Hi Folks,
I recently received a UMIDIGI Z2 Special Edition. Yesterday, I finally got around to downloading and applying all the available OTA updates. I was hoping that there could be a way to do the updates via sharing my Laptops Internet connection to a USB port.
It is my first Android phone. I haven't used it yet as I need to get a compatible SIM chip. Meanwhile, I am still using an old Apple 3GS.
I have been trying to find a comprehensive Android User Guide for Beginners but with no luck. Can someone point me in the right direction please?
I do not want to use any Google applications, like Gmail, Chrome, Drive etc (I may have to keep the Play Store app though.) nor Facebook, Twitter, Instagram nor any others that the "Powers that shouldn't be" use to monitor, exploit and manipulate the masses for the benefit of the elitist scum that are still "pulling the strings" on our home (Mother Earth).
So, I would appreciate your recommendations for alternative applications that are completely private.
I want to remove the aforementioned Google apps.
Which are the best Alternative App Stores?
What other applications are recommended for everyday use?
I will be using the phone for Email, Browsing, SMS Messaging, Phone Calls, Photos, Language Dictionaries/Translation, Maps.
Many thanks, MTB.
Related
Hi ... I'm a n00b when it comes to phone hacks but not technology so please don't dumb your answers down on account of me.
We bought two Tmobile Samsung Avants a cpl days ago (one to use and one as a spare) because the price was right and I'm leaving a WM device for Android. HOWEVER I don't like the idea that Google, who has no personal or business relationship with me, has access to all my personal information just because I'm using a phone they've branded. So I'm looking for an Android ROM that doesn't have Google tentacles in it.
I've been researching this since we got the phones but I'm not clear on what ROMS are avail for my phone ... it doesn't look like cyanogenmod has one (although they have one for my gf's old Exhibit T599!! ) - is there a repository, website or thread I haven't found that has a list of what's out there? am I stuck rooting the phone and MANUALLY removing everything? The phones have Kitkat installed.
I saw a youtube vid where they've ported Lollipop to the Avant - would that come de-Googled?
Do Android ROMs from Android come without a Google footprint? Some users have posted that Android as an independent company is not necessarily Google and their OS is NOT a Google product so my thoughts are you can have one without the other.
Any help / info is appreciated. thanks!
master-richie said:
Hi ... I'm a n00b when it comes to phone hacks but not technology so please don't dumb your answers down on account of me.
We bought two Tmobile Samsung Avants a cpl days ago (one to use and one as a spare) because the price was right and I'm leaving a WM device for Android. HOWEVER I don't like the idea that Google, who has no personal or business relationship with me, has access to all my personal information just because I'm using a phone they've branded. So I'm looking for an Android ROM that doesn't have Google tentacles in it.
I've been researching this since we got the phones but I'm not clear on what ROMS are avail for my phone ... it doesn't look like cyanogenmod has one (although they have one for my gf's old Exhibit T599!! ) - is there a repository, website or thread I haven't found that has a list of what's out there? am I stuck rooting the phone and MANUALLY removing everything? The phones have Kitkat installed.
I saw a youtube vid where they've ported Lollipop to the Avant - would that come de-Googled?
Do Android ROMs from Android come without a Google footprint? Some users have posted that Android as an independent company is not necessarily Google and their OS is NOT a Google product so my thoughts are you can have one without the other.
Any help / info is appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a project that doesnt have google stuff but you lose alot. Like no app store and things like that. Also Android is a google project. Like WP is by microsoft.
No there is no site like you are looking for.
Android is not a company but an OS like IOS, Windows, Linux and such.
The issue is mainly that if your device is not widely used then there may not be anything available for it. You also need to find out if the bootloader is locked or not and if kernel source is available for the device.
Google doesnt brand phones persay. The android operating system is theirs.
master-richie said:
Hi ... I'm a n00b when it comes to phone hacks but not technology so please don't dumb your answers down on account of me.
