuuure. I'm sure there wasn't any pressure from the ads being blocked. I'm sure it was a breech of terms.
You can follow this link to get the blocker. (ironically it's at code. Google.com)
http://code.google.com/p/ad-away/
Lil at the strike
But I just re downloaded a free because of flashing a new ROM. Weird. I really like adfree because it works for apps and browsers. For those who want, guess we could upload the apk
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
wdkingery said:
Suddenly Google decided adaway was violating section 4.4 of the developer agreement.. Suuuure. I'm sure there wasn't any pressure from the ads being blocked. I'm sure it was a breech of terms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why can't it be both? Google decided they didn't care about that part of their terms until someone complained. The nice thing about Android is you can install apps from places that AREN'T the Play Store, unlike other platforms, so who cares what they do and don't allow in their store?
The dev has moved AdAway to FDroid:
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=org.adaway
thebobmannh said:
Why can't it be both? Google decided they didn't care about that part of their terms until someone complained. The nice thing about Android is you can install apps from places that AREN'T the Play Store, unlike other platforms, so who cares what they do and don't allow in their store?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love the "other platforms" part. But you are right. I can understand from a dev point of view putting out a free app. But get like SSH droid and revert it. I don't mind reverting it because I can always turn it back on. With great power comes more power.
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
now adaway & adblock plus is scam
Hi just try to search in play store for adaway & adblock plus and install it via play store and looks like scam to me as instead of blocking ads its bombarding ads and forcing user to rate it 5 star then only user can use it at first start. I guess all the app by this devloper doing the same thing. I don't know how this end up in play store but I think you should update this forume as I adaway is doing different & suspicious things.
That app is not from the developer of Adaway, it's a fake app.
Sent from my Evita
still using adaway
agree, adaway and other ad block apps are no longer available on play store, but still you can download them from any sharing site like 4share etc.
i'm using ViperX4.0.2 on my HTC One X and adaway is preinstalled on ROM and doing great job.
Just download from official repository on f-droid, not file sharing sites. AdAway

[GUIDE] My Android Tools(Pro) - one of my fav apps

I'm surprised no one has reviewed this app but I'll give it a shot. *edit- attached pics keep going away each time I edit this post. Take a look at the attachments for screenshots.
My Android Tools (free version)
My Android Tools(Pro)
This is an app I stumbled across by chance or mentions in random forum posts and maybe those who've played with it do only a few things such as disable startup items but it's a lot more powerful than that in regards to blocking in-app ads and trackers.
Now, blocking stuff is a multi-prong approach.
You have Adaway for removing the DNS requests for both apps and browser traffic. MAP targets in-app stuff- not browser traffic. That's why you'd do something like Adaway + MinMinGuard/Adblocker XPosed modules. They actually target blocking the code in the app.
something like XPrivacy for sending random info instead of what an app wants from you
And a bunch of apps and XPosed modules to do things like block receivers or in-app ads.
I've whittled it down to Adaway + *Youtube Adaway + *CrappaLinks + My Android Tools(Pro)
*XPosed Modules
from now on I'm calling My Android Tools MAP
First, make a backup of your ROM
Next, make a backup in the About screen in MAP. The optional thing is if you want MAP to open after every app install/upgrade for review of new and updated apps.
*screenshot
The 3 things we'll look at are Services, Broadcast Receivers and Activities.
Services- things that run whenever
Broadcast Receivers - things that respond to system events (boot, connectivity changes, timezone changes, packages added, etc)
Activities - ads and junk that pop up on your screen. Developers add 3rd party sdk's to show pop-ups and stuff. This is how XPosed Modules such as MinMinGuard and Adblocker work
ContentProvider - still haven't figured out if I find stuff here yet. Maybe in Google Play Services it might have some analytics provider but it's basically things that share things with other apps.
*screenshot
Under Services I mainly look at Analytics and Campaign Tracking svcs. It's up to you but these do offer legit tracking analytics to developers.
Google to see what they do
*screenshot
Broadcast Receivers a few apps that do look at a limited selection of these like XPosed module ReceiverStop
mainly I look at 2 of them:
android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED
com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER
*screenshot
Finally, Activities
This is how MinMinguard and the like block things. We're going to block more because MinMinGuard just has a hardcoded list (see above link to its source code. That's what frustrated me about MinMinGuard. If I'm going to block this stuff I'd rather not have a hardcoded list as ad blocking should be equal opportunity if a user is going that route.)
under here it's really about getting familiar with names of ad networks. Here's a hint
I just downloaded a random app to find one with a bunch of fun things.
*screenshot
Great guide, thank you.
royeiror said:
Great guide, thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yw, thanks for the nudge to put it together
Also, note disabling some activities core to an app can cause loss of functionality, force closes, icon removed from the app drawer, etc. That's why I toggle showing the long description of things (that <> button) so I know which are main pieces.
Unity is a library for game development so most of it is actually the app if you see that one a lot.
Sometimes I use the search to look for ad, analytic, track, campaign
Official worst app I've seen for ad activities : agar.io
It's one of the Google recommended apps of 2015 and I was able to find and block 35 ad network activities.
I can't imagine what it's like to actually play the app and what info about you gets collected
@jawz101 : There is an older thread where is shared this app along with an guide which stuff to disable: [SHARE] [APP] MyAndroidTools + Guide to disable some Play Services processes Add it to OP...
