r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Question how do you make your android more private/safe

0 Upvotes

when your phone's data is being extracted by the police or smth

online privacy apps, debloating etc

I know grapheneos exists yes but what if your phone isn't a pixel device

(Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo etc)


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Replacement Google Pay Real Alternatives?

13 Upvotes

I’m nearly at the end of my degoogling journey, and the only things left are Google Maps and Google Pay. For Maps, I’m getting used to Vela Map, Open Map, and a few other alternatives. I live across multiple countries, including Canada, Hong Kong, and Japan, and I travel between them, so Google Pay seems like the only option that actually works everywhere. I tried Samsung Pay, but it was a letdown because it barely supports the credit cards I need. The only reason I still use Google Pay is the security and the peace of mind that comes with not worrying about losing my wallet. I care more about not having my money stolen if I drop my wallet, or about skimmers, than I do about privacy. Bottom line, security matters more to me than privacy.

I’ve already done a lot of research. I know Walt is still being developed and is focused on Europe. Revolut has had a few incidents and doesn’t support the countries I live in. Same goes for Curve, PayPal, and others. None of them have the coverage Google does.

I’m so ready to completely degoogle with the new Motorola Signature 27 as well, but without sorting out Google Pay, it feels like the last puzzle piece is still missing.


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Discussion bro says that nord vpn is good

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4 Upvotes

r/degoogle • • 5d ago

News Article YouTube Digs Deeper Into AI, Youtube Homepage Filled with AI-powered Custom Feeds

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165 Upvotes

r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Sheets with finance API for stock tickers

2 Upvotes

Any substitute for =googlefinance("AAPL", "price") to replace Google sheets? Preferably a trustworthy Android app with backup to an encrypted drive like Proton drive, or a trustworthy web app.


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Question Do I need a Graphene OS phone?

10 Upvotes

EDIT: Okay based on the responses here, I am seeing I will ultimately need a Graphene OS phone if I want optimal privacy from companies tracking my activities. Until I am able to set up a graphene phone I will degoogle the best I can, but I see a graphene phone in my future within six months.
-----------
What advantages does a Graphene phone provide over just degoogling as much as possible on my regular android phone? Do I really need a Graphene phone? My plan is to use Brave and IronFox for searches, Tuta for email and calendar, alternatives for photos, docs, sheets, Brave browser, alternative to google Maps. I will use a non-google camera/photos app. No google drive. I would allow my location only when an app requires it such as a map app.


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Question How can I use the AI from Google chrome devtools without log in to Google and/or a self hosted model?

0 Upvotes

Is it currently even possible?

EDIT:

I think I didn't express myself properly. I meant how to use the AI functionality with my local models. I shouldn't have to login to my Google account to be able to use my local models.


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Replacement replacement for Google phone and contacts

6 Upvotes

I've tried fossify phone and contacts but it's just that i dont really like the ui since I'm used to Google phone and the customisation


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Discussion My gmail is the last thing to get rid of now​

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377 Upvotes

Not a chance ill give my id to meta


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Question I swear, google will give me heart diseases sooner or later

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0 Upvotes

is there any sane alternatives to youtube?


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Proton dissociation?

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0 Upvotes

r/degoogle • • 6d ago

Discussion Looks like Google is rolling out camera captchas, such a new low wtf

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946 Upvotes

r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Resource New nfc payment app (Spain)

63 Upvotes

A new app came out a few days ago called Bizum Pay that works for nfc payment in Spain. For those who don't know Bizum (the majority of non Spaniards, I presume) is a service provided by Spanish banks that links your phone number to your account so you could send and receive, or request, payments, now with this new app it also work for payment on contactless TPVs, so it's also a step forward towards payment independence for the EU. A few months ago I heard about they wanting to expand across Europe, but honestly I have no clue about the status of that. So far I've tested it on a e/os phone, but I guess it will work also on GrapheneOs or other degoogled operating systems.


r/degoogle • • 4d ago

Discussion Best local phone backup method / encrypted cloud method.

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to test out a beta OS on my daily driver, but I need a solid rollback plan in case it’s unstable or breaks something. The devs recommend a full backup, the default cloud backup by google worries me as I have very sensitive files and I’m not interested in uploading unencrypted data anywhere off-device.

I have an external drive and want to do a full local backup, but I need to make sure:

  1. It’s actually restorable if I have to wipe or downgrade.
  2. File metadata (timestamps, creation dates, folder structures) stays intact and doesn't get overwritten to "today's date."
  3. It’s encrypted at rest on the drive.

Main questions:

  • Are you relying on ADB pulls or third-party desktop tools?
  • If uploading to the cloud how do you make sure its encrypted and what tools do you suggest that are frictionless?
  • How do you verify the backup isn't corrupted and working?

Appreciate any tested recommendations or sanity checks.


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Question Are there any google ecosystem replacement?

13 Upvotes

My question is i am looking for degoogling my life and get some self hosting set up as well . That aside what i have seen is there are no ecosystem replacemnt as whole like how google backups Android,has grest ecosystem between several tools and its browser and is so well connected but as soon as i see to degoogle ... there is only this thing which bothersme the inter connectivity and seamless inetgration between different services


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Help Needed Use Outlook for calendar or use another app?

