An article on how to go Google-free in your life and on your devices.

People ask me a lot about my phone these days, like how to install Android and how to bypass Google Service to use the phone. Well, this article addresses those issues in detail. I’m trying to make this article as beginner friendly as possible, so I’ll go through it slowly, one by one and include screenshots so you can better see how it works.

First I’ll tell you why Google Services is (in my opinion) bad for your device. I could sketch it out and refer you to this article by Richard Stallman, but I decided to grab a few key points and attach them here.

  • Want to useNon-free softwareNonfree software
    • In general, most Google Services need to run on top of non-free Javascript code. Nowadays, if Javascript is disabled, there is nothing, even Google accounts need to run non-free software (Javascript sent by the site), even for login.
  • Be monitored
    • Google quietly put itsAD trackingad-tracking profilesCombined with browsing and storing a lot of data for each user.
  • The terms of service
    • Google will terminate the accounts of users who resell Pixel phones. They do not have access to all mail and documents stored in Google Services under their accounts.
  • review
    • Amazon and Google cut offDomain frontdomain-frontingThe technology allows people in certain countries to access communications systems that are banned there.
    • Google has agreed to conduct special Youtube censorship for the Pakistani government to remove opposing views. This will help stifle dissent.
    • Youtube’s “Content ID,” which automatically removes posted videos, is not covered by copyright law.

These are just a few reasons, and you can read the RMS article I mentioned above, which explains them in detail. Appalling as it may sound, these behaviors are already happening every day in real life.

Next, my build tutorial

I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphone (codenamed Whyred) made by Xiaomi in China. I bought it four months ago (at the time of writing) for about €185.

Now you might be thinking, “But why do you buy Chinese brands, they are unreliable”. Yes, it’s not what you would normally expect from Samsung (wrongly associated with Android), OnePlus, Nokia, etc. But you should know that almost all mobile phones are made in China.

I chose this phone for several reasons, starting with price, of course. It is a fairly budget-friendly product that most people can afford. The next reason is that the specifications on the manual (not just) are quite right for the price tag. Has a 6ft screen (Full HD resolution), 4000mah battery (superb battery life), 4GB OF RAM, 64GB of storage, dual rear cameras (12 MP + 5 MP), A front camera with flash (13 MP) and a high performance Snapdragon Snapdragon 636, it’s probably the best choice for that time.

Then there’s MIUI, the Android cover that comes with most Xiaomi devices (except Android One project devices). Yes, it’s not that scary, and it has some extra features, but the problem goes deeper. One of the reasons Xiaomi devices are so cheap (only 5-10% profit margins on sales as far as I know) is that they add data mining and advertising to the system alongside MIUI. In this case, the application needs extra and unnecessary access to your data and advertises it for profit.

More interestingly, the included “weather” app wants to access my contacts and make phone calls, why would it need to access contacts if it just displays the weather? Another example is the Recorder app, which also requires contacts and network permissions and may want to send recordings back to Xiaomi.

To fix it, I had to format the phone and get rid of MIUI. This has become extremely difficult with the latest phones on the market.

The idea of formatting your phone is simple: delete the existing operating system and install a new one you like (this time, native Android). To do this, you first need to unlock the bootloader.

Bootloader is a computer program that loads the operating system or operating environment for the computer after it completes the self-check. — Wikipedia

The problem is that Xiaomi has a clear policy on unlocking bootloader. A few months ago, the process was like this: You had to ask Xiaomi for an unlock code and give a real reason, but it wasn’t always successful because they could refuse your request without giving a reason.

Now the process has changed. You need to download a piece of software from Xiaomi called Mi Unlock, install it on a Windows PC, open the debug option on the phone in developer mode, restart the phone to Bootloader mode (long press the volume down button + power button while off) and connect the phone to the PC. Start a process called licensing. The process starts a timer on Xiaomi’s servers that allows you to unlock the phone after 15 days (in some rare cases or a month, completely random).

After 15 days have passed, reconnect the phone and repeat the previous steps. At this point, press the Unlock key and your Bootloader will unlock and install other ROMs. Make sure you back up your data, because unlocking the bootloader will empty the phone.

The next step is to find a compatible system (ROM). I scoured the XDA developer forums, where Android developers exchange ideas, apps, and more with their users. Fortunately, my phone is quite popular, so there is a section dedicated to it on the forum. There, I skipped over some popular ROMs and decided to use AOSiP ROM. (AOSiP stands for Android Open Source Illusion Project)

Edit: Someone sent me an email telling me that the purpose of /e/ and what it does are in the article. I’d say thank you for your help, but that’s not the case at all. The reasons behind my view of /e/ can be found on this website, but I will list some reasons here.