@Force I'm wary of disabling too many Google Play Services. I mainly look at the analytics and ads stuff but even then I wonder what repercussions any of it has on battery life. Say, if an app calls for a specific function and it's no longer able to retrieve the information would it cause a force close or get hung in some loop and chew up CPU? I dunno.
Anyone having FCs with the latest version?? It doesn't seem to open at all.. I have a note 4 N910C, on 5.1.1 COJ5, rooted, xposed.
i have been using this for many roms and it saves loads of ram and helps your phone/tablet boot up quicker,i read somewhere that it dont work with xposed or mm both are wrong because i use it on AICP MM ROM and have Xposed installed for XinternalSD and have had no problems at all.
I do submit any crashes if they happen and have emailed the dev in the past when crashes happened. I used to get app crashes until several months ago when trying to backup the current config or when clicking the Content Providers menu option but no longer. Sometimes I completely wiped my device to get it to stop crashing. Since it's been updated these past few months those problems don't occur.
You may want to try reinstalling the app, clearing its data, rebooting, etc to see if something fixed your app crash. Make sure your device I is rooted and the My Android Tools app does indeed have root privileges. Given the nature of the app it may take some error submissions and logcats sent to the dev.
Good to see that somebody reviewed and created a thread for this great app.
Just one question here (if someone could help out) - unlike other apps, Skype seems to be way too stubborn. By mistake I once turned off the connectivity change broadcast receiver. Now, no matter what I do I cannot toggle this receiver back on. WHY? I tried pretty much everything. Rebooting, enabling the receiver from within SD Maid pro, tried making a backup of MAT and then editing this backup manually to remove the tweak for skype but it all failed. With other apps I can toggle their receiver, activities and everything however I see fit and the toggles remain put. With Skype, however, it's a fail. Any help?
Let x
Great tutorial.
As you seem to be very clever with MyAndroidTools, do you have any idea how to spot the services to disable with MyAndroidTools, in order to kill UC news inside the 11.4.5.1005 UC browser last release :
For more or less one week, UC browser has become unusable for Android nowadays with forcing every user with b******* news, foxnews search engine, star magazine search engine, googlenews search engine, yahoo search engine, uc browser search engine, 9app, music player and many more.
Do you think MyAndroidTools could be able to strangle this overwhelming flow of stupidity ?
If yes, there are so much possible items among Services (run whenever), ...
What could be a method to spot the tap and turn it off?
thx
is there any FOSS alternative?
Can't locate in the Play store?
Has the app been removed from the play store? If so is there any chance you could make the file available here? This has been a favorite app of mine for quite sometime. Would hate to see it fade into oblivion.
Guys this was a one-stop app for me...can somebody make the apk here??
Sivabalan said:
Guys this was a one-stop app for me...can somebody make the apk here??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if I would be violating any XDA rules or not. For sure this app is no longer available on the Play store and the developer unfortunately didn't respond to my email. If I can be assured that I'm not violating any XDA rules, I'll gladly share. PS, I love this app I use it for so many things
Bobbaloo said:
I don't know if I would be violating any XDA rules or not. For sure this app is no longer available on the Play store and the developer unfortunately didn't respond to my email. If I can be assured that I'm not violating any XDA rules, I'll gladly share. PS, I love this app I use it for so many things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buddy it's available in apk mirror portal.
App was removed from Play Store how to get the Pro now?
I bought it but if it's in my library its a pita to search a misplaced tap and you back to the top of the list
How I can get this app? It's no longer in the AppStore. I bought the Pro Version.
Bobbaloo said:
I don't know if I would be violating any XDA rules or not. For sure this app is no longer available on the Play store and the developer unfortunately didn't respond to my email. If I can be assured that I'm not violating any XDA rules, I'll gladly share. PS, I love this app I use it for so many things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it on google play and suddenly it disappeared. I contacted the creator and he wrote me he violated some rules (?) of google play and they cutted off his account, but he send me the full apk. But I don't know if I can share it here and if he wants to share the full version. Anyway it's still possible to find it on some websites (apkmirror and something else).
I'm satisfied with it, expecially after I lost money buying autorun manager pro (the developer is not releasing new version, he said he's not interested in it anymore).
Anyway, if someone has any alternative to suggest to My Android Tools Pro it would be good.

[ROM][OPEN SOURCE][SECURITY][APPS][microG] Best Security ROM and Apps 2022

The Best Advanced Privacy ROM/w MicroG​I tested e/OS ROM on my OnePlus 5T for over a year, e/OS supports more than 269 devices​
Fully "deGoogled" Open Source Mobile Ecosystem
e/foundation Website
OnePlus 5T Latest Dev Build Downloads
e/OS "dumpling" & 5T Device Details
List of More Than 269 Supported Devices
Advanced Privacy
⦁ "Installation Link" Method #1 Easy Installation (TOOL ALL IN ONE)
⦁ "Installation Link" Method #2 Install via command line (for advanced users)
The operating system​/e/ is a “deGoogled” version of Android OS. It has an open-source Android OS core, with no Google apps or Google services accessing your personal data. It is compatible with all your favorite Android apps.
With /e/ you’ll find a set of carefully selected apps to cover your most common needs, personal and professional: get you email, plan your week ahead, chat with your friends and coworkers, browse the web, check the weather, check your itinerary for your next meeting…
All the apps are based on open source bricks. We improve their design and experience to make them look stellar and easy to use daily.
Advanced Privacy ​⦁ Table of Contents Link​Advanced Privacy lets you manage in app trackers, IP address and location. It’s available as a widget and within the operating system settings.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Advanced Privacy is a specific tool developed to limit your data exposure once you have installed third party apps.