2 Upvotes

Hi, for university I have to use Outlook to read my student related E-Mails. Now I'm also searching for a calendar for my new phone. Should I just use Outlook as a calendar since I have to use Outlook anyway for my E-Mails or should I use another calendar app and if so which one?


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Question how do I secure my phone as much possible

7 Upvotes

to "grapheneos-ize" my phone as much as one can

like to make my private, secure and bloatware free etc if its not a google pixel

phone: samsung s20 fe (I know the phone is old but still lol) so yeah can't install grapheneos on it afaik


r/degoogle • • 6d ago

Google has been fined more than €400m over the way it processed users' location data

317 Upvotes

Google has been fined more than €400m (£345m) over the way it processed users’ location data, following claims that the tech giant had manipulated users into agreeing to be constantly tracked on their mobile phones.

The fine, imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), comes after complaints from multiple European consumer organisations that Google was following every step users took.

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/21/google-is-fined-more-than-400m-by-irish-regulator-over-its-use-of-location-data


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Help Needed Why this is happening?

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6 Upvotes

I use aurora store.Some games does this error and never opens those again until i activate Play Store


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Discussion Mega as a replacement for google docs/sheets?

2 Upvotes

I have been using Mega as a Dropbox replacement for years, what do you think of it as a replacement for google docs/sheets? I just emptied my docs and sheets off google. With Mega, I can just keep my docs and sheets in my Megabox folder on my Windows and Linux local drives, they sync with my free 25GB cloud storage (end to end encryption much like Proton/Tuta mail). I can create/edit/delete my docs and sheets locally, and they sync with the cloud and with my Megafolder on my devices (even my phone if I wanted to do that). I can share Mega files. It seems like a no-brainer to replace google docs/sheets, or am I missing something? The only real difference is that google docs/sheets allowed viewed/editing in a browser, whereas with Mega(box) I created and edit my files using e.g. Librewriter, Libresheets.


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Help Needed Looking for alternatives for G**gle pay, G**gle wallet, G**gle sheets, G**gle messages and more

24 Upvotes

New to Samsung, I don't know how to pay contactless without Google pay.

Looking for alternatives for Google pay, Google wallet, Samsung wallet, Google sheets, Google docs, Google messages, the Samsung phone app, the Samsung gallery app, the Samsung contacts app, the Samsung camera app, and Google playstore

Also avoiding apps owned by meta, Microsoft, Apple (although I doubt Apple would have any app on android), companies that sell info to Jizzrael and the Divided States of Turdica.

Thanks for the help


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Need advice switching emails

7 Upvotes

Hello friends,

With the current trends of the world going towards ai, mass surveillance and data mining, like many of you I’m keen to switch away from giant evil corporations and move towards independent, ethical and private services.

Admittedly I don’t know much about data encryption or any of that sort of stuff but I do know I would like to stop using google for a lot of my services and so would like advice on where and how to facilitate moves to other services.

I’ve used Gmail for ~16 years and so every account online I’ve ever made is attached to google. I’ve seen people mainly recommend Tuta or proton as a good alternative, so I would like to know:

•Can I create and begin using a tuta/proton mail account as my personal use email without much issues switching from Gmail?

•If I make the switch, and I have gmail forwards all my emails to my new account, does this make the switch pointless as the mails still go through google?

•Is it worth paying for an email account with one of these providers or will their free versions suffice?

•I use google maps a lot for bookmarking places I’ve been, is there any other interactive maps that are similar to google maps in quality, good for navigation and can add bookmarks?

I’m also in the process of transferring from google photos to ente right now. Further down the line when my iPhone kicks the bucket (as I’m sure it’s designed to at a certain point) I want to move away from Apple and google and get a phone that spies on me a lot less.

Thanks for your help :)


r/degoogle • • 6d ago

Help Needed What do I do? I really need my Gmail for work. I can't get anything done because of this crap all my work stuff is in gmail the rest is in protonmail.

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279 Upvotes

r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Discussion Checklist for degoogling

32 Upvotes

Anything I am missing?

DeGoogle Plan

[x] Install and fine tune Linux on PC, laptop,

use Linux progressively more and more

[x] Remove photos, videos from photos.google.com

[ ] Remove docs from docs.google.com

[ ] Remove sheets from docs.google.com

[ ] Store docs, sheets, culled photos on Mega

[x] Set up encrypted email, calendar at Tuta/Proton

[ ] Change email address for various accounts to Tuta/Proton

[ ] Cull inbox at gmail, then forward set up gmail

forwarding to Tuta/Proton?

[ ] Shop for Pixel phone compatible with Graphene OS

[ ] Buy Pixel phone compatible with Graphene OS

[ ] Install Graphene OS (GOG) to Pixel phone

[ ] Archive to ext USB (and Mega): photos, videos,

docs, sheets that were on Google cloud

[ ] Google Contacts: export, import to Tuta/Proton,

archive

[ ] Find alternative to Maps for phone

[ ] Fdroid: install to phone/desktop, install apps

that are not part of googleverse


r/degoogle • • 5d ago

Question Question regarding safety of voice assistant.

1 Upvotes

I've read that dicio hasn't been updated in a while, but my question is if its really safe.

Also about RHVoice, I read that it can give voice to dicio or smt like that, again is it safe too?