Hi all,

I have been enthousiastically lurking in this sub for the last few months, while degoogling.

Today, I can finally say that I deleted my Google account. I have been gradually changing to alternatives for each Google, several of them self-hosted.

Honorable mentions I have been particularly impressed with:

- Comaps for Google Maps

- Immich for Google Photos

- FreeTube for Youtube

Furthermore, I use Proton now for e-mail and so on.

If I had to give one tip:

Take it slow. For me, this involved going through all my logins in password manager, and changing from Google login to e-mail login, as well as monitoring my Gmail inbox for important messages for a few months.

Thanks for all the tips, tricks and motivation!

a few months ago, i posted that google was starting to implement the need for a mobile phone to verify RECAPTCHA (the post). it seems like google has finally started the roll out. i was on my phone so i got this screen rather than a QR code and as you can see in the second slide, it redirects me to Google Play Services on my phone.

It is the most urgent need to nuke RECAPTCHA from our websites and switch to alternatives like cloudflare turnstiles and ALTCHA. we should not be using RECAPTCHA that forces google play services on us.

also an interesting point to mention, even the audio CAPTCHA option has been removed along with visual CAPTCHA.

with how much focus is put onto privacy in this subreddit im seeing a surprising lot of support for/usage of vibecoded projects. isnt the point to have an actual hold on your device? why would you make something like that when you yourself dont even know whats in the code? just seems strange, ai arguments aside

title

Nice article on DEGoogled and Europeans smartphones: https://tuta.com/blog/degoogled-phones I've opted for a Fairphone and also just got the Fairbuds 2!

- New: you can choose to let Search or Gemini access data from Gmail, Drive and Google Photos. Search may then use that data to personalize content, including ads.
- "We don't show you personalized ads based on your content from Drive, Gmail, or Photos" now goes on: "unless you choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads."
- A new definition, "personalize content", names a feature called Personal Intelligence.

Full diff and both recorded versions: https://keepword.net/changes/google-privacy-2026-10-16/

It's opt-in, and Google announced it with a new effective date, so this isn't a secret edit. Google's own archive has the old version too. I'm posting it because almost nobody reads the new version of a policy.

Disclosure: the recording comes from Keepword, an open-source project I run that records what web pages say, so anyone can check it later. This one was recorded by a single witness, which is mine. The linked page says what that does and doesn't prove.

Today, by chance, I came across the update. I have F-Droid on my phone, but it doesn't show this update for direct installation... I had to download the new app from theoficial F-Droid website and install it:

https://f-droid.org/es/

Entered Dev Mode (Settings > About phone > Build number and tap 7 times), enable USB Debugging.

Prompt: My Android TV is slow and full of ads. Find it on my Wi-Fi network, connect over ADB, and debloat it. Disable the manufacturer's ads, telemetry, and junk. Reversibly, never uninstall. Asking me first about apps and features I might use. Then build and install a fast, minimal Apple TV-style home screen with a dock of my favorite apps and rotating nature wallpapers. Backup before changing anything. Check every step with screenshots from the TV and give me a restore script.

Installed Jellyfin, VLC, and Tempus.

Butter smooth. No crashes, yet.

I see the UK is pushing to make it law to require phone manufacturers to scan users' phones for images of children etc to stop exploitation. That sets a dangerous precedent for invading privacy, especially if it were to spread to the USA.

What would be the best way to stop that on one's hardware? Return to flip phones? Brax phone? Graphene OS?

Like most everybody, I don't have any images of children on my phone, but it creeps me out to think that without my permission my phone might scan its contents and report to the government. That feels like a step closer to a totalitarian government that could stop any dissent among the people, snatch anybody it feels is a threat if they don't like certain content on one's phone.

Every client i tried didn't let me comment

I'm a student in college who's in the process of divesting from big tech. I've been thinking recently that many people might want to divest but not possess the expertise or time to move away, especially in the US. My question is this: would a white glove transfer from google to nextcloud(on a managed provider) be appealing? I know this isn't everything needed to degoogle but it could be a start. My main hope is to genuinely help people move away from big tech, not to make a lot of money, so if you think the service wouldn't help with that goal, please let me know.

I make MyWay, an Android/iOS app that reveals the streets you've walked on a "fog of war" map of your city. It's basically a personal location history, so I've tried to keep Google out of it. I'm posting here because I know where it still falls short, and I'd like this sub's opinion on fixing it properly.

What Google doesn't get - Your walks. History is stored in a local SQLite database. No account is needed, and the app has no server that stores routes. - An advertising ID. The AD_ID and ad-services permissions are stripped from the manifest. No ads. - Analytics by default. The Firebase Analytics SDK ships in the app, but collection is disabled in the manifest until you opt in. Even then it gets no routes, coordinates or steps. - Launch pings (from 1.9.1, in review). Until now the app used Firebase Remote Config for update checks, which sent an installation ID to Google on every launch. 1.9.1 replaces it with a static JSON file on my own server: no identifiers, no cookies. - Your steps. Health Connect counts stay on the device. They are not in backups and not uploaded. - Map tiles. Tiles come from OpenStreetMap, not Google Maps. Nearby sights come from my own Overpass instance with access logging off.

Where Google is still involved - Play Services for recording. Location uses the Fused Location Provider, and walk/ride detection uses Activity Recognition, both from Play Services. Without GMS, recording probably won't work. I haven't tested microG. - Google Play only. There is no direct APK yet. - Opt-in features use Firebase: cloud backup (Google or Apple sign-in, EU region), the leaderboard and analytics. All are off unless you turn them on. - It's closed source, so F-Droid isn't an option. I know that's a dealbreaker for some of you.

What I'm considering, and want your take on 1. Fall back to plain Android LocationManager (GPS provider) when Play Services aren't present. Walk/ride detection would then use speed only, with manual correction. 2. Publish a signed APK on the website for people without a Play Store. Would Obtainium or Accrescent be better? 3. Is a microG compatibility test worth reporting on, or does everyone here want no-GMS anyway?

Privacy summary: https://myway.p4.lv/en/#privacy · Full policy: https://myway.p4.lv/en/privacy.html

Hey is there a way to test drive graphene/ check app compatibility without shelling out $200 for a pixel? I'd like to test my bank app, and my bank in the browser, and I want to try the taxi apps-the alternatives to uber and lyft, and a hipaa compliant phone app for work.

I'm assuming nexcloud and proton will be fine, but i don't drive and don't currently live in a place with public transport.

Google lens won't work if there is no Google App installed on our device which ofc i don't want to. Is there any alternatives for Google Lens

I'm using this for studies/research purposes and to lookup problems. what do you guys suggest?

What are all you EV drivers doing about Android Auto/Carplay?

About to buy my first EV, and my first car with a shitty computer in the dash. Hoping to find a device for Navigation+Music+Camera, that isn't phoning home.

Its a Honda Prologue.

I'm curious what you guys are using.

What do you guys recommend?

EDIT: Went with Lavender Photos. I forgot to mention exactly *what* I needed, and that's on me, sorry. I needed a smart photo gallery but didn't need the cloud features.

I'm not impressed. This is a new low, even for Google.

I have F-droid installed, if it helps.

1st GCAM @ 30x / 2nd Google Camera @ 30x

I understand that GCAM has a lot less of the processing that Google's camera does, but I seriously can't take a single photo that isn't grainy and noisy. Both of these were taken around 3pm on a very sunny day. The GCAM is more detailed, but unusable. The Google is softer and blurry, but usable.

Am I missing something or do I need to try a different camera? I sourced it from here.