When an application snoops in the background, it will use trackers to log your activity even if you are not using the app. It will also collect the IP address, so it can potentially link internet activity to a specific device and to a persona, and finally it will try to pinpoint your exact location.
ONEPLUS 5T - ROM - ROOT - TWRP - "INSTALLATION GUIDE" LINK BELOW
⦁ "Installation Link" Method #1 Easy Installation (TOOL ALL IN ONE)
⦁ "Installation Link" Method #2 Install via command line (for advanced users)
IS PLAY STORE NEEDED?
As it turns out, giving up Google is possible, and the experience isn't nearly as bad as you might think, plus my battery life is amazing now. If you care about privacy, better battery life, or want a smoother running phone, take the plunge and find a Rom that doesn't have Gapps installed.
Below are a few applications that I have tested without Gapps installed. I have also listed a few alternative store applications with there links. I exclusively use FLOSS, Free/Libre and Open Source Software, and because of this, I chose to install F-Droid.
What is "FLOSS and FOSS"
The two political camps in the free software community are the free software movement and open source. The free software movement is a campaign for computer users' freedom; we say that a nonfree program is an injustice to its users. The open source camp declines to see the issue as a matter of justice to the users, and bases its arguments on practical benefits only.
To emphasize that “free software” refers to freedom and not to price, we sometimes write or say “free (libre) software,” adding the French or Spanish word that means free in the sense of freedom. In some contexts, it works to use just “libre software.”
A researcher studying practices and methods used by developers in the free software community decided that these questions were independent of the developers' political views, so he used the term “FLOSS,” meaning “Free/Libre and Open Source Software,” to explicitly avoid a preference between the two political camps. If you wish to be neutral, this is a good way to do it, since this makes the names of the two camps equally prominent.
Others use the term “FOSS,” which stands for “Free and Open Source Software.” This is meant to mean the same thing as “FLOSS,” but it is less clear, since it fails to explain that “free” refers to freedom. It also makes “free software” less visible than “open source,” since it presents “open source” prominently but splits “free software” apart.
“Free and Open Source Software” is misleading in another way: it suggests that “free and open source” names a single point of view, rather than mentioning two different ones. This conceptualization of the field is an obstacle to understanding the fact that free software and open source are different political positions that disagree fundamentally.
Thus, if you want to be neutral between free software and open source, and clear about them, the way to achieve that is to say “FLOSS,” not “FOSS.”
We in the free software movement don't use either of these terms, because we don't want to be neutral on the political question. We stand for freedom, and we show it every time—by saying “free” and “libre”— or “free (libre)”. by Richard Stallman
If your running a Rom without Gapps, some applications like "Last Pass and Vimeo" will show a pop-up when you first start them that says, won't be able to run without Google Services, they might be able to run and some wont, unless you install microG, then you wont have this issue.
What is MicroG?
Actually, the microG is a free software clone of Google's proprietary center libraries and applications. To be more specific, it's a FLOSS (Free/Libre Open Source Software) frame to permit applications designed for Google Play Services to operate on programs, in which Play Services is not available. It provides all the needed APIs provided from the Google Play services so that the programs dependent on it may operate normally.
Telegram Links for microG Group Help
MicroG Liberation Front
Update: I installed microG on my OnePlus 5T running Phoenix Rom. This Rom has signature spoofing already baked into it, so the installation is simpler, runs very smooth, better battery life and security. For detailed installation instruction, see post #5 below.
What is microG Signature Spoofing
To use all the neat features from the microG project, which allows you to use all features of your Android smartphone without proprietary battery-consuming Google blobs, your system is required to support signature spoofing. Currently only very few custom ROMs have built-in support for this feature, luckily you can use Xposed or a patching tool to add the feature to the systems that don’t have it.
But: What is all this about? Is signature spoofing a problem when not using microG? Will it influence my security?
About signature spoofing
On Android, all applications are signed (usually using SHA1 with RSA). The certificate/key-combinations used to sign apps are self-signed. This means there is no PKI / certificate authority to verify a key to be owned by a person/company/entity. Thus everyone can come up with a key that has a equally valid Google certificate as keys used by Google to publish their apps.
However, on Android signatures are not designed to serve the purpose of verifying ownership/source of a package. Signatures are used to verify integrity and to ensure same package author when updating apps. The second one is important, to verify that only one the author has access to the private storage of an app. A different author is not able to sign an app using the same key, because he does not have access to it, and thus can not provide an update to an application that will be granted access to the app private storage. For example, the Signal app provided by OpenWhisperSystems is signed by a key not available to third-parties and thus Signal can store chat history in the private app storage and don’t need to fear that a rogue update can access this data. This means that signatures are important to ensure the secrecy of the private app storage and thus is an essential part of the Android package managements security system.
Signature spoofing allows applications to behave like being signed by a third party. This means that whenever one application asks the operating system for the certificate used to sign an installed package and that package uses signature spoofing, instead of the certificate attached to the app, a spoofed certificate is returned. This certificate has to be announced in the AndroidManifest.xml and the app is required to request the android.permission.FAKE_SIGNATURE permission. This means that it is not only easy to detect that an application uses signature spoofing, the user also has to give its consent – before Android 6, this was done during installation time, since then the consent is even more explicit in a dedicated pop-up, and the user can decide not to grant the permission.
