What are some must-have apps on a de-googled phone running GrapheneOS? How do you make the transition from convenient panopticon to personal privacy with a little elbow grease?
Would love suggestions on things I can cover in my tutorial. Tag anyone that might have suggestions!
You’ll want to pick a better keyboard (ideally FOSS, privacy-respecting, and includes a ₿ 😉
When I was using a de googled phone I had to have access to a password manager on the phone just in case I needed to log into a website.
Obtaniums the goat, then get whatever you want
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Obsidian
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Molly (hardened Signal)
#amethyst
Google keyboard with no internet permissions is good for the transition.
FUTO Keyboard and Voice Input
Zapstore.
Then just hop in there and find what you need.
I use brave browser. Aurora store would be good, probably ideally on a didferent profike or space. Breezy weather. I wish i could recommend pipe pipe but everytime i open it its broken. Url check (you can use it to auto change x links to xcancel.
Running a pi with casaos is great. A lot like umbrek but focused on media. I run my own cloud servers for movies photos music etc.. And then nostr apps ofcourse. The zapstore is cool. Fdroid.
Everything I know about GraphenOS, I learned from https://m.youtube.com/@sideofburritos/videos
Evertyhing works cept i have trouble with maps at times. And th wife thinks pixels are ugly, baby its what running that counts. Thank you G-OS ill donate when i can nostr:nprofile1qqsqfjg4mth7uwp307nng3z2em3ep2pxnljczzezg8j7dhf58ha7ejgprfmhxue69uhhxetwv35hgtnwdaekvmrpwfjjucm0d5hszxthwden5te0wpex2mtfw4kjuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgtcpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgtcqsjag4 whats your top 3 replacements (albums) 🤣
Newpipe or Freetube as alternatives to Yotube.
Also do the Pipepipe when Newpipe is being a pain.
Digital minimalism. Lower attack surface. But, must haves...
- Notesnook/Jopin (notes)
- Blixt Wallet (or another self-custody LN wallet)
- Signal
- White Noise
- PWAs v apps
Signal
OSMAnd~
AntennaPod
VLC
AuroraStore
Obtainium
F-Droid
Accressent
Aegis
AppVerifier
FossifyOrg Calendar
Termux
Syncthing
Generally you should expect to have far fewer apps running GoS and that is not a bad thing.
You can also still use Google Photos and Google's Camera app just remove network permissions.
nostr:nprofile1qqsrkl7gyds37xh2af37uwlknvjm32ska3hgr5d0cwgzdqy0ux2r2ncpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgqgkwaehxw309aex2mrp0yh8xvmc9eek7cmfv9kqhw6exj do you have a guide for this?
Pretty sure nostr:nprofile1qqs2vrneurk665gq6a2rke572y7mc8ppwr5wnd60mw8fwxharc8xsycpzemhxue69uhkzat5dqhxummnw3erztnrdakj7qgwwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkctcpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmp0dln29d has an epic guide on this somewheres
Stress that you have full control over all apps and their permissions. Example keyboard gets no network access. See below for some recommendations. Some require a bit of getting used to the UIs but id never go back to apple. My recs, find what works for you
Coming from iOS to Graphene most people want the below
-Navigation
Open Street Maps or HereWeGo
-App Store =
Aurora (for normie apps)
Zapstore
Obtainium
Fdroid
-Messenger
Molly or Signal if FOSS isnt your thing
K9 or Thunderbird
FairEmail
-Social Media
Just use Nostr
-Notes
Logseq
Obsidian
Simple Notes
-Calendar
Fossify Calendar
-Podcasts/YT/media
Many YT frontends (newpipe, bravenewpipe)
AntennaPod
Harmony Music
VLC
-News
Feeder - copy paste or search rss feeds. Control your news
-Airdrop = LocalSend
-2FA
aegis authenticator
-Adobe Reader = MuPDF
-Passwprd Manager
KeePassDX
Hope this helped. Happy to help.
#graphene
#privacy
#foss
Being able to silo apps using different profiles is a very useful feature.
Zapstore and Obtanium
Secure messaging
Calendar
Maps
Weather
Notes
Music/podcasts
Password manager/totp
VPN
If you’ve got good apps for those you can transition feeling pretty grounded and add other things over time.
If you're into self hosting Immich is a great replacement for Google Photos. Maintains data sovereignty.
I'll be switching to Immich once I get my home server up!
Good stuff! It's layout will be very familiar for you if you currently use Google photos. Host on your own domain via reverse proxy/cloudflare tunnel or use something like Tailscale so you don't have to expose anything. I have family using my instance so have a domain, but if it's just you, tailscale is fucking perfect.
