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8 votes
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A spectacularly bad Washington Post story on Apple and Google’s exposure notification project
3 votes -
Have you tried degoogling your Android?
In a pursuit of a more privacy-oriented mobile computing I've installed LineageOS ROM on my phone and decided to try living without Google Play Services, which usually provide aGPS (cell tower...
In a pursuit of a more privacy-oriented mobile computing I've installed LineageOS ROM on my phone and decided to try living without Google Play Services, which usually provide aGPS (cell tower geopositioning), push notifications and lots of other frameworks like Google Maps that apps use as libraries.
My phone has 4 primary uses:
- Communicator - mostly Telegram, WhatsApp and Slack. Email of-course.
- Navigator - GPS and Maps are an irreplaceable tool if you're living in a modern metropolis
- Internet browser - obviously
- Music Player - music on the go
So let's see how you're supposed to tackle each of the uses, while using as much FOSS as possible.
- System functionality - both push notifications and aGPS can be solved by microG - fake Google Play Services library. Not sure how it implements push, but aGPS is checked against Mozilla's geolocation database.
- Communications - Telegram is available on F-Droid (OSS app store), but everything else is not. The solution here is to use Aurora (Play Store front-end to rip APKs) and install them manually. Push notifications might be broken even with microG (WhatsApp is missing notifications for me, sometimes). AOSP email is fine, K9-mail is ugly but works somewhat better.
- Maps and navigation: OpenStreetMap is the obvious choice here and OsmAnd delivers the frontend. It has enough metadata for businesses to get you around, but compared to Google Maps it's can be sometimes lacking and/or out-of-date. Navigation itself is decent, but it's missing timetables for public transportation compared to GMaps, which can be a problem, especially if trains are cancelled or delayed. Overall it's very usable, almost feature complete, but I've found myself falling back to Google Maps in my browser when it comes to using public transport.
- Internet browser - Firefox, with uBlock Origin installed (yes, it works on Android) it's really good.
- Music Player - there are tons of music players available on F-Droid, you can pick whichever suits your needs. Here I actually stepped away from the FOSS and bought myself a PowerAMP license on developer's website. One of the rare moments where paid Android software is available outside of Play Store.
Now that the primary use cases are solved, let's try some other useful apps:
- E-banking? Broken without Google Play, app refuses to even start properly.
- Bike sharing? Taxi app? Public transport app? Broken without Google Maps libraries for the obvious reason. You might or might not be able to use the browser version, depending on the app.
- Reddit Relay/any app that requires the license? Okay you've ripped the APK with Aurora, but you can't buy the license to remove the ads.
- Ebook reader? Nothing good on F-Droid, have to rip something off Aurora.
Basically you have to be prepared to use your mobile browser a lot. And for some of the sites, do it in a "desktop mode" with tiny text, since the mobile version will just nag you to download the app, that might be broken.
The takeaway is simple - you give up A LOT of convenience just to cut off Google analytics (which you still might get with apps like Slack). It's certainly usable, don't get me wrong, but I still feel kind of stupid fumbling with OsmAnd when I'm out with my friends and trying to look something up. I'll probably end up going back to the stock ROM, or just installing the Google Apps. For me it was an experiment and I think I've got a general feel on how much information and use I'm actually getting out of GApps.
So Tildes, have you tried degoogling your phone? How did it go? Are you still using it?
28 votes -
Pushbullet: Let's guess what Google requires in fourteen days or they kill our extension
19 votes -
Chrome to start throttling resource-heavy ads in August
10 votes -
Review of new Apple and Google contact tracing protocol
5 votes -
Google Play Music will shut down later this year - features are now available for transferring history/library to YouTube Music
21 votes -
Stadia game suggestions?
We don’t have a console and I’m a full time Linux user so gaming hasn’t been the best of experiences for me. Today a Chromecast Ultra and two controllers arrived on our doorstep that my wife...
We don’t have a console and I’m a full time Linux user so gaming hasn’t been the best of experiences for me.