Eelo is a “foundation” that has raised over 200 €from Kickstarter and IndieGoGo and promises to create an open, secure and privately-protected mobile OS and web server.

  1. Their OS is based on LineageOS 14.1 (Android 7.1) and runs microG and other open source applications, which has been around for a long time and is now called Lineage for microG.
  2. All applications are built not from source code, but fromAPKPureDownload the installation package and push it into ROM, do not know whether the installation package containsProprietary codeproprietary codeorMalicious softwaremalware.
  3. For a while, they just arbitrarily deleted Lineage from the codeCopyright headercopyright headerAnd add your own.
  4. They like to delete negative feedback and monitor public opinion in users’ Telegram group chats.

All in all, I don’t recommend using/E/ROM. (At least for now)

Another thing you might want to do is get root privileges for your phone, make it your phone, and modify files in the system, such as using system-wide AdBlocker. To do this, I decided to use Magisk, a godsend app developed by a student that helps you get root access to your device and install something called a module, which is basically software.

After downloading ROM and Magisk, I had to install them on my phone. To complete the installation, I moved the files to the SD card. Now, to install the system, I need to use the recovery system. I used the more common TWRP (representing TeamWin Recovery Project).

To install the recovery system (sounds difficult, I know), I need to burn the files to my phone. To do this, I connected my phone to my computer (Fedora Linux) using a tool called ADB. Use commands to override your custom recovery system.

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
Copy the code

When I was done, I turned off the phone and held down the volume and power buttons until the TWRP interface came up. That means I’m going well and it’s ready to take my orders.

The next step is to send the erase command, which is necessary when you first install a custom ROM for the phone. As shown in the figure above, the erase command clears Data, Cache Cache, and Dalvik. (There are also advanced options that we can check to delete the system if we no longer need the old system)

This takes a few minutes to complete, and after that, your phone is basically clean. Now it’s time to install the system. By pressing the Install button on the home screen, we select the PREVIOUSLY added ZIP file (ROM file) and swipe the screen to install it. Next, we need to install Magisk, which gives us root access to the device.

Revision: Some experienced Android users or enthusiasts may have noticed that [GApps] is not included on the phone. This is called gapps-less in the Android world, and no GAps apps are installed.

Note that one downside is that some applications may not work properly without Installing Google Services; for example, their notifications may take longer to arrive or may not work at all. The reason (which for me is the biggest impact on app usage) is that these apps use Google Cloud Messaging (now called Firebase) to wake up the phone and push notifications.

You can solve this (partially) by installing microG, which provides some of the features of Google Services and allows you more control. I don’t recommend using it because it still helps Google Services and you don’t necessarily trust it. But if you can’t just give up using Go Cold Turkey on it and just want to slowly quit Google, that’s a good start.

With both installed successfully, we now reboot the phone and enter the home screen.

Next, install the application and configure everything

Things are starting to get easier. To install the app, I used F-Droid, an alternative app store that only contains free and open source apps. If the app you want isn’t there, you can use the Aurora Store, a client that downloads apps from the app Store without requiring a Google account or tracking.

There’s something in the F-Droid called Repos, which is a “repository” of apps you can install. I used the default repository and added another one from IzzyOnDroid, which has more apps that aren’t in the default repository, and it updates more frequently.

Below you can find a list of the apps I installed, their alternative applications and uses.

