DeGoogle Yourself

Looking for something - preferably open source/privacy respecting - that will allow me to perform reverse image searches

Today I unlocked a device I have that is not degoogled. A Play Store notification appeared about 1 update being available for an app called "Android Switch". However when I opened the Play Store to update it (I have automatic updates disabled), there were no updates (even after checking manually) and searching for the mentioned app in the settings didn't give any results.

I guess that's a yet another little reason to stay away from the Goolag ecosystem.

Hi everyone!

I’ve almost entirely degoogled my life, except for Youtube.

Here are my center of interests and some channels I follow:

• Linux: The Linux Experiment, Tech Hut
• Basketball: NBA, Andy Hoops, Heat Check, Jonny Arnett, BasketNews
• Cars: Throttle House, Everyday Driver, Car and Driver
• Console Gaming: GamingBolt, IGN
• Tech: Linus Tech Tips, Techquickie

Concerning Linux, it has been easy to find alternatives to YouTube as The Linux Experiment is on PeerTube and I can support him for 1$ a month Through Patreon.

Tech Hut is on Odysee so I could watch his videos here and support him through Buy Me A Coffee or something similar if I wanted to.

I know I could watch everything from the Linus Tech Tips on Floatplane but 5$ a month is a bit too expensive.

Do you have any suggestions about anyone producing similar content to what I’ve described above (Basketball, Console Gaming, Cars and Tech) that I could watch on a YouTube alternative?

I don’t mind paying 1-2$ a month for a channel I enjoy but I can’t pay more for now 😇

Hi guys! Recently my wife began to use my amazfit bip lite (old model). Have a lot of time without use the official application, always used gadgetbridge. Is there any way in gadgetbridge to have stats if I ride a bicycle?

Guys I don't know how Disroot"s doing, I've been using using proton and tuta for nearly 2 years, so far its good but I don't know much about disroot. So just wanna hear out some opinion.

Sorry if I'm the millionth to ask this, but what are some good trustworthy email providers? Even if paid. But if I'm paying it'd best if it's privacy focused. Thanks!

Is anyone else having problems with the Feeld app on GrapheneOS? I'm in an urban area and have set my filters wide (100 miles), but see nothing when I open the app.

Update: I think this might be the issue: https://grapheneos.org/articles/attestation-compatibility-guide I contacted Feeld support and they said they're looking into it.

It's getting annoying

hi guys!! ( privacy community pls don't jump on me) so i was noticing that my os is full with microsoft garbage that consumes my ram and network speed for nothing!! like shitty edge!! and looked for a solution and i found debloating. but i need to make a backup first in case something goes wrong . local disk is : 237gb - used 133gb = 103gb free i have a 64gb usb i want to make a high compressed backup for everything including my windows 11 is it possible with that 64gb usb? and what software to use pls? pls don’t tell using a cloud !! 😓i have a slow internet cuz i live in a rural area. thanks in advance to anyone!

Google Scholar is the one and only Google product I still use sometimes

Hi. New parent here. I'm making an honest attempt at preventing Google from building a profile about my baby.

One of the things I've changed is I no longer backup my photos to Google photos. Instead, I use an encrypted cloud storage solution. That being said, I use an android phone. A pixel phone for that matter. I'm worried that Google can still "see" the pictures I take even if I'm not backing them up to Google photos.

What is the consensus on this? Is not backing them up to Google photos making any difference or can Google scan everything on my phone anyway?

Just about an hour ago, I received an email informing me that my YouTube account was terminated for violations of their "scams, spam, and deceptive content" policy. The email was long winded about how I must've uploaded something or other, or commented spammy/scammy content.

Just one problem: I have never uploaded a video in the 10 years I've had my account. I comment maybe twice a year when I actually have an answer to a question someone asked in the comments. I even paid for Premium for me and my family.

Well, guess I'm screwed because I doubt the appeal robot or whatever actually changes its mind when you submit one.

Glad I at least started deGoogling. This is a very close-to-home reminder of how dependent I am on them for their services.

Google's latest flagship smartphone raises concerns about user privacy and security. It frequently transmits private user data to the tech giant before any app is installed. Moreover, the Cybernews research team has discovered that it potentially has remote management capabilities without user awareness or approval.

Cybernews researchers analyzed the new Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone’s web traffic, focusing on what a new smartphone sends to Google.

“Every 15 minutes, Google Pixel 9 Pro XL sends a data packet to Google. The device shares location, email address, phone number, network status, and other telemetry. Even more concerning, the phone periodically attempts to download and run new code, potentially opening up security risks,” said Aras Nazarovas, a security researcher at Cybernews...

... “The amount of data transmitted and the potential for remote management casts doubt on who truly owns the device. Users may have paid for it, but the deep integration of surveillance systems in the ecosystem may leave users vulnerable to privacy violations,” Nazarovas said...

EDIT: For those who are too lazy to click the link, this is what it says

Hello,

Sad news for everyone. YouTube/Google has patched the latest workaround that we had in order to restore the video playback functionality.

Right now we have no other solutions/fixes. You may be able to get Invidious working on residential IP addresses (like at home) but on datacenter IP addresses Invidious won't work anymore.

