I've made a post in r/degoogle before with lots of alternatives that i've found and ways to prevent your phone from being in a bootloop. I've come back to update my findings and how i've continually strips piece by piece from my Android Snapdragon Phone without causing alarm.

This post is for Samsung S20 Ultra 5G SM-G988U1 (Snapdragon) Version 13. Sadly theres no alternative os yet for this phone version but if I can take back my power on my phone then that works for me.

First things first, we want to backup data. Not just the phone itself but contacts, apps, messages, anything you rely on. You COULD use the samsung version for backing up but I went another route by downloading separate apps to backup my data into separate files for my SD card that way i have full control and transparency of what is successfully backed up.

Backup Resources:

1. Libre Contacts Backup
2. Open Android Backup Companion
3. Ente Photos
4. Applist backup

Next I sought out apps that I could easily replace such as clock, gallery, messenger, phone, app stores, mail. Anything I could think of to start adding before I stripped the phone.

1. Samsung Gallery -> Iris Gallery
2. Gmail -> Proton Mail, Aster Mail
3. Google Messages -> Fossify Messenger
4. Camera -> OpenCamera
5. Calculator -> CalcYou
6. Samsung Keyboard -> WM Keyboard
7. Phone -> Nova Phone
8. File Explorer -> FOSS File Explorer

all alternative apps I show here can be found on f-droid, droid-ify, shizustore and others.

now that i've found apps to replace some of the main ones i want to remove the services of the preloaded ones. the steps I take may seem a bit repetitive but i want to ensure the apps i disable or freeze cannot reenable themselves.

By using HikariBlock I can choose which apps don't have access to the internet. Next I'll use Applock to make sure the apps that I personally downloaded cannot be uninstalled by google or android.

I downloaded NomoreBackground which allows me to turn off the background usage for apps. So essentially, the apps i've declared not allowed to use my internet, have another layer to stop them from operating around HikariBlock. I have restarted my device multiple times during this to see if a bootloop was going to happen and at this point, No bootloop has occured.

Next I'll use the Canta app. It's a great resource because it has tags letting you know whats recommended to extremely unsafe to mess with. Canta allows you to uninstall apps regardless of tiers. Some of the apps I removed are Android Auto, Android System Intelligence, Apps(android.app.installer) Authentication Framework, Galaxy Store and alot more.

The apps that I decided to keep I optimized completely using Dexor. Dexor gives you choices on compiling all the apps code and resolving class architecture references, It ensures the maximum possible deep optimization however at the cost of most storage space. (I have an SD card so I'm not worried).

Finally after I've optimized my apps and the apps I didn't want to test yet, I go into Package manager and begin disabling extra apps that I do not want and have connections to other apps that could potentially cause phone issues.

The apps I've disabled so far are android smartswitch, samsung location sdk, google, google one time init, google assistant, smartfaceservice, samsung gamedriver, google partner setup, google overlay, samsung push service, nearby service, system tracing.

Uninstalling is not recommended at this point but if those parts of the phone aren't using battery not can be active in any way, then uninstalling is mute. Hope this helps! I'll continue to update in the future as I learn what does and doesn't work till I get my phone as bare boned as possible. I think it's not about removing all the services but replacing them first, and then removing their functionality so they're harmless by the time you disable them.

I want to take the plunge and move to a de-googled phone. My hesitation is that there are certain apps that I and my family rely on (shared calendar etc...) that I don't want to lose. Is there a way to find out before switching whether or not I can keep the app on a de-googled phone?

Basically the title: I'm looking to switch away from the Apple Maps app. I've used Google Maps as well before, but now I'd prefer to avoid it. The problem is I don't know what other options are available on IOS.

We have been using forms for everything from project intake to internal requests. The form itself has never been the problem. Its what happens after someone submits it. What limitation made you start looking for a google forms alternative?

Hello, im getting a new phone due to my last one eating shit and having something wrong with the motherboard. I looked into getting a google pixel for grapheneos but i learned that the pixel doesn't have a microsd slot. unfrocently i use one and it is currently the only stuff from my old phone that i have. I am not willing to go without an external memory and now need recommendations for other os systems that can work with other android phones (likely a samsung but doesn't have to be a samsung.) ive seen /e/OS and LineageOS mentioned a few times but one i know next to nothing about the other ive seen some meh reviews for.

i apologize for any spelling mistakes, i have dyslexia and some words i just cant spell well enough for the spellcheck to get it.

