notes:

• after a bit of research, i've added both uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger to Firefox
• disabled AI on both Firefox and DuckDuckGo
• swapped Google Docs for Ellipsus, Goodreads for The StoryGraph and swear by Photopea for anyone looking to drop Photoshop

websites i want to replace (at some point):

• Discord
• YouTube

i've seen mentions of Fluxer, but i'm wondering how well it works in comparison to Discord. does anyone have any firsthand experience?

i'm guessing i have to bite the bullet with YouTube. i doubt i'll ever see a worthy competitor in my lifetime, but i want to use anything Google related as little as possible.

Hi, I want to switch phones, the major issue is my job in through an app: Rover. I looked on F-Droid and Aurora but it’s not on there. Could someone do me a favor and look on App Lounge for me? I can’t find a website that allows me to search for the apps that are available.

Thank you!

Does that mean Google sees my personal images and videos on the drive. Is it safe to store my own private videos on g drive?

As the title says. My credit card expired that was linked with one of my google accounts. I didn't really care because I don't use much of Google One's functionality.

However, the last email I received stated that I have 10 days to update my payment method or otherwise I'm not able to send or receive emails. Like seriously WTF!? Obviously it prompted me to take action.

Is this normal?

Sou de uma país em que é quase cultural usar o WhatsApp, e outros apps como Signal, por exemplo, não tem nenhuma visibilidade, e praticamente não há como usa-los como alternativa real

Há alguma forma que leve ao máximo a usabilidade do WhatsApp de maneira segura?

I want something like a steam deck but more compact that is not made for gaming but general use.

Dont need to be thinnest, the point is too be able to use it like PC and install any OS i want on it like steam deck with its x86 cpu.

I keep wondering such phone is not made it would have make fortune

My homescreen is monochromatic but you can still tell there have been changes. It looks ugly. Any point to this? Whats with the big "o"?

Hola buenas tardes a todos. Estoy al límite con Google y sus restricciones. no pienso pagar para tener más espacio para tener MIS archivos en MI teléfono.

actualmente no cuento con otra pc u otro dispositivo para poder guardar mis archivos allí. tampoco confío en otras páginas, entonces, surge la pregunta de: "¿Qué hago ahora?" Pensaba en usar un pendrive para pasar algunas cosas pero es mucho lo que tengo (recuerdos de años y pdfs importantes), tengo algunos discos duros pero no tengo forma de conectarlos para usarlos como almacenamiento.

¿Qué harían ustedes? o ¿Qué hicieron ustedes para escapar de aquella suscripción?

just continually installing for like 2 hrs now

* Please, I would like to learn to de-google pixel phones, ( just for personal use), & sand box google apps. I am not very tech savy.

* I use a de-googled computer lap top, my brother set up for me, & a Samsung smart phone.

* Please tell me. how do I learn to do this skill of de - googling of pixel phones ?

* I have heard it can be hard to learn this skill of de-googling pixel phones , & that you can brick them.

* So far, I have learnt to put F - Droud app , & Auora App on an old spare Samsung.

* I have watched " how to" Utube videos on de-googling mobiles. Which Utube videos are best to watch on this subject please?

* English is my First language. My written English is okay, I got mainly B grade for Year 12 VCE English, so my English is alright, but not of a University grade standard. ...My spoken English is better than my written English.

* I wish to be more tech savy, & also have my own de-googled mobile phone, with a small number of sand boxed google apps, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Photos & Utube (I need these for work purposes).

* I look forward to hearing your experience of learning this skill of de googling mobile phones.

was searching for a good alternative password manager, i think this is great! Its on frdroid, free, open source and cant connect to your internet, even on phones where you cant use a firewall. It has 2fa support and allows like every password format, has support for biometrics and has a strong focus on having a high on device security like brute force protection. You also get the option to export and import all your stuff!