Of course only very few developers ever ask for the certificate used to sign an application. There are numerous reasons for that:
In most cases you only want to verify, that an app is signed with the same key as yours (e.g. the apps are from the same author). For this case, the package manager has a method checkSignatures which compares the certificates of two packages. Thus the app author is not required to mess with byte arrays returned when requesting the certificate – and verifying the author name of a certificate is completely useless as described above.
If you want to use any kind of security model, you are much more likely to introduce a custom permission. On Android every app can declare a new permission and decide which apps will be granted this permission. One option here is to restrict by signature, or you can also require explicit user consent. This again is a lot easier than working with certificates, even more flexible and can be used to allow third-parties to integrate with your app (on users decision). Nice!
Directly working with certificates is not considered a security feature and is not listed on the security tips article in the documentation, whereas the proper use of permissions is.
When using the package managers GET_SIGNATURES feature to directly access the certificate, the android lint tool (which is usually used during the compilation process) will print a high priority warning, as improper use of this feature can be a security risk and the proper use is rather complicated. So complicated, that Google themselves did it wrong once, resulting in a major Android security vulnerability (sometimes referred to as the Fake ID vulnerability).
So why does microG require signature spoofing?
Now that we know, that only very few use direct access to certificate, you might wonder why microG needs it for certain features. Well the fact is that although most developers don’t even now about it, their apps actually do direct certificate access. This is due to how Google Play Services works:
Applications that use Google Play Services use the Play Services client library. This library is directly embedded into the application, is delivered as part of it and finally runs in the security context of that app. And this library actually uses direct certificate access to ensure that the Play Services app installed on the device is singed by a specific private key. It also verifies that the Play Store is installed (and signed using the same key), although it is not required for Play Services to run. This is the reason for the development of the microG FakeStore app.
There is one other popular use case I’d like to stress: DRM. Some developers use direct certificate access to verify that the application itself is signed by them. The reason for this is simple: If you modify an application you need to sign it (the previous signature is broken, if your system is not vulnerable to the “Android Master Key” vulnerability). As you don’t have the private key of the original developer you will not be able to create a valid signature that has the same certificate. This means you can’t modify the application without the original developer knowing about it. (Well, you could modify the checking code itself, …). With signature spoofing you can easily bypass these restrictions – as long as the app does not contain code to detect signature spoofing. by ~larma/blog
If your Rom does not support Signature Spoofing, take a look at this link.
[INDEX] How to get the signature spoofing patch
NEWLY ADDED & RECOMMENDED ANDROID APPS
> LINK<​
No Gapps Setup Guides
Helpful links to setting up no Gapps
Signature Spoofing
[INDEX] How to get the signature spoofing patch
microG unofficial installer simplify the installation of microG
MicroG, gapps in only 11mb
NanoDroid By Setialpha, XDA Ad-Free Senior Member
microG By MaR-V-iN, XDA Senior Member
[MOD][FLASHABLE] microG unofficial installer
microG/Android Packages apps GmsCore
{FIRE Gapps-Go™+Tweaks™ for OREO}*{*Micro-G™*}*{FIRE Audio™ For LP-Oreo}
If you are using microG as a replacement for the Google Play Services, the ROM that you install needs to have support for signature spoofing. In short, this allows microG to pretend to be the official Google Play Services, otherwise the system and other apps won’t listen to it. If you have the Xposed Framework installed, the following module will enable signature spoofing: FakeGApps by thermatk. You can find more on the microG wiki
Telegram Links for microG Group Help
MicroG Liberation Front
A Few Rom's That Supports Signature Spoofing
I have listed several microG Rom's that are pre-built or compatible with microG. if you have tested either one of these or used any other microG builds, please let us know I'm currently running Phoenix Rom on my OnePlus 5T without Gapps installed. All these Rom's grants signature spoofing permissions, this is needed for any Rom to be able to run microG.
[ROM][Oreo]Codename Phoenix [OnePlus 5T]
[ROM][Oreo][OFFICIAL] Liquid Remix [9.0][8.1]
[ROM][Oreo] [ROM] OmniRom 8.1 [OP5T] [WEEKLY]
[ROM][Nougat] LineageOS for microG By Simon94, XDA Member
[ROM][Nougat & Oreo] LineageOS for easy microG + UnifiedNlp By espionage724, Senior Member
Following ROMs have out-of-box support for signature spoofing
Specific Android custom ROMs that support Signature spoofing
AEX AospExtended
AimRom
AOSGP
AOSiP
CarbonROM
crDroid
Ground Zero Roms aka GZR: Tipsy
HalogenOS
Hexa-Project
MarshRom
nAOSProm
NitrogenOS
Tugapower
ViperOS
Guardian Project
Open-source Android applications
Android Open Source - App
About the Android Open Source Project
List of Open Source apps provided by Christopher Roy Bratusek
INSTALLATION OF microG
This post will show you how to install microG.
First you must have a Rom that doesn't have Gapps installed, next if your Rom supports signature spoofing, go to the first step, If your Rom doesn't support signature spoofing, go to this link to patch your Rom (How to get the signature spoofing patch) then come back for installation of microG.
If your not sure if your Rom supports microG, just go threw the first step below, open microG Settings app, then "Self-Check" it should look like attached picture at bottom of this page, if not, you need to patch your Rom.
FIRST STEP:
1. Must unlock boot-loader and have TWRP installed. Download bellow app to PC and follow instructions, if your phone is unlocked and TWRP installed, skip this step.