  • AdAway > System AD blocker that blocks all ads using the hosts file
  • AfWall+ > a firewall that blocks unwanted connections
  • Amaze > replaces the system’s file manager, allowing root access to files and having zip/unzip functionality
  • Ameixa > icon pack for most applications
  • andOTP> Replace the Google validator /Authy, one that can be used to login enabled nowTwo-factor verification2FATOTP application for website accounts that can be backed up and locked using PIN codes
  • AnySoftKeyboard/AOSP Keyboard > Open source Keyboard, it has many themes and language packs, I am a part of the project
  • Audio Recorder > as its name indicates, allows you to record different formats of Audio files from the microphone
  • Battery Charge Limit> Automatically stop charging when it reaches 80%, lowerThe battery wearbattery wearAnd increase life expectancy.
  • DAVx5 > This is one of my most used apps. For me it basically replaces Google Contacts, Google Calendar, and Google Tasks. It connects to my Nextcloud environment and gives me full control over my data
  • Document Viewer > a fast and lightweight Viewer application that can open hundreds of file formats
  • Deezloader Remix > allows me to download high quality MP3 apps on Deezer
  • Easy XKCD > XKCD comic book reader, I love these XKCD comics
  • Etar > Calendar app, an alternative to Google Calendar, works with DAVx5
  • FastHub-Libre > GitHub client, completely FOSS, very useful if you like using GitHub as MUCH as I do
  • Fennec f-Droid > An alternative to Google Chrome and similar apps, a Firefox browser built for the F-Droid that doesn’t have proprietary binaries and allows extensions to be installed to improve the browsing experience
  • Gadgetbridge > Replace Mi Sports, which can be paired with Xiaomi hardware apps to track your health, steps, sleep, and more.
  • K-9 Mail > Mail client, a replacement for GMail application, customizable and can add multiple accounts
  • Lawnchair > Launcher, which can replace Nova Launcher or Pixel Launcher, allows customization and various changes, and also supports icon packs
  • Mattermost > Applications that can connect to the Mattermost server. Mattermost is a Slack replacement
  • NewPipe > The best YouTube client (in my opinion) that can replace YoubTube is completely FOSS, eliminates YouTube ads, takes up less space, allows background playback, allows downloads of video/audio etc. Give it a try
  • Nextcloud SMS > allows backup/synchronization of SMS to my Nextcloud environment
  • Nextcloud Notes > allows me to create, modify, delete, share Notes and synchronize/back up to the Nextcloud environment
  • OpenTasks > allows me to create, modify, delete tasks and synchronize them to my Nextcloud environment
  • OsmAnd~ > a mapping application that uses OpenStreetMap to allow downloading of offline maps and navigation
  • QKSMS > my favorite SMS application, can replace the original Messaging application, has a beautiful interface, with backup, personalized, delay sending and other features.
  • Resplash/Mysplash > allows you to download unlimited beautiful wallpapers from Unsplash, all free to use and modify.
  • ScreenCam > a screen recording tool that allows a wide variety of customization and recording modes, free of advertising and free of charge
  • SecScanQR > QR code recognition application, fast and light weight
  • Send Reduced Free> The application can remove the PII (Personally identifiable Informationpersonally identifiable information) and reduce the size so you can instantly share large images
  • Slide > Open Source Reddit client
  • Telegram FOSS > No trace and Google Services pure version of Telegram Android client
  • TrebleShot > This genius app lets you share files to other devices over WIFI, really fast, even without an Internet connection
  • Tusky is a Mastodon platform client (alternative to Twitter).
  • Unit Converter Ultimate > This app can switch back and forth between 200 units with one click, very fast and completely offline
  • Vinyl Music Player > My preferred alternative to Google Music Player or any other Music Player you already have installed, it has a nice interface and many features
  • VPN Hotspot > this app lets me share a VPN when I turn on a Hotspot, so I can surf the web safely on my laptop without doing anything

These are pretty much my list of the most useful F-Droid apps, but unfortunately not all of them. The proprietary apps I use are as follows (I know, I may sound like a hypocrite, but not all apps are replaceable, at least not yet) :

  • Google Camera (combined with Camera API 2, requires f-Droid’s basic microG to work)
  • Instagram
  • MyVodafoneAL (operator applications)
  • ProtonMail (Email Application)
  • Titanium Backup (Backup application data, wifi passwords, call logs, etc.)
  • WhatsApp (proprietary end-to-end chat app that almost everyone I know has)

That’s pretty much it, that’s all the apps I have on my phone. The configuration is very straightforward, and I can give you a few hints.

  1. Read and check your application’s permissions carefully, and don’t “install” without thinking.
  2. Use as many open source apps as possible that respect your privacy and are free (and free).
  3. Use as many VPNS as you can, find a reputable one, don’t use a free one, or you’ll get your data harvested and turned into a product.
  4. Do not always turn on WIFI/ mobile data/location, which may cause security risks.
  5. Don’t rely on your fingerprint alone, or use PIN/ password/mode only if possible, as biometric data can be cloned against you, for example to unlock your phone and steal your data.

As a reward for sticking this far, here’s a screenshot of the home screen

Via: lushka. Al/my – android -…

Written by Lushka Lujun9972 translator: LuuMing

This article is originally compiled by LCTT and released in Linux China