Hi there,
as I said in the title, I'm new on this field.
My aim is to the right choice of the phone and degoogle it. I tied to find somebody, who could do it for me (I live in the UK), but it's not so easy.
So now I've been trying to get familiar with the procedures, but I have to say, it's not easy process. There is so many 3, 4-letter acronyms, so many procedures to follow to be successful with degoogling a device. Moreover, there is so many information on this forum. All of these make me totally overwhelmed.
So, the main question, how to start this adventure? Is there a manual, tutorial (can be here, on youtube, does not matter) dedicated for beginners? Something which will make me confident enough to start degoogle a phone on my own?
Many thanks for suggestion.
If I'm right then de-googling means to remove all apps / services developed and copyrighted / owned by Google such as Google Services Framework, Google Play services ( incl. Google Play Store), GMS, Youtube, etc.pp, as also your Google account, from Android OS.
De-googling is possible, but requires Android OS is got rooted. And: it may not be recommended, because then many apps no longer will work.
jwoegerbauer said:
If I'm right then de-googling means to remove all apps / services developed and copyrighted / owned by Google such as Google Services Framework, Google Play services ( incl. Google Play Store), GMS, Youtube, etc.pp, as also your Google account, from Android OS.
De-googling is possible, but requires Android OS is got rooted. And: it may not be recommended, because then many apps no longer will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By de-googling I mean installing for example (this is my aim) LineageOS. And instead google app store using F-droid.
Hint: Change this thread's absolutely errleading title to How to install Lineage OS
Related
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,
Like many people I don't trust Google.
They censor people, they remove websites from their rankings, they fire people for political beliefs, they track everybody, and of course their google play services app is capable of recording everything about you.
Is it possible to create a ROM for the OnePlus 6 that is without Google services?
How much of google can be stripped away at the ROM level?
How much of Android is necessary closed source from google?
Thanks.
frei6 said:
Hi,
Like many people I don't trust Google.
You know, they censor people, they remove websites from their rankings, and so on.
Is it possible to create a ROM for the OnePlus 6 that is without Google services?
How much of Android is closed source from google?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you may have chosen the wrong phone to avoid the prying eyes of google. I think that the services are directly integrated into the functions of everything in the system (with the exception of maybe play services as some phones are without play store). Certainly if i'm wrong, someone correct me. Good luck. :fingers-crossed:
thejase said:
I think you may have chosen the wrong phone to avoid the prying eyes of google. I think that the services are directly integrated into the functions of everything in the system (with the exception of maybe play services as some phones are without play store). Certainly if i'm wrong, someone correct me. Good luck. :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But isn't there a version of Android (AOSP) that doesn't have the google spyware?
frei6 said:
Hi,
Like many people I don't trust Google.
They censor people, they remove websites from their rankings, they fire people for political beliefs, they track everybody, and of course their google play services app is capable of recording everything about you.
Is it possible to create a ROM for the OnePlus 6 that is without Google services?
How much of google can be stripped away at the ROM level?
How much of Android is necessary closed source from google?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although Lineage for MicroG has not been released yet, you can run HavocOS which is a Lineage based ROM that includes the "spoof patch" and flash MicroG instead of an OpenGapps package.
Please note that the micro edition of Gapps is not the same thing as MicroG. MicroG contains no Google blobs and you cannot use the Play Store or other apps that require Google Play Services. You will need to use Fdroid, YALP, etc to install and update packages.
Another alternative is to use HavocOS or any other LOS based ROM with the "pico" version of OpenGapps which contains the bare minimum required to use the Play Store. This is what I'm doing currently and it works well while reducing Googles presence on your phone. OpenGapps are based on AOSP code, so there are still binary blobs. (not really open-source as the name implies.)
Hydrogen os , exact same as oos but without Google. Have a look in roms etc
Was about to say Hydrogen Os.
I am a flashaholic. I only flash roms in my home because i have everything i need to repair in case of need.
So, flash a new rom, connect to WIFI, login to google. Surprise !!!... "Google does not recognise this device".... Same device. On the same router, connection, house.
BS "security"...
Hydrogen OS, but then you may be dealing with Chinese government spyware. Pick your poison.
Hi Guys,
I have a OnePlus 6 (oxygenOs rooted) and am very satisfied so far. I've been extremely bothered recently by google and Facebook and Instagram tracking us, thats why I want to de-googling my Oneplus 6. I am not a professional and would like to ask you for help. I did some research on the internet and read a lot about LineageOs and MicroG. I also tried / e / rom and some apps don't work without google services like Line and some apps.
Is there a manual somewhere where I can de-googgle my cell phone and all apps work as with google? I would prefer to lead on oxygen OS or hyrogenOs if these apps would work without google services.
I would be very happy about your tips.