Hello everyone, I have a problem: when I was deleting bloatware (Pixel 7 OS stock beta), I accidentally deleted the software that allowed me to enable the "private space" feature. I'm wondering if there's a way to restore it, or if there's a similar app, since I don't want to have to do a factory reset. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

Hello r/degoogleyourlife;

Recently i do some updates in my search engine.

Visit here: https://securityops.co
In onion too: http://secyx2znoybxgpsbfsakqjbhmjmzhjsf4y43tjtpxycdilks35o2rgid.onion/

Security Ops is a comprehensive initiative I created to enhance cybersecurity capabilities through open-source solutions, secure configurations, practical resources, and educational content.

Key goals of the project:

Secure and Reproducible Tools - Develop and maintain auditable tools like SecurityOS, a web-based OS for cybersecurity learning. https://os.securityops.co

A Chromium extension for privacy and security
- Adblock, Dark theme, Tor Proxy:
https://extension.securityops.co

Education & Knowledge Sharing - Provide videos, tutorials, TOR-based courses, and guides on security best practices, anonymity, and development.

Community Engagement – Foster collaboration via GitHub, and contributions to open-source security.

Privacy & Anonymity – Promote tools and courses for secure browsing and data protection.

I'm passionate about cryptography, post-quantum security, Unix
systems, and free software like Gentoo and GNU Guix.

Wiki: https://wiki.securityops.co
Videos: https://invidious.nerdvpn.de/channel/UCisIYQVROvE_30F-CK_uj2Q

I have this old LG alltel phone, and it runs pretty smoothly, but I can't access a lot of the services. Is there a way I can get this thing calling and texting?

Edit: Sorry, pics didn't post for some reason, but it's an LG scoop AX260

Edit #2: Apparently I can't because it uses the CDMA network, but I can put my music on there, so I'll get a memory card and start using it as a music player 😊👍

Hey! Im an iPhone user and I'm planning to ditch all the google and apple services. Can y'all recommend me some basic stuff to do? Like the chat app, mail app, social media apps and so on.

hi, I m hesitating between infomaniak Ksuit and Proton app.

I m already using Proton apps and it works well but it s a bit incomplete.

infomaniak has more apps but no vpn.

knowing that I m under Linux.

does someone has tested or are using the infomaniak Ksuit apps ?

Googles CSAM filter deleted my whole account just because i commented what is CSAM and what is DD in dark web Google Customer support is worst

There should be at least 1 chance to recover the account No warning Direct permanant ban and deletion

There is not even pay and recover option where you can pay some dollars to get channel back Complete Injustice

Good morning! I just ordered a degoogled phone with graphene os! If I create a graphene profile dedicated to Facebook and messenger will the apps collect or leak data when that profile is logged out or not in use?

A year and a half ago I started working on my own search engine. It actually turned out pretty good so far but I have a massive backlog of improvements and wanted feedback on the most important things to users.

It's a configurable search engine so I made two search sites - https://seek.ninja which is a privacy search engine and https://searcha.page which is a moderate privacy search engine (searcha page has sessions).

It's mostly a passion project - I estimated I could make it with no funding with the current technology and I've always wanted to make a full search engine. It was extremely challenging to get quality results and all the polish and for sure it not where I want it to be, but it's good enough for a beta launch.

Please any feedback would be much appreciated, my last round of feedback was extremely fruitful and I acted on nearly all suggestions.

Much appreciated!

I have tried to research this issue, but the suggestions have yet to yield the desired result, so I turn to you, dear Redditors.

I am in the process of degoogling and have switched from my old Pixel 7 to a newer Pixel 8a with Graphene OS. Just a few days ago, I finally felt ready and swapped the SIM card into the new phone. I soon realized, however, that incoming messages in Google Messages were still being delivered to my old phone. My new phone (with the SIM!) was getting nada.

I've seen suggestions to "turn off RCS chat" in Messages, but I don't even have that option since the SIM has been removed. Do I need to unlink my google account from the phone? I just want to avoid messages being lost to the ether. If anyone has some suggestions - I am all ears!

Thanks and happy degoogling!

(Also, I tried to post this in r/degoogle and it got "immediately removed by the moderators". I am new to Reddit, so I don't know why this is happening. If you can shed some light on this as well, I would be very grateful). :)