I did find a thread from a year ago, but wanted to see if anybody has any recent recommendations on an alternative to Google keep which has worked well but IOS 18 broke it and it's stuck at Updating. One thing I would need is a decent web interface as well as I like to keep the different lists like Costco, BJ's, work, upcoming birthdays, etc all open in a tab in Safari. Thanks

Hi, I wanna replace my Google Play Store with the open-source Aurora Store. Can I fully deactivate the Play Store? Are there any inconveniences or work-arounds I need to know?

I have started avoiding google products and services as much as possible, but gmail is the most difficult one for me, primarily because it lets me register to other platforms without a hiccup and without payment. (Not the "sign in with" option, via email.)

However, it is becoming more and more predatory, to the point of becoming unusable. I got flashbacks of the time they forced me out of chrome.

For a while I've been unable to login to my mail account. Today I found out that it's nothing new and there's nothing to do.

I have used my account to register some platforms. I'm not sure what I will do and how much I can recover.

Is there any competitor to google, free and widely recognized to create accounts everywhere? How are you guys doing it?

Edit: In case it's not clear, I obviously want something that would pass for popular platforms, and wouldn't lock me out as long as I remember my password, ever.

Edit #2: Okay it looks like you guys like paying as an alternative.

is there a way to clear urls and block cookies popus with ublock origin in mull? i dont want to use other extensions other then ublock, bitwarden and dark reader

Hey guys, i'm using fdroid with regular android on my phone, from fdroid i only download fossify apps, new pipe and breezy weather. My question: can i open my bank apps safely? Not planning on download anything skeechy from fdroid.

We pay Google for our email service at work, but I do not like the website for managing email. My biggest gripe about it is the calendar notifications. i have specific days of the month where I need to complete specific tasks. If those days happen to fall on the weekend or a day I do not work, I don't get the reminder. I realize the calendar is not the same as the email, but I need software that works well together.

I have always used Outlook, but the new Outlook has the same issue as the Gmail site does.

My goal is to get a reminder that does not go away until I dismiss it or delay it. Outlook was great with reminders and I have no idea why it is so difficult with other software.

Thank you

Hi I’m completely new to all this degoogle stuff, sorry for the rookie question, but what is better and what is the difference between tor and duckduck? Thanks

What do you think about creating a new account on Android for the banking app and the mobile provider app? All other app on my phone are foss

So I would like to flash GrapheneOS on my phone. But I've got a couple of concerns.

1. I saw that the stock Camera app has very few features and doesn't use the full potential that this phone has got.
2. I actually never used Fdroid, how is it? Does it update the apps automatically or do I have to do it manually.
3. What about paid apps, for example games. How do I get games or generally speaking apps that cost without pirating them?
4. Is it safe to download apk's from for example Fdroid?

If I've got more questions I'm going to write them in the comment section. Thanks in advance:)

is it possible to have an email without a google account? then with said email am i able to create accounts with it (like bitwarden, amazon, facebook, chatgpt)? pros and cons? what can/cant i do?

Hey there!
As the title suggests I am trying to find a more private alternative to the maps timeline. More often than I would like to admit it was very helpful for me to check where I have been and when. So I enabled the timeline. Very bad, I know.
As I am installing Graphene OS as we speak I'd like to go ahead and ditch the timeline as well.

Do you know of any more private way to track your location regularly? Maybe even logging it only on the device?

Thanks in advance :)

Woke up this morning and I can't access my SMS anymore unless someone text me. I have this message and I follow the instruction to desactivate this feature using the link in the text but I can't even do it because when I open the SMS App it send me right back to that message with no "Skip this feature" or something.

here's the translated text :

it says "Google and your operator will periodicly verify the information of your phone and your phone number to activate google services and help people to communicate with you. Some things can be charged. The verifed number are added to this google account"

Keep degoogling guys

This happens with multiple earphones and multiple apps. Podcast randomly pauses. I press play to continue without any more issues.

Greetings friends. Is there a way to use apps from these providers, perhaps operated by tor, so as not to be so harmed? Thank you all in advance.