TOOL ALL IN ONE
If you already have your device unlocked and TWRP installed, do a recovery backup in TWRP, then copy it to your pc, I normally just copy all my files from my phone to my pc or external device.
You must do a fresh install in order to have microG working properly, I use "ALL IN ONE TOOL", this is my steps from the ALL IN ONE TOOL app, "Reboot Bootloader" and select "Erase All Data / Decrypt Internal Storage", next click on "Recovery Flasher" and choose, "Select recovery", TWRP 3.2.1 Universal (Your Device), then select "Only boot it" and "FLASH"
2. From PC, download firmware (if needed), Rom and microG, this is for the Phoenix Rom. If you are using a different Rom, your installation might be different, just flash microG after flashing your Rom.
(Your ROM) I'm using Codename Phoenix [OnePlus 5T] Rom
3. From recovery, move downloads onto phone. Install Rom then microG, reboot system.
SECOND STEP:
1. Downloads to PC.
Magisk & Magisk Manager If you want Root. For the Phoenix Rom, install Magisk v14.0 first, then upgrade to v15.3 after first reboot, known to boot loop otherwise.
F-Droid
2. Move all download to phone, boot into recovery, install Magisk and No GApps Package, reboot.
3. Open your Files app, navigate to folder you put apk's, Install Magisk Manager.apk and F-Droid.apk/unless you flashed No GApps Packages.
THIRD STEP:
In phone, navigate to System Setting, Location, Mode and change it to High accuracy.
Go to UnifiedNip Settings and enable Network based Geo-location and Address lookup.
Open F-Droid Store and swipe down on screen to update repositories, now install Mozilla Stumbler from F-Droid Store and start.
Open microG Settings app, go to UnifiedNip Settings, make sure every thing is checked for Address lookup and Network based Geolocation.
Now go to main page of microG Settings, then Self-Check, check box, System grants signature spoofing permission, grant access, Allow.
Access your paid applications from play store
1. Install a PlayStore APK
If you have BlankStore installed, continue with the next step.
If you want to be able to access the Play Store, install BlankStore from the XDA thread. It is not a requirement that you set it up correctly and this is not covered by this instructions. If you need help, ask in the BlankStore original thread.
If you don't care about Play Store access, Install FakeStore.zip.
2. Open the microG Settings
which are available in the launcher now. If you want to use any Google services (Log-In, Cloud Messaging), tick both checkboxes for background services. This is the only supported setup, but you are free to disable them if you like playing with fire. You can also open the UnifiedNlp settings to enable the location backends of your choice. If you don't have any yet, check out F-Droid. For further questions and concerns regarding UnifiedNlp, use its corresponding GitHub repo or XDA thread.​3. Reboot your device
If you skip this step, everything unwanted is possible.​4. Disable Battery Optimization
if you use Android 6 (Marshmallow) or above. Ensure that it is disabled for microG Services Core in System Settings > Battery > Menu > Battery optimization. Note that this is the case for the original Play Services, as it is required to keep a stable background connection.​
Note: On Android 7 (or later) an additional patch is needed to make location work, or alternatively, you can install GmsCore.apk in the /system/priv-app folder. This can be done by using adb push.
Testing
You can test Google Cloud Messaging using this test application*. Push notifications do not require account registration.
You can add an account through the system settings. Some applications might ask you to do so, if you don't.
Apps that use Cloud Messaging must be installed after GmsCore, or else they will not work. Some applications that can run with microG GmsCore is installed in the correct order: TextSecure/Signal, Play Music, YouTube
If you are using AdAway, make sure to put mtalk.google.com on your whitelist, or else problems are likely to occur when using Google Cloud Messaging. Thanks @benstyle1 on XDA for the hint.
Telegram Links for microG Group Help
MicroG Liberation Front
Awesome thread, thank you very much for your efforts. I followed the nogapps tutorial to the letter, still having problem with Signal app.
It wouldn't register my phone number. Can you maybe check it also? https://www.signal.org/android/apk/
LE: NVM, solved it by enabling GCM in MicroG settings and register Signal in MicroG GCM settings.
Another question, how much time should I keep Mozilla Stumbler from F-Droid Store scanning, and is it required?
Thanks again.
mi3x said:
Awesome thread, thank you very much for your efforts. I followed the nogapps tutorial to the letter, still having problem with Signal app.
It wouldn't register my phone number. Can you maybe check it also? https://www.signal.org/android/apk/
LE: NVM, solved it by enabling GCM in MicroG settings and register Signal in MicroG GCM settings.
Another question, how much time should I keep Mozilla Stumbler from F-Droid Store scanning, and is it required?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the post, this has been a learning experience for me, I just wanted to share my procedure with any one interested in installing microG. I use Signal as well, glad you figured it out, and as for Mozilla Stumbler, there is no need for it to be scanning after you have accessed the Play Store. I'm assuming that your using the OP5T phone with the Liquid Remix Rom, if so, I have updated the installation process, now there is no need to use Xposed framework.
I really appreciate it, you saved me from a lot of work, nicely gathering them all into this special thread. Fortunately enough, I use a different rom, Unofficial LineageOS 14.1 with custom kernel and it works perfectly as well.
I followed your steps in post 5, everything went smoothly.
Many thanks once again, for me this is a gem, just migrated from iOS and slowly moving away from google and trying to replace most of my apps, just setup my davDroid with my nextcloud server, it'll take some time but I'll get there eventually.
Now a question about playstore, did I misunderstand, or why would I access it anyway? The other non FOSS apps which I need at the moment, I install from yalp. Please adivse a bit on this angle.
