I hope this is not considered a low-effort post, but I wanted to ask if using stock Android without signing in to your Google account/ using Play Store is worth it. It should be more private, right? I’m planning on buying the cheapest Samsung phone there is (probably the A14). I currently have a stock Android Oneplus phone. I bought it before I had my “privacy epiphany”. I knew that you shouldn’t use Huawei phones as those “definitely” were spying on you; I read that Oneplus phones are safe because they use Western hardware, but they can still gather your data via the software, right? But I digress.

The reason I’m planning on buying a cheap (Samsung) phone is because I realized I don’t need a fancy phone (for me “fancy” is a 400 local currency mid-ranger). I considered getting a dumb phone as they are definitely private, but the utter lack of features is depressing. The main reason is I can’t give up the camera. So I’m willing to go with the cheapest smartphone, because it’s still miles better than the best dumb phone.

As I understand it, most cheap phones are not supported by GrapheneOS and besides I’m worried I might brick the phone. I’m willing to use APKs (from official sources and I only need a few apps). To return to my question, is stock Android without a Google account/ Play Store better than using an account/ Play Store?

EDIT: Thanks all for the useful replies. I’m still not sure what I’ll end up doing or what my current financial situation will allow me to do, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be moving away from Google anyway. Thanks again!

  • 👁️👄👁️English
    3·
    11 months ago

    It’s hard. I think a middle ground is the best option. I use GrapheneOS but they have sandboxed play services, so I can use my Google play store stuff like normal. Though it’s a lot more locked down then stock, and I’ve limited play services to just notifications and network access, it can’t see anything else on my device.

    There are some proprietary apps I just can’t live without, like Google Maps. But slowly, it’s best to migrate to FOSS alternatives. Like the built in AOSP gallery, files app, clock app, etc are all I need for my needs. It also helps you to see things differently and reevaluate what you actually need in a phone, and to simplify things.

    Android on any phone will be feature bloated so they can compete with each other. Sometimes you need to ask, do I really need all that crap? Maybe you don’t want Google assistant or wallet preinstalled! Custom Roms like GrapheneOS start you on an ultra private base and then you can build up from there. Just try to install apps from Fdroid first, then use the proprietary app if there’s really no good alternative.