Today a Chromecast Ultra and two controllers arrived on our doorstep that my wife apparently ordered and wow is it awesome.
Zero input lag, 1080p with the option to go 4K, and some solid options for games that are playable instantly.
So far we have The Division 2, Grid, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Destiny 2, Monopoly, and a couple other indie games. There are some big titles coming - I’m most excited for FIFA and Madden - but I’m looking to find out if you guys have any suggestions for games.
We are looking for some fun two player action.
Also, if anyone else on here has Stadia, I’ll add you!
13 votes -
Costs/funding in open-source languages
6 votes -
Apple, Google ban use of location tracking in contact tracing apps
8 votes -
Google reveals the top recipes every state is searching for right now
4 votes -
The anti-Amazon alliance
6 votes -
Apple and Google’s COVID-19 exposure notification API: Questions and answers
4 votes -
Google Meet premium video meetings—free for everyone
6 votes -
Germany flips to Apple-Google approach on smartphone contact tracing
7 votes -
Destiny 2 on Google Stadia saw 400% higher player count when Stadia’s free trial launched
11 votes -
Showdown looms between Silicon Valley, US states over contact tracing apps
6 votes -
Google to require all advertisers to pass identity verification process
12 votes -
Stadia version of Doom Eternal's lag re-tested, plus tests of The Division 2, Borderlands 3, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and more
5 votes -
Google's data centers now work harder when the sun shines and wind blows
8 votes -
Google & Apple adjust maps during pandemic
6 votes -
Australia to make Google and Facebook pay for news content
6 votes -
Google to slow hiring for rest of 2020, CEO tells staff
4 votes -
Google announces a Journalism Emergency Relief Fund for local newsrooms
6 votes -
Google has made significant progress toward developing its own processor to power future versions of its Pixel phones and Chromebooks
11 votes -
Answers to questions about Apple and Google’s new coronavirus tracking project
8 votes -
Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology
14 votes -
Cloudflare moves from reCAPTCHA to hCaptcha
22 votes -
A Google plan to wipe out mosquitoes appears to be working
12 votes -
A two-month free trial of Stadia Pro with nine games is now available
7 votes -
Google will move its summer internship program to a virtual format this year
7 votes -
Envelope - Transform your phone into a simpler, calmer device
8 votes -
Introducing Dreamer: Scalable reinforcement learning using world models
5 votes -
Google wary of sharing user location data in pandemic fight
9 votes -
Brave has filed a formal GDPR complaint against Google for infringing the GDPR “purpose limitation” principle with an internal data free-for-all
12 votes -
Trump’s Google testing announcement mixed up several real projects
5 votes -
Finding a problem at the bottom of the Google stack
7 votes -
Google says it's not publishing a national-scale coronavirus site anytime soon after Trump announcement
8 votes -
Sweden fines Google $8 million for right-to-be-forgotten violations – a failure to comply with Europe's GDPR after they failed to adequately remove search results
11 votes -
Supporting Google's extended workforce through the COVID-19 outbreak
6 votes -
Google now giving away three months of Stadia access to new Chromecast buyers
9 votes -
Google tracked his bike ride past a burglarized home. That made him a suspect.
18 votes -
Anthony Levandowski, former head of Uber's self-driving unit, files for bankruptcy after a court confirms he would have to pay Google $179 million
7 votes -
switching.software: Ethical, easy-to-use and privacy-conscious alternatives to well-known software
18 votes -
Waymo has raised $2.25 billion from external investors
6 votes -
Prompted by Brexit, Google will move UK users' data out of Irish jurisdiction so they are no longer covered by EU privacy rules
21 votes -
The Great Google Revolt: Some of its employees tried to stop their company from doing work they saw as unethical. It blew up in their faces.
18 votes -
Google Stadia announces five upcoming games, including three "First on Stadia" titles
8 votes -
Security researchers partner with Chrome to take down over 500 browser extensions in a fraud network affecting 1.7 million users
12 votes -
Australian Federal Court orders Google to turn over identifying information of user who left negative review for Melbourne dentist
8 votes