Have a good one.
Excellent thread. I use microg 2 years, with lg g2 and now with op5t about 1,5 month at stock ROM. I am also try to de-google my self as much as i can.
Fdroid has excellent apps and you can find everything. I prefer lightweight apps with less permissions and ram/mb ie New pipe is an excellent YouTube replacement. I Subscribe to this thread. Keep it GOOGLESS
Sent from my ONEPLUS 5T
vagkoun83 said:
Excellent thread. I use microg 2 years, with lg g2 and now with op5t about 1,5 month at stock ROM. I am also try to de-google my self as much as i can.
Fdroid has excellent apps and you can find everything. I prefer lightweight apps with less permissions and ram/mb ie New pipe is an excellent YouTube replacement. I Subscribe to this thread. Keep it GOOGLESS
Sent from my ONEPLUS 5T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pro can you tell me how you debloat Google apks without problem
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
Microg unofficial installer delete conflict apps.
The rest apps uninstall with apps like titanium
mi3x said:
I really appreciate it, you saved me from a lot of work, nicely gathering them all into this special thread. Fortunately enough, I use a different rom, Unofficial LineageOS 14.1 with custom kernel and it works perfectly as well.
I followed your steps in post 5, everything went smoothly.
Many thanks once again, for me this is a gem, just migrated from iOS and slowly moving away from google and trying to replace most of my apps, just setup my davDroid with my nextcloud server, it'll take some time but I'll get there eventually.
Now a question about playstore, did I misunderstand, or why would I access it anyway? The other non FOSS apps which I need at the moment, I install from yalp. Please adivse a bit on this angle.
Have a good one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good Day, Personally I don't need access to the play store, however, I receive a number of request from people that enjoy running microG, but want access to Play Store for there purchased applications, and others like to try out new Rom's, flashing many times a week, unfortunately Gapps has issues with the Play Store breaking when flashing Rom's multiple times, as for microG and the Yalp Store, they don't have this problem.
If you haven't already join Telegram, I recommend trying it out. Below I have listed your Rom link and several microG Groups as well.
Telegram Links
LineageOS
MicroG Liberation Front
MsuatafaKhatab said:
Pro can you tell me how you debloat Google apks without problem
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really sure what your asking, but I will try. I see that you have the OnePlus 5T, and the best way I have found to do this is, install a Rom that doesn't have Gapps installed.
I have the same phone, and found that the Liquid Remix Rom is a good choice, it also supports signature spoofing. I will list a few links below that help with the OP5T phone.
Update: Phoenix Rom I'm using now, much smoother and supports signature spoofing.
Setting Up Your OP5T
TOOL ALL IN ONE
microG Installation
Protect Your Data
Google doesn’t have a camera in every home, but it does have phone's in millions of pockets.
Google's tracking explained. On two phones, without SIM, no data during travel, and one even in airplane mode. Watch this short video, you might be amazed.
YouTube Link: How much info is Google getting from your phone?
YouTube Alternative App: NewPipe
Your Data
Google wants you to understand what data they collect and use.
Google Services Contract
When you use Google services, you trust us with your data. It is our responsibility to be clear about what we collect and how we use it to make our services work better for you.
Here are the three main types of data we collect:
Things you do
When you use our services — for example, do a search on Google, get directions on Google Maps, or watch a video on YouTube — we collect data to make these services work for you. This can include:
Things you search for
Websites you visit
Videos you watch
Ads you click on or tap
Your location
Device information
IP address and cookie data
Things you create
If you are signed in with your Google Account, we store and protect what you create using our services. This can include:
Emails you send and receive on Gmail
Contacts you add
Calendar events
Photos and videos you upload
Docs, Sheets, and Slides on Drive
Things that make you “you”
When you sign up for a Google account, we keep the basic information that you give us. This can include your:
Name
Email address and password
Birthday
Gender
Phone number
Country
Protect Your Data with XPrivacyLua
XprivacyLua protects your privacy by feeding applications fake data or no data at all, or by restricting applications from accessing data categories such as contacts and location. It doesn’t revoke or block applications’ permissions (with the exception of internet and storage access), so most apps don’t misbehave or crash when they’re denied access. And it shows handy icons when applications request permissions, connect to the internet, or attempt to access sensitive data. If you value your privacy, please consider to support this project with a donation or by purchasing pro features.
GitHub Link
Xda Developer Link
Post your favorite Rom or application's you are using for privacy.
I'm a huge fan of xprivacylua, keep coming with these useful posts! Thanks!
xXxGeek said:
I'm not really sure what your asking, but I will try. I see that you have the OnePlus 5T, and the best way I have found to do this is, install a Rom that doesn't have Gapps installed.
I have the same phone, and found that the Liquid Remix Rom is a good choice, it also supports signature spoofing. I will list a few links below that help with the OP5T phone.
Update: Phoenix Rom I'm using now, much smoother and supports signature spoofing.
Setting Up Your OP5T
TOOL ALL IN ONE
microG Installation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I take it the Tool-all-in one works for the 5T even though it's not specifically mentioned in the link? (I only saw it said it works for 3T)
Now the best way to not use google is to use a rom that doesn't include it. However, what if the ROM you want to use doesn't have an official version/or if you want to use the stock ROM for one reason or another? Let's say I turn on the phone, never log on to any google services, disable as many google apps as I can -- (though one can only deny google play services permissions, but not disable the app) -- does that provide a good amount of privacy? Or does google still manage to track you somehow?