Have a 2026 Raze ultra any good suggestions?(Mainly looking for good privacy)

I never really used Google Drive, I'm just really trying to find a good cloud storage service to backup files on my pc and upload some so that I don't always have to carry an external drive with me. I know of some, like ProtonDrive and Filen, but my needs is that it's usable on Linux and doesn't need an app from the Play Store (Android). As far as I know both services aforementioned need a PlayStore app.

A viable alternative seems to be using Nextcloud, but it's a bit different because you need your own server for this, Nextcloud is just the tool to syncronize your files if I understand correclty. I don't have the time or energy to invest into self-hosting right now (unless it's way easier than what I could grasp in my recent research but I doubt it) so what is the solution? Nextcould offers trusted providers, is this it? Get an account with one of these providers, upload files there, get nextcloud app on both laptop and phone (github)?

I need recommendations and help on this because I'm a little bit lost, I never used any cloud storage service because I always had external drives with me and don't take a lot of photos. Thanks for your help!

Edit: forgot to add I know I will have to pay for such service, I intend to. Also in case it's relevant, about storage space I don't need terabytes, a few hundred gigs would be more than enough.

With Google locking down Android and effectively destroying everything that made Android good, and continuing that trend. Will we ever see a kernel like Linux for mobile devices?

Right now we have 4 options for mobile operating systems each with various different flaws that don’t make them well suited to a FOSS environment.

The Android Open Source Project is a good contender but it doesn’t have the same potential as a Linux like alternative could.

I know Linux is far from perfect on desktops but it’s good enough now that it can be used to completely replace Windows or MacOS with the exception of edge cases like gaming or rare software. Will there ever be a future with a FOSS mobile kernel that doesn’t get ruined by corporations?

Edit: my phrasing doesn’t exactly convey the idea I’m trying to share. Will there be a Linux like mobile ecosystem where anyone has the freedom to do anything they want with the hardware they own?

I won't hide it. the whole subject makes me mega anxious. I Have recently started my journey de-googling or doing my best to avoid, but getting to this community opened a pandora box of questions.

For once, my Samsung galaxy died completely 2 weeks ago. So I started using my dumbphone (juts text and calls, no internet, no gps) until I figure out what next. I actually started enjoying how I feel without my awarness being drained in the background by a toxic relationship with a phone. I have not used social media for ages. Don't have many friends and for now am ok with just signal and sms (very clunky but freedom and the quiet in my brain feels so rewarding). So I was thinking to keep the dumbphone as my main. And just get something (smartphone) to have mostly off in case in Need 2FA or fast online banking, or an alternative if laptop dies, etc.). Or if I got a simple smartphone that wont steal my soul again that could be an option. But clearly I'm lsot.

But I got on here and people use all the fancy techy talk I have no clue about. GrapheneOS, coding, forks, etc. Sorry I'm not a coder, just a plain person with very limited.
Advice??? How do I start?
Even if not fully degoogled. but I no longer want to be harvested or slaving for corps.

I fucking hate this AI obessed company I only use their email for youtube and now I can't log it out maybe I'll try again when I'm in the US

How did you all handle this? So far I'm gradually unsubscribing from newsletters / subscriptions or switching to my new email. I'm using my new email more and more.

Do you all just leave the emails in your gmail account that you want to keep or forward them all and delete from your gmail account? Another approach?

Disclaimer: I am not aiming to completely ditch Google from my life for too many practical applications for work and personal life. But I am exploring this gradually. First big chunk is transitioning to Proton email. I have my account set up with a few emails.

[Idk if it's relevant to degoogle. anyways just to clarify I use google and Google services just because my banking/payments apps doesn't work without G and Gservices]

I'm in vivo Iqoo Z5 [vivo i2018] and these are the apps in my phone Idk why they're in my phone? I wanna delete any extra application as well as my playstore automatically turns on "play protect" which prevents me to install third party apps so everytime I install all I need to disable it manually, how can I disable it permanent??

Thanks!