Hi Ben, I recently set up GrapheneOS on a google pixel pro9 by myself, still learning and hoping i now have a full privacy phone (sandboxed applications)
Google play store however is still required for all banking related apps like: ledger live, Revolut, Envoy, Muun, Wallet of Satoshi, also Bitwarden app is a requirement but not sure if it is a “safe” option using a paswoord manager on GrapheneOS
This is one profile, another profile still uses google apps like whatsapp, youtube, waze, translate, telegram, signal…
Next i still want to check out what would be best is a sim or esim for one or both profiles, at the moment i use wifi connections for the different profiles (North VPN-Tunnelbear)
Looking forward to your tutorial on GrapheneOS
Epic 🤘🏼
From my own experience it seems like all profiles share the same SIM cards and internet connections. I was hoping to have one profile using an e-SIM and another using wifi and VPN but it looks like you have one main profile where you can choose those settings, then all other profiles are like "sub-profiles" that share the same settings by default and can't be changed. If that makes sense... Let me know if you manage to overcome this?!
I let you know G if i can manage to ise an esim for one provile and a sim for a 2nd profile 👍😉
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Made a burner just to say: The dual/multile accounts and duress pins are very unique and ought to be discussed.
De-googling full stop can be done but has trade off for convenience. This is not for the normie who doesn't have any desire to tinker.
Not having Google map is the biggest thing I notice. The other alternatives aren't comparable IMO.
Then there's the whole "just use Google play store" Obtanium and Zapstore are a bit cumbersome but with a little effort... Usable.
Just encouraging people to tinker is the key here. You can always still use your old device for the Google shit if really needed.
This is why we Nostr.
I’m ditching my iPhone for a Google pixel10 pro and adding GrapheneOS. Everything in this post is zap worthy ⚡️
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The biggest issue I have found is with maps apps. However, magic earth works pretty well. Most other apps either work "OK" or have a decent OS sub
HEREweGo and Organic Maps are OK too
Essentials: App verifier, zapstore, orbot, favorite Lightning and Bitcoin Softwares (Zeus, and nunchuk, personally), Pipepipe(youtube) signal/molly(messenger), Protonmail(email), and keet(video calls) just to name a few.
Keet can replace signal
I have found some people have issues with Keet for some reason. I keep both for those who can't use keet.
They release a lot of updates with new features and bugs, and they are still fixing bugs from there v4 release and some from V3, current is 4.3.2 with 4.4 very near
If you can report the bugs either via the internal app report or the bug room they will fix them very quickly here is a bug room link
pear://keet/yfoios17dgbdhoyizg1er4zdsay9admk4oo3meh4j1tawqx4fw5scmysf93per7subcttbhrjuoiriey7b65sh5yrdmhpape7j7f4d7s51kfur9wwwrkwb8ms31n9ro1h467iqq4orw945do88oxztmpfoznnye
It's beta so it does have issues but they are very responsive to fixing any problem just look at their change log https://github.com/holepunchto/keet-mobile-releases/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
https://alternativeto.net/ is a great resource
nostr:nprofile1qqsxp4fkwhc8mm5704mezrh6g35zmp7t2v338wnxhr6yf8tyj9ezj6cpzpmhxue69uhkumewwd68ytnrwghszgnhwden5te0dehhxarjxqcjucm0w4h8getjvdkx7cmtwa5hxefwd9hj7qgawaehxw309aex2mrp0yhxwet9dd5kzmfwwdjhyanfvdjhxtcarhjl6 for data & or sms
I don't have the same phone use case as others and vice-versa, so I can't tell people what to use, but the transition is easy if you set up sandboxed Google profiles (which aren't actually attached to a Google account, so the name is confusing).
Basically you're creating walled-in setup for each type of profile wherein the apps you set up in Profile A won't see what you have going on with Profile B, and the same goes for each app, you can even set storage scopes and limit what each app can see or do on your phone.
I have a profile for Banking and Maps, one for Uber, and one I keep important notes on. Then my main profile has my browser, games, and Primal.
I like using HereWeGo and Open Street Maps, and one tip I have for SwiftKey keyboard addicts is to disable network permissions so it's not connected to anything when you type.
Oh, and I know a LOT of people hate Pixel's design. So I use LawnChair (home screen/app drawer launcher) lets me style everything in conjunction with Nova Launcher and hide things I don't use)
Osmand, for open source maps and navigation
Aegis, for 2fa
NewTube, youtube client without ads
K-9 mail
Syncthing, sync directories between devices without a cloud provider
KeepassDroid, passwords, use syncthing to sync the db file to your other devices.
BitBanana, connect to your lightning node, obviously
That's really about it
Orbot, waze, all of the proton things, nextcloud hooked to my start 9. fdroid, aurora store.