We bought two Tmobile Samsung Avants a cpl days ago (one to use and one as a spare) because the price was right and I'm leaving a WM device for Android. HOWEVER I don't like the idea that Google, who has no personal or business relationship with me, has access to all my personal information just because I'm using a phone they've branded. So I'm looking for an Android ROM that doesn't have Google tentacles in it.
I've been researching this since we got the phones but I'm not clear on what ROMS are avail for my phone ... it doesn't look like cyanogenmod has one (although they have one for my gf's old Exhibit T599!! ) - is there a repository, website or thread I haven't found that has a list of what's out there? am I stuck rooting the phone and MANUALLY removing everything? The phones have Kitkat installed.
I saw a youtube vid where they've ported Lollipop to the Avant - would that come de-Googled?
Do Android ROMs from Android come without a Google footprint? Some users have posted that Android as an independent company is not necessarily Google and their OS is NOT a Google product so my thoughts are you can have one without the other.
Any help / info is appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google has not shown itself to be a malicious company. Is it a little creepy that they know everything about you? Yes. Will it make your user experience better? Probably. When you flash a custom ROM it removes all of the Google apps but the Google apps are really useful. Play Store, Maps, Gmail (can store all your contacts so if you get a new phone you can just import them), etc. are all very useful in my opinion. I don't personally need Google Music for example so I deleted that. All of my music comes through Spotify and Bandcamp downloads. But I can't imagine my phone without the Play Store and Gmail. It would make the experience very annoying. Cyanogen Inc. is looking into pushing their ROMs on to retail Android phones so the phone would come with Cyanogenmod and have their own equivalent to GApps. But, that won't happen for a while. The best bet to get Google out of your hair is to root it and delete the apps you don't need, or use SlimRom.
Edit: Make sure your phone is the same model as the ones that SlimRom is created for.
dictatorkara said:
Google has not shown itself to be a malicious company. Is it a little creepy that they know everything about you? Yes. Will it make your user experience better? Probably. When you flash a custom ROM it removes all of the Google apps but the Google apps are really useful. Play Store, Maps, Gmail (can store all your contacts so if you get a new phone you can just import them), etc. are all very useful in my opinion. I don't personally need Google Music for example so I deleted that. All of my music comes through Spotify and Bandcamp downloads. But I can't imagine my phone without the Play Store and Gmail. It would make the experience very annoying. Cyanogen Inc. is looking into pushing their ROMs on to retail Android phones so the phone would come with Cyanogenmod and have their own equivalent to GApps. But, that won't happen for a while. The best bet to get Google out of your hair is to root it and delete the apps you don't need, or use SlimRom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not true. Even without gapps there are still many google base system files that are built into the system. There is only one Google-less project that is being worked on but they do have issues as the OS is not built to run without them. Even Slim Rom still use alot of googles stuff.
zelendel said:
This is not true. Even without gapps there are still many google base system files that are built into the system. There is only one Google-less project that is being worked on but they do have issues as the OS is not built to run without them. Even Slim Rom still use alot of googles stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't say you can completely de-Google an Android device. But, you can make it appear to be de-Googled, although the system files you mentioned will still be there. But you can completely opt out of Gmail and the like.
dictatorkara said:
I didn't say you can completely de-Google an Android device. But, you can make it appear to be de-Googled, although the system files you mentioned will still be there. But you can completely opt out of Gmail and the like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to have an IT company not too long ago and I run a bunch of commercial grade servers in my house - My needs aren't the same as the typical phone user with respect to data redundancy, cloud computing, etc - I have that capability already. I pretty much use my phone to snap photos, internet browsing, texting, making calls and sometimes use the gps when driving. What I don't need is a copy of all my activity, contacts, calls, texts and browsing history stored on google servers to be sold or given to entities that I a. wouldn't consent to b. have no clue it's happening.
I don't really care if there is a Google footprint left in the phone, I just want to remove Google's ability to mine my personal data from my phone which also includes registering my device via a google+ account.