Listerine said:
So I take it the Tool-all-in one works for the 5T even though it's not specifically mentioned in the link? (I only saw it said it works for 3T)
Now the best way to not use google is to use a rom that doesn't include it. However, what if the ROM you want to use doesn't have an official version/or if you want to use the stock ROM for one reason or another? Let's say I turn on the phone, never log on to any google services, disable as many google apps as I can -- (though one can only deny google play services permissions, but not disable the app) -- does that provide a good amount of privacy? Or does google still manage to track you somehow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unofficial microg installer can uninstall conflict packages and deletes Google stuff. There is no reason to keep stuff you don't need. Especially Google stuff. I install microg unofficial installer on nougat and now on oreo without problem.
Sent from my ONEPLUS 5T
vagkoun83 said:
Unofficial microg installer can uninstall conflict packages and deletes Google stuff. There is no reason to keep stuff you don't need. Especially Google stuff. I install microg unofficial installer on nougat and now on oreo without problem.
Sent from my ONEPLUS 5T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't know the other installers would uninstall conflict packages -- I guess I didn't see any reference to that. In the instructions, it says that it requires spoofing, but do you need spoofing only if you need to use the app store?
There are a lot of unofficial microg installers out there -- did you mean this one?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/microg-unofficial-installer-t3432360
Anyways, what if you didn't want to deal with the hassle of rooting, installing ROMs and just wanted a simpler way to prevent google from data collection. Does the disabling method work or is it ineffective?
Listerine said:
Didn't know the other installers would uninstall conflict packages. I didn't see any reference to that.
There are a lot of unofficial microg installers out there -- did you mean this one?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/microg-unofficial-installer-t3432360
-About doing these installers, I would need root, so that would prevent OTAs, wouldn't it?
-I also notice that it says it requires signature spoofing. That's only required if you buy or download stuff from the play store, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly this one. So for this you need custom recovery for flashing. When I want to update to a newer oxygen I just flash rom & magisk & microg unofficial installer via recovery.
I personally don't have signature spoofing and playstore works ok but the right way is to use sign. Spoofing. Yes you can download stuff from Google without problem.
Sent from my ONEPLUS 5T
vagkoun83 said:
Exactly this one. So for this you need custom recovery for flashing. When I want to update to a newer oxygen I just flash rom & magisk & microg unofficial installer via recovery.
I personally don't have signature spoofing and playstore works ok but the right way is to use sign. Spoofing. Yes you can download stuff from Google without problem.
Sent from my ONEPLUS 5T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has just occurred to me that the Chinese version of the OnePlus 5T has exactly the same hardware as the International version...but the Chinese version doesn't have any google apps installed.
So...wouldn't the easiest way to de-bloat from google just to install Hydrogen OS? You wouldn't even have to root for that.

Remove COVID-19 contact tracing

If you go into settings and search for 'covid', you'll see settings implying that contact tracing functionality is installed.
How far does it go? It needs bluetooth but will it enable bluetooth regardless if you enable your antenna or not?
Will it show your bluetooth to be on or not?
I don't need answers to these questions. I want to remove this stuff from my phone.
My understanding is that the functionality was installed 'as a part of' and 'in an update of' Google Play-Services.
To remove it, I guess we would need a modified Google Play-Services package
or
remove Google Play-Services altogether.
I don't know to what lengths Google Play-Services is required by OxygenOS or other distros for that matter.
Google Apps won't work anymore without it. That definitely suck for Translate and Maps but I guess there are alternatives for that.
Google bought Waze. I wonder if Waze needs Google Play-Services..
I never was a fan of custom ROMs and rooting. I was perfectly happy with OxygenOS (OnePlus 7).
Now I really don't care, I want this garbage off my phone. Kr,
progonkpa said:
If you go into settings and search for 'covid', you'll see settings implying that contact tracing functionality is installed.
How far does it go? It needs bluetooth but will it enable bluetooth regardless if you enable your antenna or not?
Will it show your bluetooth to be on or not?
I don't need answers to these questions. I want to remove this stuff from my phone.
My understanding is that the functionality was installed 'as a part of' and 'in an update of' Google Play-Services.
To remove it, I guess we would need a modified Google Play-Services package
or
remove Google Play-Services altogether.
I don't know to what lengths Google Play-Services is required by OxygenOS or other distros for that matter.
Google Apps won't work anymore without it. That definitely suck for Translate and Maps but I guess there are alternatives for that.
Google bought Waze. I wonder if Waze needs Google Play-Services..
I never was a fan of custom ROMs and rooting. I was perfectly happy with OxygenOS (OnePlus 7).
Now I really don't care, I want this garbage off my phone. Kr,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next phone you can consider huawei.. Lol.. Legally required to ship with no trace of Google.
Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
OpenGapps the way forward?
progonkpa said:
To remove it, I guess we would need a modified Google Play-Services package
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am interested in this approach, as Aurora Store isn't able to fully replace google play at this time (no app purchasing)
So I have 2. questions to the community at large:
Would OpenGapps be the way forward? would this prevent googleplayserevices from be update by google thus preventing unauthorised/non-consented changes that facilitate state-level tracking.
And regard9ing the existing google services is there anyway to disable the covid19 toast notification appearing everytime time you enabled/disable bluetooth and or gps. The xposed module 'EnhancedToast' is able to do this, but only works on Andoird 6/7 or below.
b1k3rdude said:
I am interested in this approach, as Aurora Store isn't able to fully replace google play at this time (no app purchasing)
So I have 2. questions to the community at large:
Would OpenGapps be the way forward? would this prevent googleplayserevices from be update by google thus preventing unauthorised/non-consented changes that facilitate state-level tracking.