Firstly it's not very expensive (8€ per months for the 2years subscription) for everything it has to offer

But what's really good is that, usually, people don't donate to FOSS projects they use, well that's my case

But the Proton Foundation do donate millions every year to some projects (GrapheneOS, Tor, Qubes, other non-profit organisations, etc)

So by paying Proton Unlimited, firstly we have everything to degoogle entirely, with great products + we help other privacy and security projects to grow I am very happy to have that subscription, thanks Proton

I wanted to purchase an app for £0.99 via Google Play Store with my new Samsung phone. Google is asking me to verify my account by providing information like my driver's licence or passport details, and have temporarily suspended my account.  I was already vexed that in 2024 I am having to need a Gmail account to use Play Store, now this?

I am not a developer and I do not make money in any way, shape or form using Google services. I have used Google for more than 15 years. They already know my personal and family details, my contacts and friendships, where I went to 10 years ago, chats with my deceased girlfriend and peek into my emails etc. Now this?

Google had the audacity to now ask via email that I provide identification details within 7 days or have my account permanently shut down. The chat agent that I contacted ironically said they were asking for my identification details like banks do "for your privacy"!

Question is how can I go about using play store without giving Google my photo ID forever? What happens with a suspended account? Will I be able to receive Gmail emails if my account is suspended? Is there a way to use Google play without a Google account? Or can I create an email solely for the purpose of using Play Store using the same phone (hoping the algorithms would not flag me up as the same person).

I would happily provide the requested information to Google if you folks feel it is indeed to protect my “privacy”…

Thanks in advance

looking at AntennaPod's information in the settings I see this. but it was actually installed through F-Droid. why does this happen with some apps?

I'm on Android 11, with Play Store disabled. using F-Droid and Aurora Store

https://preview.redd.it/zglx51xek26e1.png?width=540&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ca53cb3b4d9ce293e17293e615d7a00e6ba8d12

Hello there !

(TLDR : tried to degoogle, realised i can't do that, i need to know if graphene OS still brings more battery life versus the stock pixel OS, or if i need to switch back.)

I just acquired my pixel 8, installed graphene os and tried what i can and can't do on it, and absolutely love the control i have.

My main goal was to have a phone without any google thing attached, sadly the only game i play on my phone does require google play services along with a connected google account (even though the game is supposed to only use a nintendo account), so i kind of completely abandonned the idea to degoogle (on top of that i also can't find better than google messages, and google phone also block spams way better than "yet another call blocker")

But now a question rise, do i really have an advantage keeping graphene OS ? I still have control over plenty of stuff and i love this feeling, however by regoogling i still send a certain amount of data to google again, certainly less than before but still, will switching back to stock pixel OS end up in a faster battery consumption since all the locks will be removed in term of data sent ?

I know it can be a tricky question, i still fail to quantify how much data can be sent when i just activate internet, and how does it affect battery life.

Thanks for reading and have a pleasant day !

I know that these things can decrease security by increasing the freedom to modify system and app files, but on the other hand, all the forms of attacks that I've seen happen on Android are made to work on devices with locked bootloaders and without root, using attacks that exploit flaws and escalate permissions, or are they social engineering attacks like phishing.

In other words, is all this adherence to Play Integrity and other Android APIs valid and does it really increase the security of these apps or is it just a placebo and causes a false sense of security?

I am literally pissed off after seeing this shit.

->Android 14 ->Moto G34

This probably isn't the correct subreddit for this, but does anybody here know how to block ads using a DNS service or any good routers that support a VPN for a network wide VPN connection?

I’ve been trying to make my device FOSS, but I haven’t found a weather app that compares to the Google Pixel one.

Hello, i've a Xiaomi poco x3 pro and want to install a better OS like grapheneOS, can i do that? And How? Thanks!

I am trying to avoid everything from google and so far I manged with most features but someone recently told me about the DNS issue. I don't understand much from computers but it seems important.

Does HeliBoard's autocorrect improve over time? I have it set to "very aggressive", both languages (English is primary with French as secondary) as multilingual, and the dictionaries are all installed. I'm also aware of how to add my own words to the keyboard and delete the ones that are unnecessary. I would like to make HeliBoard my daily driver instead of SwiftKey (currently network-revoked in GrapheneOS and combined with FUTO Voice).

As far as other keyboards go, I've already checked out the FUTO keyboard and Florisboard. The former is still in alpha stage (fine-tuning helped for a little while but later stopped recognizing added words), so I'll check on this again in a few more months. Florisboard still doesn't have the autocorrect/suggestions feature.