With respect to playstore, isn't Aptoid a suitable alternative?
What is SlimROM? where can I get more info on it? I saw the post you had linked to originally which prompted me to post my OP because I couldn't find any other info on it
master-richie said:
I used to have an IT company not too long ago and I run a bunch of commercial grade servers in my house - My needs aren't the same as the typical phone user with respect to data redundancy, cloud computing, etc - I have that capability already. I pretty much use my phone to snap photos, internet browsing, texting, making calls and sometimes use the gps when driving. What I don't need is a copy of all my activity, contacts, calls, texts and browsing history stored on google servers to be sold or given to entities that I a. wouldn't consent to b. have no clue it's happening.
I don't really care if there is a Google footprint left in the phone, I just want to remove Google's ability to mine my personal data from my phone which also includes registering my device via a google+ account.
With respect to playstore, isn't Aptoid a suitable alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Dont use that. They are all warez and are known for including data miners, Keyloggers and screen recorders.
Ill be honest. You picked the wrong OS for that then. GPS itself uses google software to connect to the satalites.
This is your best option
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
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.
HI Guys,
I'm a bit concerned about Android releasing an update that will allow this to happen at OS level in the background.
I want to also remove myself from Google, Play store, etc. I only use my phone for the camera, making calls and signal app. No FB, no email, etc.
What's the best way to do this? I have a Samsung S10.
Just jailbreak it and install a custom image? Is it possible to load signal on the phone from a file rather than google play?
Thanks for any info,
Pooloss.
So having had the p40 pro and seen threads all over XDA about what are the alternatives i thought id share what i've found.
So for gmail, i've used the email app preinstalled (which does the same job)
google maps, I saw a post about here we go maps, so i've used that and it does exactly the same thing, i guess as the roads dont change and to be honest i found the speedometer element on it to be more accurate as I used my wifes s10 (as i got no other cellular GMS device) to compare GMS maps vs HMS maps and using the digital speedo in the car, so that was quite interesting.
google docs, I'm simply using what I've always used which is Microsoft office and for me I find it easier to use i guess its because its what I've always used.
Youtube, well for this i just added it as a short cut to my home screen, Even though its not an app i really use to be fair unless im on a tablet.
Playstore, Ive adjusted to appgallery and the petal search app which compliments it really well, yes you can use apkpure & aptoid etc however im just sticking to that.
I mean the misconception that android is google is crazy, I stepped away from the chains of IOS sometime ago for the reason I wanted freedom of apks, RIP showbox.
However if you've found alternatives to other google apps it could be handy, this is from what i use but for the time being ive not needed the use of any other apps as im still on lockdown in Wales.
let me know
Scott
Unfortunately lots of apps require google services. Some banking apps, some browser apps, etc. The problem is not limited to just chrome, maps, drive, youtube, etc. It is far broader and the user wouldn't know if he might have a problem unless he tried all apps that he needs without google services in order to find out which ones don't work.
From my point of view Microsoft has lots of google apps alternatives - onedrive, onenote, etc. Also YouTube which is critical for a lot of users can be used normally by installing YouTube Vanced.
I hope that some good and easy methods of installing google services show up or the Huawei ban is lifted.
There already many of these threads. .. bit hard for people to use when everything is just buried in hundreds of posts.
EatSleepTechRepeat said:
So having had the p40 pro and seen threads all over XDA about what are the alternatives i thought id share what i've found.
So for gmail, i've used the email app preinstalled (which does the same job)
google maps, I saw a post about here we go maps, so i've used that and it does exactly the same thing, i guess as the roads dont change and to be honest i found the speedometer element on it to be more accurate as I used my wifes s10 (as i got no other cellular GMS device) to compare GMS maps vs HMS maps and using the digital speedo in the car, so that was quite interesting.
google docs, I'm simply using what I've always used which is Microsoft office and for me I find it easier to use i guess its because its what I've always used.
