Do you need a Google account to use an Android phone? Here's what you'll lose—and gain—if you choose not to sign in.
You can use the Aurora Store app to access Google Play without enabling the system-wide Google account.
You can also use Gmaps WV to use a subset of Maps' features completely anonymously (no navigation).
It's only rate-limited when using their Google account (because everybody's using it). If you add your own you won't have a problem.
My experience: I got a Nothing Phone 2 recently and decided to degoogle it. Using ADB commands, I removed every google app from my phone, from the Dialer all the way up to the PlayStore, apart from just 2: Play Services and Maps. Both work fine without a Google account. I did take away all permissions of Play Services and it still works fine. Without this app, you will stop getting notifications from most of your apps so it is necessary.
Open source alternatives that I turned towards:
- Google Dialer -> Simple Dialer
- Google Contacts -> Simple Contacts
- Google Photos -> Simple Gallery Pro
- Google Play Store -> Aurora Store and Droid-ify
- Google Messenger -> QKSMS
- Google Calendar -> Proton Calendar
- Google Drive -> Proton Drive
- Google Chrome -> Mozilla Firefox
- Youtube -> Youtube ReVanced (Not FOSS, I use a throwaway account here with Vanced Microg)
- Google Translate -> Translate YOU
- Google Files -> Material Files
- Google Docs/Slides/Sheet -> Collabora Office
- GMail -> Proton Mail
- GBoard -> OpenBoard fork with glide typing
Everything works fine :)
Getting a Pixel 7 and installing GrapheneOS on it was another option but I just don't like the low performant and inefficient Tensor G2 chip. 8+ Gen 1 is an excellent chip, both in terms of power and efficiency.
I've used GrapheneOS on a Pixel 3A for a year or so, I'll be honest
It was a fuckin' pain.
MicroG is not a usable replacement for GPlay Services at all. Push notifs randomly stopped working, various mapping apps wouldn't work. Food delivery apps crashed a ton if they ever did work. Some open source alternatives were a lot better than GPlay Service requiring apps, some were pathetically worse.
Like, as a handheld device that could use a web browser, it was fine. But as a smartphone that you expect to work when you need it day to day, no, no, god no. By the end of it I was using two phones, one of them a stock android device and the Pixel 3A, and I wondered why I was even bothering.
I can't blame MicroG for this, its maintained by 1 guy and Google's APIs are huge and everything uses them.
But I'm also never going to use an Android phone without Google Play Services again. Oh sorry gang, I didn't get your messages because the IM app failed to send push notifs for 3 days. I don't like Google, but I don't like broken phones more than I don't like Google.
I have no idea why you would want to use Android without Google though. It's literally free and it's some of the best products. 🤷♀️
Imagine actually having Google Play Services on your phone. Unthinkable. I'll be praying for you guys.
I've never tried MicroG but Android is generally just frustrating without Play Services.
Besides fact you will be running privileged services 24/7 with Internet and location access, it is quite usable.
Don't forget to turn off WiFi scanning. This feature is for Google to create WiFi hotspot maps by using your devices, but it also constantly leak your location to them.
I recommend anyone having to use phone with Google system-baked services to connect to Internet only via some portable OpenWRT router with strict firewall rules and allowlist only.
Google play protect and updating of preinstalled apps via play store still works without siging in.
Basically, the pros and cons about going Google free on android without apps like Play Store, Play Services, Gmail, Maps, photos, Calendar, etc.
You can read the longer summary from bard, here: https://g.co/bard/share/f1f8f365a5cb