If you are interested to install Invidious at home, we remind you that we have a guide for that here: https://docs.invidious.io/installation/..

This is not the death of this project. We will still try to find new solutions, but this might take time, months probably.

I have updated the public instance list in order to reflect on the working public instances: https://instances.invidious.io. Please don't abuse them since the number is really low.

Feel free to discuss this politely on Matrix or IRC.

PeerTube is a decentralized and federated alternative to YouTube. The goal of PeerTube is not to replace YouTube but to offer a viable alternative using the strength of ActivityPub and P2P protocols.

Being built on ActivityPub means PeerTube is able to be part of a bigger social network, the Fediverse (the Federated Universe). On the other hand, P2P technologies help PeerTube to solve the issue of money, inbound with all streaming platform : With PeerTube, you don't need to have a lot of bandwidth available on your server to host a PeerTube platform because all users (which didn't disable the feature) watching a video on PeerTube will be able to share this same video to other viewers.

If you are curious about PeerTube, I can't recommend you enough to check the official website to learn more about the project. If after that you want to try to use PeerTube as a content creator, you can try to find a platform available there to register or host yourself your own PeerTube platform on your own server.

The development of PeerTube is actually sponsored by Framasoft, a french non-for-profit popular educational organization, a group of friends convinced that an emancipating digital world is possible, convinced that it will arise through actual actions on real world and online with and for you!

Framasoft is also involved in the development of Mobilizon, a decentralized and federated alternative to Facebook Events and Meetup.

If you want to contribute to PeerTube, feel free to:

• report bugs and give your feedback on Github or on our forums
• submit your brillant ideas on our Feedback platform
• Help to translate the software, following the contributing guide
• Make a donation to help to pay bills inbound in the development of PeerTube.

On my new phone I'm tempted to switch from LineageOS for microG to IodéOS, just for the ease of a dedicated installer. What are your experiences of pros and cons?

Bonus question, while I prefer full control of my phone, Iodé lists "uninstallable apps" as a feature(?) — what in the world are those?

Edited title for clarity

"Google uses anti-competitive practices to dominate the market for online advertising technology, a UK watchdog has provisionally found.

The potentially unlawful behaviour could be harming thousands of UK publishers and advertisers, an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned.

It accuses Google of preventing rivals from "competing on a level playing field" with its own tech for the billions of pounds spent by UK businesses on online advertising.

Google said the watchdog's findings were "flawed" and said it would respond.

According to the CMA, the vast majority of businesses use Google’s services when placing digital ads on websites.

Google maintains it has a strong business incentive to help UK firms thrive, and argues that advertisers choose to use Google because its products work well and help their businesses grow.

The watchdog will now consider representations from Google before deciding what action to take..."

Greetings! I have recently ditched google and went with privacy focused alternatives. Such as SearXNG, Invidious, Lemmy etc.

However, while i was using degoogled chromium, i cant install extensions.

Is there any way i can install extensions on Degoogled Chromium? (ik this isnt the right place to ask but eh)

Thanks a lot!

I use Google Shopping (the “Shopping” tab on Google) to see if local stores carry certain products, what they cost, how far away each store is, etc. It seems to mostly search national or large regional chains, but it was still pretty useful.

Is there any alternative to this (in the US)? The “nearby” function has unfortunately got shittier and shittier over the past year or so. It's gotten less “deterministic," just mixing results from local stores with e-commerce stores, further reducing usefulness.

Hello everyone!

Recently, I saw so many posts about this and I started to think about degoogling (degoogleing?) my life.

I've started with fdroid and found some nice apps in there and I'm curious to know some alternatives I may or may not know

• Youtube: Currently, I use ReVanced and even though is just the default app with something in it, I want an alternative with background listening, import my subscriptions w/ notifications and if possible with sponsorblock
• Mail: Using a combo or Gmail + proton. I started to use proton recently and I want to move everything there when I have time. Suggestions here?
• Cloud storage: Self hosted/proton? Alternatives
• Gallery app: Stock
• Video player: Stock
• Music player: Stock
• 2FA app: I have Authy and I tried to install aegis. I also have Ente but I've never used both
• Mail app: Using K9 and the app is awesome compared to google or Samsung Mail
• Password Manager: Bitwarden
• Weather app: Currently, using Breezy weather

If possible, apps with a nice looking UI, modern with/without Material You

I'm using a Samsung S23 and I would like to know how bad it is to change ROM with something better and if it's really worth Pixel + GrapheneOS. Thanks

Edit: I forgot the most important one with probably no alternatives (?) Thanks to @[email protected] (idk how to mention)

• Samsung pay

So I finally came across a proprietary app that has broken notification support on my degoogled phone and there don't seem to be any alternative ways (like what Telegram FOSS or Signal do) to get it working. I tried a solution called ntfy but it didn't work. So is there a way to get it working now (preferably without utilizing Firebase because Google can read it all you know)?

"Google will have to face a class action lawsuit that accuses it of collecting users’ data through Chrome without their consent. In a decision on Tuesday, a federal appeals court reversed a December 2022 ruling that dismissed the case, saying the lower court should’ve reviewed Google’s disclosures and determined “whether a reasonable user reading them would think that he or she was consenting to the data collection.”...