And regard9ing the existing google services is there anyway to disable the covid19 toast notification appearing everytime time you enabled/disable bluetooth and or gps. The xposed module 'EnhancedToast' is able to do this, but only works on Andoird 6/7 or below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Covid-19 contact tracing requires installing an app, if you, yourself, the user, have not installed some form of Covid-19 contact tracing app, then you "should" be in the clear unless you somehow agreed to/allowed/gave permission to something without knowing what you were agreeing to/allowing/giving permission to .
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
Covid-19 contact tracing requires installing an app, if you, yourself, the user, have not installed some form of Covid-19 contact tracing app, then you "should" be in the clear unless you somehow agreed to/allowed/gave permission to something without knowing what you were agreeing to/allowing/giving permission to .
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google admitting they installed this on your phone without your permission
youtube video titled "Exposure Notifications System: Helping Health Authorities fight COVID-19"
check your android - settings/general/google->COVID-19 Exposure Notifications
I'm assuming being rooted is required to do anything towards removing/disabling it?
ultra4e said:
Google admitting they installed this on your phone without your permission
youtube video titled "Exposure Notifications System: Helping Health Authorities fight COVID-19"
check your android - settings/general/google->COVID-19 Exposure Notifications
I'm assuming being rooted is required to do anything towards removing/disabling it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way to get rid of it is to delete Google Play Services. That's how they snuck it in. On Android Pie it's simple. Just debloat via ADB using pm list packages prompt and voila! it's gone. On Android 10 it works the same EXCEPT none of the google apps, firefox, instacart, or anything like that will WORK. So you can de-google all you want - they've baked it into everything. It's something I'm struggling with now since I was forced to upgrade.

What is the best OnePlus 6 ROM to you and why? Which are most privacy/security conscious? Recomemdations please!

I havent installed a custom ROM since cyangenmod/LineageOS on my OnePlus One, which I loved. Now I have LineageOS 10.3.10 on a OnePlus 6.
I am sick of google and stock/OEM androids data gathering and increasing enroachment and would like to prevent it as much as possible without completely gimping my system.
Possibly use something like a protonmail email account instead if thats poasible or just no google account. I would still like to use the apps from the playstore, especially those i bought.
I want to debloat and disconnect as much as possible. No okay google. No telemetry. No uploading my data. Can i do this while still using the playstore or will that interfere and require my account? Is there a workaround, and no im not asking for illegal references. Using my bank app would also be handy but not necessary.
I would love the option to totally disconnect from bluetooth and wifi/other radio deilvices on my home network etc. I do not want to connect to other devices.
Im out the loop here, recommendations are massively appreciated.
FTR Im aware of GrapheneOS and the associated Jaguar on here but im wondering if its too much and how that might play out.
Any help or links to guides or articles is much appreciated.
Hopefully im not breaking any rules, although I checked and couldnt see that was the case.
Cheers people.
Candiety said:
I havent installed a custom ROM since cyangenmod/LineageOS on my OnePlus One, which I loved. Now I have LineageOS 10.3.10 on a OnePlus 6.
I am sick of google and stock/OEM androids data gathering and increasing enroachment and would like to prevent it as much as possible without completely gimping my system.
Possibly use something like a protonmail email account instead if thats poasible or just no google account. I would still like to use the apps from the playstore, especially those i bought.
I want to debloat and disconnect as much as possible. No okay google. No telemetry. No uploading my data. Can i do this while still using the playstore or will that interfere and require my account? Is there a workaround, and no im not asking for illegal references. Using my bank app would also be handy but not necessary.
I would love the option to totally disconnect from bluetooth and wifi/other radio deilvices on my home network etc. I do not want to connect to other devices.
Im out the loop here, recommendations are massively appreciated.
FTR Im aware of GrapheneOS and the associated Jaguar on here but im wondering if its too much and how that might play out.
Any help or links to guides or articles is much appreciated.
Hopefully im not breaking any rules, although I checked and couldnt see that was the case.
Cheers people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then microG is for you. You can try OmniROM microG build. MicroG is a substitute to google play services. You will use open source apps instead of google apps. But OmniROM's xda thread is outdated but the download link is still active and the microG version is still updated. You can also search for custom ROM which which is microG compatible primarily with signature spoofing feature and vanilla build (no GApps)
tiga016 said:
Then microG is for you. You can try OmniROM microG build. MicroG is a substitute to google play services. You will use open source apps instead of google apps. But OmniROM's xda thread is outdated but the download link is still active and the microG version is still updated. You can also search for custom ROM which which is microG compatible primarily with signature spoofing feature and vanilla build (no GApps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate, I really appreciate this reply. Could you explIain signature spoofing a bit? Also, Does GApps present problems these days (or always)?
Thanks again.
Candiety said:
Hey mate, I really appreciate this reply. Could you explIain signature spoofing a bit? Also, Does GApps present problems these days (or always)?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Signature spoofing allows fake signatures for packages meaning it will pretend to has google services but not real google. Better to flash custom ROM microG than custom ROM vanilla and manually setup microG to prevent error. GApps have privacy issues, battery drain, etc. But I don't mind that because I need to use GApps in my work. If time comes that microG has full alternative to GApps maybe I can adapt to that.

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