Thanks in advance
greetings
Coktail
ciao
you have to get microG, if you go on their post you will have enought info (and app)
there Is also a magisk module for microG
and an unofficial zip installer (that I suggest, since It could replace Gapps keeping the most of google funtionality)
anyway a lot of google stufs could not work
contact and calendar there are a lot of post discussing
pay, search, assistant, discovery, maps, autofill, maybe netflix
some of them could be easily replaced, others no way...
and, It could be preferible run microG on a gapp-free rom, as omni, syberia, crDroid, etc
hi
Psk.It said:
ciao
you have to get microG, if you go on their post you will have enought info (and app)
there Is also a magisk module for microG
and an unofficial zip installer (that I suggest, since It could replace Gapps keeping the most of google funtionality)
anyway a lot of google stufs could not work
contact and calendar there are a lot of post discussing
pay, search, assistant, discovery, maps, autofill, maybe netflix
some of them could be easily replaced, others no way...
and, It could be preferible run microG on a gapp-free rom, as omni, syberia, crDroid, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, thank you for reply. As i read before oxygen os cant run microG. Hydrogen Os is google free
but not have signature spoofing. I like this rom cause i like the ui and can run paralel apps.
So there is no possibility to run microG with oxy or hdyrogen os? I need Line app.
If you know a solution would be nice if you can post a link.
what you think about /e/rom?(its android9)
thanks alot
best regards
Coktail said:
Hello, thank you for reply. As i read before oxygen os cant run microG. Hydrogen Os is google free
but not have signature spoofing. I like this rom cause i like the ui and can run paralel apps.
So there is no possibility to run microG with oxy or hdyrogen os? I need Line app.
If you know a solution would be nice if you can post a link.
what you think about /e/rom?(its android9)
thanks alot
best regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hydrogen nowadays Is Google free, but it is designer for china market (there are other services inside, at the end It Is worse)
There are also app to make parallel space (i used Island in the cast)
but there are also different client for the most common apps, so you can simply use 2 of them on the same phone account
(example WhatsApp + FMWhatsApp, maybe cloud backup will not work, so it's up to you ti select the best way they fit your needs)
You have to make experiments by your own, because you only can check what is the best option for your usage
Psk.It said:
Hydrogen nowadays Is Google free, but it is designer for china market (there are other services inside, at the end It Is worse)
There are also app to make parallel space (i used Island in the cast)
but there are also different client for the most common apps, so you can simply use 2 of them on the same phone account
(example WhatsApp + FMWhatsApp, maybe cloud backup will not work, so it's up to you ti select the best way they fit your needs)
You have to make experiments by your own, because you only can check what is the best option for your usage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Hydrogen phone and i first wanted to change it to oxygen but after some tweaking it's going well.
First install feem : file transfer program works on every os ... http://feem.io ...it has some advertising but the best there is.
i've got rit of all the chinese software on the phone.
installed a new gui ... nova http://novalauncher.com/
installed acmarket : another market not associated with google.
now you can still install google software if you want to.
i even deleted the chinese browser and
mmm ... ok deleting chinese browser... but pay attention with alternative store
official apps in the PlayStore some times have malware or they sold your data to thirthies...
i wont immagine what can happend on a store where "common people" contributes on It...
let say, Google can make mistakes, anyway it's better than not checking at all... (it"'s a general discussion, i don't know feem in details)
You also are able to use Lineage OS and just don't install Google Apps. There you go. There is also F-Droid as a source for apps.
I wonder if I can create two (or more) user profiles on my android device, one of which I will use only open source stuff and everything else on the other.
As far as I know, it is possible to create several user profiles in Android that are isolated from each other.
I would probably install LineageOS for this as it doesn't have google play services pre-installed on it and it seems very "clean" in terms of these things (I have never used this system).
There is something like OpenGApps that allows you to install google play services but as far as I know it requires installation from twrp. So I suspect google play services will then be installed for all user profiles on the device.
So is there any possibility to install google services for one user only?
I also know that there is such a thing as microg (and Aurora stora). When I heard that there was such a thing as "LineageOS for microG" I thought it would be a very good option (on one android profile I just wouldn't use microg). But later I also found out that it is supposedly against the google policy and that they can ban my account for it, which I would prefer to avoid.
So I wanted to ask if the only option to do this is to install LineageOS, check what applications are installed by default, install OpenGApps to it and then disable all google related applications on one of the user profiles?
Does such disabling the application also ensure that Google will not be able to "work" on my device in any way? Does OpenGApps install any system level google stuff that will run in the background anyway?
And are OpenGApps not something that I should not install when I don't want to get a google ban?
You are confusing (Open)GApps - Google themselves call them Google Mobile Services (GMS) - and Google Play Services what are two completely different things.
Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of Android. It helps connect everything together and hold it all there. The Google Play Services are the interface to the Google Mobile Services as well as to the hardware functions of the Android device. Many of your apps use Google Play Services everyday.
GMS is a bunch of apps what includes
Google Play Store,
Google Now,
Google Play Music,
Google Maps,
Google+,
Gmail,
Google Photos,
Youtube
and the Android Device Manager.
Knowing the difference it should be clear that GMS can get installed on a per-user basis whereas Google Play Services not.
jwoegerbauer said:
You are confusing (Open)GApps - Google themselves call them Google Mobile Services (GMS) - and Google Play Services what are two completely different things.
Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of Android. It helps connect everything together and hold it all there. The Google Play Services are the interface to the Google Mobile Services as well as to the hardware functions of the Android device. Many of your apps use Google Play Services everyday.
GMS is a bunch of apps what includes
Google Play Store,
Google Now,
Google Play Music,
Google Maps,
Google+,
Gmail,
Google Photos,
Youtube
and the Android Device Manager.
Knowing the difference it should be clear that GMS can get installed on a per-user basis whereas Google Play Services not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification, although I still don't really know what you meant. I thought that google play services is the name for all those components that are needed to run, for example, the google play store. If the google play store needs also other components (?), then when I wrote google play services, I meant all the components that are needed to run the play store.
In any case, I mean in practice whether I am able to install both the play store and the components needed for it only for one user in Android, but from what I understand it is not possible in your opinion.
The questions at the end of my post probably still remain the same. I can only clarify that I meant more general cases in these questions:
Does installing the play store (along with the necessary components) install any system-level Google stuff that will run in the background anyway even if I disable these apps?
And isn't installing the play store (along with the necessary components) by hand something that I shouldn't be doing when I want to avoid a Google ban?
Again:
Google Play Store simply is an ordinary user app as any other user app, too, nothing else. It itself installs , except some Android OS libraries, nothing. Only thing is it requires Google Play Services ( which are running in background ) to properly run. As already said: Google Play Services can only get installed once because it extends Android OS. And Android OS always is the same for all created users.
Don't understand what you mean with "Google ban".
Dani3I said:
I would probably install LineageOS for this as it doesn't have google play services pre-installed on it and it seems very "clean" in terms of these things (I have never used this system).
There is something like OpenGApps that allows you to install google play services but as far as I know it requires installation from twrp. So I suspect google play services will then be installed for all user profiles on the device.
So is there any possibility to install google services for one user only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install those apps but you have to flash it via recovery. Also, you need to do that prior to booting into the os for the first time, which I think is related to encryption.
If you already booted into your os, you need to boot into recovery and perform a factory data reset, then flash those gapps (as far as I know dirty flashing those gapps will introduce instability to those gapps. That's why you need a factory data reset).
Keep in mind that factory reseting will delete all your person data.
After you flashed it, those gapps will be available for every user
Dani3I said:
I also know that there is such a thing as microg (and Aurora stora). When I heard that there was such a thing as "LineageOS for microG" I thought it would be a very good option (on one android profile I just wouldn't use microg). But later I also found out that it is supposedly against the google policy and that they can ban my account for it, which I would prefer to avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aurora Store provides an anonymous google account. It's data isn't linked to you which means they cannot ban your account.
Dani3I said:
So I wanted to ask if the only option to do this is to install LineageOS, check what applications are installed by default, install OpenGApps to it and then disable all google related applications on one of the user profiles?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOS comes without any google apps preinstalled. So first flash LOS, then OpenGApps (follow their official guide. They describe it there).
And yes, after that you have to disable every google app you don't want to use for every new user profile.
Dani3I said:
Does such disabling the application also ensure that Google will not be able to "work" on my device in any way? Does OpenGApps install any system level google stuff that will run in the background anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you disable it for the current user, it won't run in any way, yes.
OpenGApps itself shouldn't install anything on system level. But those apps will be installed on system level since you flash them to the system (using your recovery). However, if you disable them they won't run in the background.
Dani3I said:
And are OpenGApps not something that I should not install when I don't want to get a google ban?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know.
jwoegerbauer said:
You are confusing (Open)GApps - Google themselves call them Google Mobile Services (GMS) - and Google Play Services what are two completely different things.
Google Play Services is one of the most important parts of Android. It helps connect everything together and hold it all there. The Google Play Services are the interface to the Google Mobile Services as well as to the hardware functions of the Android device. Many of your apps use Google Play Services everyday.
GMS is a bunch of apps what includes
Google Play Store,
Google Now,
Google Play Music,
Google Maps,
Google+,
Gmail,
Google Photos,
Youtube
and the Android Device Manager.
Knowing the difference it should be clear that GMS can get installed on a per-user basis whereas Google Play Services not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep that's absolutely correct
Got my OnePlus 9 Pro today, before I start flashing LOS I wanted to ask a couple questions about my Google choices.
Is it possible to not have any Google apps/services on the phone but still have access to the Play Store? I've seen Aurora store mentioned a couple times, but it doesn't seem like it works that well on my current device (searching for apps that I know are there but get no results, etc.). Those apps would likely still rely on Google services and break without them, correct?
Is it possible to use Mozilla's location services instead of Google's?
If no to the above, can I use Google's location services through a proxy?
What are the differences between OpenGApps/MindTheGapps/microG? I'm considering the latter (microG) but it looks like there hasn't been much progress on it and I don't know how functional it will be.
I want as little Google on my phone as possible while still having access to GPS, apps that rely on Google having bare minimum functionality, and privacy. What is the best way to do this?
1. You have access to the web of Play Store. play.google.com