Youtube, well for this i just added it as a short cut to my home screen, Even though its not an app i really use to be fair unless im on a tablet.
Playstore, Ive adjusted to appgallery and the petal search app which compliments it really well, yes you can use apkpure & aptoid etc however im just sticking to that.
I mean the misconception that android is google is crazy, I stepped away from the chains of IOS sometime ago for the reason I wanted freedom of apks, RIP showbox.
However if you've found alternatives to other google apps it could be handy, this is from what i use but for the time being ive not needed the use of any other apps as im still on lockdown in Wales.
let me know
Scott
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, and for banking apps you can simply add the website to homescreen, also google maps is a PWA and runs great as a desktop shortcut! I did a lot of this with windows phone and had no issues whatsoever, google is not the be all and end all of mobile phones!
xchatter said:
Unfortunately lots of apps require google services. Some banking apps, some browser apps, etc. The problem is not limited to just chrome, maps, drive, youtube, etc. It is far broader and the user wouldn't know if he might have a problem unless he tried all apps that he needs without google services in order to find out which ones don't work.
From my point of view Microsoft has lots of google apps alternatives - onedrive, onenote, etc. Also YouTube which is critical for a lot of users can be used normally by installing YouTube Vanced.
I hope that some good and easy methods of installing google services show up or the Huawei ban is lifted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Onedrive is good or Yandex.disk
ive got a p40 pro and I use petal search ive found the odd one that tells me I need GMS then I press ok and it carries on as normal, happens with my playsration messages app but once I hit the ok button im good
linux2525 said:
There already many of these threads. .. bit hard for people to use when everything is just buried in hundreds of posts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would guess as its a bit of a hot topic considering the change from GMS to HMS? and with consumers like us trying to either learn or teach there will always be a tonne of posts?
Wakawaka89 said:
ive got a p40 pro and I use petal search ive found the odd one that tells me I need GMS then I press ok and it carries on as normal, happens with my playsration messages app but once I hit the ok button im good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah ive found the same on certain apps, I had it when I phone cloned the tube app across but yeah works a treat , I guess its a download / transfer it across and see kinda thing.
machina77 said:
You are right, and for banking apps you can simply add the website to homescreen, also google maps is a PWA and runs great as a desktop shortcut! I did a lot of this with windows phone and had no issues whatsoever, google is not the be all and end all of mobile phones!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, I've taken the mindset of 'there is always a way' and turns out 99% of the time there is!
EatSleepTechRepeat said:
I would guess as its a bit of a hot topic considering the change from GMS to HMS? and with consumers like us trying to either learn or teach there will always be a tonne of posts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some sort of structured spreadsheet.. Maybe Wikipedia lol
But yea.. Probably a bit hard to coordinate and Huawei should really develop
EatSleepTechRepeat said:
So having had the p40 pro and seen threads all over XDA about what are the alternatives i thought id share what i've found.
So for gmail, i've used the email app preinstalled (which does the same job)
google maps, I saw a post about here we go maps, so i've used that and it does exactly the same thing, i guess as the roads dont change and to be honest i found the speedometer element on it to be more accurate as I used my wifes s10 (as i got no other cellular GMS device) to compare GMS maps vs HMS maps and using the digital speedo in the car, so that was quite interesting.
google docs, I'm simply using what I've always used which is Microsoft office and for me I find it easier to use i guess its because its what I've always used.
Youtube, well for this i just added it as a short cut to my home screen, Even though its not an app i really use to be fair unless im on a tablet.
Playstore, Ive adjusted to appgallery and the petal search app which compliments it really well, yes you can use apkpure & aptoid etc however im just sticking to that.
I mean the misconception that android is google is crazy, I stepped away from the chains of IOS sometime ago for the reason I wanted freedom of apks, RIP showbox.
