Ask HN: I lost my phone. I want to degoogle. What should I do?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38579405

by gavinhoward • 3 years ago

7 6 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I think I forgot to take my phone out of my pocket before a bike ride. I can't contact the phone with Find My Device.

Fortunately, I am in good shape.

* I saved my 2FA secrets in KeePassXC and have backup codes.

* My KeePassXC database key derivation is at least 3 seconds long on my desktop, and I've still rotated all of the passwords I can.

* I lost about a week's worth of pictures. Sad, but okay.

* I use Matrix/Element and signed out of the session that existed on my phone.

* I previously backed up my task list.

* I don't really store anything else on my phone.

* I locked my phone out using Find My Device, and I am prepared to remotely wipe it.

So this Ask HN is not about trying to recover my life after a devastating loss. Thank goodness.

Instead, I want to take this opportunity to degoogle. [1]

These are my requirements:

* I need a phone that can make phone calls and text, preferably on one or more of the major cell networks. Preferably on Verizon and friends.

* I need a data connection. And Wi-Fi.

* I need a browser.

* I need Matrix/Element.

There are some additional things I want that I am willing to sacrifice if necessary to degoogle:

* A map and navigation app.

* Signal.

* My task list app. [2]

* An app to learn Japanese.

* A few other various Android apps.

What will fulfill those requirements? Can I go so far as to get a Linux phone? Is GrapheneOS the best bet? What phone do you think I should get?

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38411194

[2]: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.tasks/

dotcoma• 3 years ago

You may want to try either…

Murena https://murena.com/

Iodé https://iode.tech/

stop50• 3 years ago

Davx5 can sync contacts, calender and task lists to your dav server. There are a few apps for tasks in fdroid. Osmand is my favourite navigation app. in fdroid there is fennec, an rebranded firefox.

bbbhltz2• 3 years ago

A Linux phone might not be the best bet, yet. Especially if this is a daily driver. Any "degoogled" phone should be able to access f-droid and get the task app (I use the same app on my degoogled phone).

I think you should start by verifying what phones/bands your operator/network supports. From that list you can check which devices support alternative ROMs.

GrapheneOS is for Pixel phones and is viewed as the "best bet" right now for a variety of reasons. It ships without GSF or alternatives. That may lead to some issues with a handful of apps. I might be wrong here, but I think there are still some tap-to-pay apps that won't work on GrapheneOS and maybe banking apps (??? double-check that claim).

If you don't go for a Pixel and still want to change ROMs, there are options: Lineage, Calyx, /e/, Omni. Bliss, Arrow, iodé, Divest, Replicant, Paranoid, Pixelexperience,...

If that doesn't float your boat, any phone can be partially degoogled without root access. Ok, "degoogled" is a strong word here... But, using ADB you can get rid of lots of Google stuff in terms of apps, the underlying Google services will remain. That is a good starting point though. If you can handle a partially degoogled device without maps, YT, play store, etc., then moving to another device will be easy.

Even after degoogling, many apps will still be available. Signal provides the APK on their site, Anki can be used for Japanese, Aurora store helps out a lot here.

fsflover• 3 years ago

A Linux phone might not be the best bet, yet.

Why is that? I'm happy with my Librem 5, and all apps OP needs should work on it, including those from F-Droid.

bbbhltz2• 3 years ago

Sorry, that comment is solely based on "desk-study".

I've heard lots of positive and some negative about Linux Phones---and I do want one so bad. I think many of those comments come from Pinephone users who are happy with the device, but upset with battery life, camera quality, other nitpicks, etc..

The Librem is often reported as "overpriced".

And you are using this as your daily driver? Clearly my information is out-of-date.

UPDATE: I just watched some recent videos and read a couple of recent reviews. The librem 5 looks and works great. I guess I'll start putting some money aside.

jona-f• 3 years ago

If you don't care about government surveillance, stock lineageos is a completely degoogled android distribution. You could install it for example on a galaxy s10 or similar android phones. Careful when flashing, you might brick the phone, cause the bootloader isn't open. You have to enable booting custom firmware before flashing (ask me how I know XD).

Then get f-droid as a non-google playstore. There you can get osmand as map and navigation, it's pretty great, but of course doesn't have current traffic data like google maps, cause it doesn't know what everybody is doing all the time. I used anki flashcards 10 years ago to learn japanese, no idea if that's still the recommended option.

If you do care about government surveillance I'd recommend the pinephone pro, but that'll be much more work with less usability.

Ask HN: I lost my phone. I want to degoogle. What should I do?

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