However if you've found alternatives to other google apps it could be handy, this is from what i use but for the time being ive not needed the use of any other apps as im still on lockdown in Wales.
let me know
Scott
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found to youtube. And I have my account connected there. So everything is synched. My p40 pro is without GMS. I only have youtube. And the best part is that it is premium and for free .
It is called vanced youtube....
I've come across it I believe on some XDA forum....
You lucky guys. I must go with gms on My p40 pro for now. Only because of one App, and thats My banking App from N26. In webpage i can't make money Transfers. The App is needed to Do this. I wrote to the N26 Support if they had Plans to offer the App in the App gallery, but they had Till now no Plans to Do that.
If anyone had a solution for this, i'm open for all.
Aurora store - an open source Google Play app that doesn't need GMS.
Microsoft Office - its far more usable than Google Docs
One Drive - works well especially if you have an office 365 subscription and it'll backup photos
There are a bunch of youtube apps on XDA that adblock and run in the background too....
Dear forum members,
im new to the whole "custom ROM"-theme and im rly excited about it. As you can imagine im kinda overwhelmed with all the info i found on youtube and other platforms.
Im on an Honor 9 phone. My wife is on an iPhone 6. We both got into the topic privacy and security recently, so i found Robert Braxman on Youtube, a techie guy who makes videos about custom ROMs, linux phones and so on. I found it very interesting, especially in times of mobile phone tracing, that it's possible to opt-out of the whole privacy madness, for example with an ubuntu touch phone or an de-googled android phone.
So i got a nexus 9 and managed to install Ubuntu Touch on it. It works great but my problem is, that i need certain android apps, that i cant find on Ubuntu Touch. To be precise, i work professionally on Instagram with my business, so i need a possibility to use the Story and the Live Stream feature. Now im thinking about what to do.
I found e-foundation on the internet and i think it's impressive what they do. Do you think in my situation it's a good solution, to get 1 or 2 de googled e foundation phones so we can keep working with them? Or would the whole Instagram think be stupid, because we would have to install google play store to download it, so the whole privacy advantage is gone again? Or is there maybe a solution to install instagram without having to install google play store and to USE instagram without having to log in with an gmail account. I've read something about microg or so, but i dont know what it is!
Sorry for my rly long text, but i think it's good, to describe my struggle as precise as possible for you guys!
Thanks and regards!
johnthreesixteen said:
Dear forum members,
im new to the whole "custom ROM"-theme and im rly excited about it. As you can imagine im kinda overwhelmed with all the info i found on youtube and other platforms.
Im on an Honor 9 phone. My wife is on an iPhone 6. We both got into the topic privacy and security recently, so i found Robert Braxman on Youtube, a techie guy who makes videos about custom ROMs, linux phones and so on. I found it very interesting, especially in times of mobile phone tracing, that it's possible to opt-out of the whole privacy madness, for example with an ubuntu touch phone or an de-googled android phone.
So i got a nexus 9 and managed to install Ubuntu Touch on it. It works great but my problem is, that i need certain android apps, that i cant find on Ubuntu Touch. To be precise, i work professionally on Instagram with my business, so i need a possibility to use the Story and the Live Stream feature. Now im thinking about what to do.
I found e-foundation on the internet and i think it's impressive what they do. Do you think in my situation it's a good solution, to get 1 or 2 de googled e foundation phones so we can keep working with them? Or would the whole Instagram think be stupid, because we would have to install google play store to download it, so the whole privacy advantage is gone again? Or is there maybe a solution to install instagram without having to install google play store and to USE instagram without having to log in with an gmail account. I've read something about microg or so, but i dont know what it is!
Sorry for my rly long text, but i think it's good, to describe my struggle as precise as possible for you guys!
Thanks and regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to download Instagram from the Google playstore, there are many sites that host the app for download, such as, APKmirror.
As for logging into Instagram with a Google account, if Instagram has an option that allows logging in with a non Google account, you can log in with a non Google account. If all they support is logging in with Google then you are stuck using a Google account which then robs you of privacy from Google at least as far as Instagram is concerned.
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