The default keyboard sucks. You can just get GBoard again and disable network permissions if you wanna preserve some privacy.
Florisboard is great and opensource
I like Futo and Heliboard, Floris is also good. For the average person coming over from stock Android, GBoard remains the best feeling keyboard tho. The open source keyboards just can't quite match the haptic feel and autocorrect abilities in my experience. They're all fine tho if you're willing to take a bit of a UX hit for improved privacy.
Even without any permissions, GBoard has additional services on which link to Google Play services. You can check this by going to developer options under system setting and clicking on running services.
A lot has been said already.
I'd go with:
Zeus
Ashigaru
SimpleX
Molly/Signal
InviziblePro
IVPN
Notesnook
Fairmail
Keyguard
KeypassDX
Obtanium/Zapstore/Accrescent
ExifEraser
InterProfilSharing
Aegis
Anonaddy
FreeTube
Amber
Amethyst
WormholeWilliam
All great suggestions, and most I also use.
Also use Obsidian for note taking, Organic Maps for mapping. I actually chose NOT to run google services (or whats the point), so this is a great map replacement, all maps are downloaded so usable offline with just GPS (great for no cell signal). Collabora Office for docs, Feeder for RSS, KurobaEX for 8kun (lol).
Biggest downside not having Google Play Services so far is that Pheonix Wallet requires it for notifications to the lightning channel, so had to abandon that.
Also use Hacker's Keyboard (love it), Lawnchair for launcher, and check most apps on https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/ to check number of trackers.
nostr:nprofile1qqstnr0dfn4w5grepk7t8sc5qp5jqzwnf3lejf7zs6p44xdhfqd9cgsppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnzd96xxmmfdejhytnnda3kjctv9ulj6hdh is very knowlegable and may have some suggestions.
one of the most powerful and cool things in graphene is storage scopes. would be a good tutorial, how to setup your apps that need to share some data without granting full filesystem perms.
It's hard to get by without Google play for many things like maps and banking.
One option is to make a second profile and then enable sandboxed Google play services on the second profile.
So you can have a schizo / crypto profile, and then a hardened normie profile and switch between them.
Essential apps include:
Mullvad VPN
FUTO keyboard
FUTO Grayjay
Signal
Zapstore for keeping apps updated
Why a whole separate user? Wouldn't a work profile be better?
Magic Maps is the best alternative to google maps that I've found.
Oops. I mean Magic Earth!
That's a great app there. It even works with Apple Carplay! Super prívate. My wife thought I was "pushing it" when I chose this over Google Maps consistently... 😅😂
My experience too. Not a compromise.
I've tried using OSM in the past, but it never had the locations that I needed to navigate to. Have you found that Magic Earth has most of the locations you are looking for?
Generally yes, the app's search bar is pretty good as it goes. It even shows traffic jams these days, and does UK post codes.
Looks great on the first look but the disclaimer from them says:
ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SITE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. COMPANY CANNOT ENSURE THAT ANY FILES OR OTHER DATA YOU DOWNLOAD FROM THE SITE WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES.
And privacy policy
We may collect data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect information such as language, time-zone, search requests and routing requests, so we can improve the user experience and our services.
I would expect something better considering how they market themselves.
Do you know more about them?
#Obtainium
Obtainium to use with apps pre-releases (if you want to test new versions before release
Zapstore to use with final releases (if you are just a regular user)
Why? Zapstore's source is GitHub with most foss apps. What's the point?
Zapstore do not let you install pre-releases. And is fine.
But Obtainium have an advanced option to let install pre-releases (if you really know what are you doing)
But why choose Zapstore for stable releases if it pulls them from GitHub anyways? Any subtleties behind this logic?
It takes at least 1-2 days to set everything up correctly so that everything is convenient, from the keyboard to Syncthing, KeePassDX, and everything else.
There are many tutorials online that only hype because GrapheneOS "fUr krIminaLS". But to do everything correctly, you need to record a tutorial lasting several hours.
If you're interested in what FOSS tools I use, send me a message. I don't want to post a list here without knowing for sure that you'll read it.
here you have a list of them and how to install without any google crap.
Many peopke use Graphene but go back to use the crap sandboxed google play. It doesn't make any sense to do that.
https://darth-coin.github.io/beginner/bitcoiners-mobile-device-en.html
Since a lot things were suggested already, here some more niche apps I use:
* PDF Doc Scan, scan docs into PDFs (Zapstore)
* ConvertIt, convert various media formats (Zapstore)
* Read You, lean & beautiful feed reader with optional sync (Zapstore)
* Breeze Weather, customizable weather app, fast, supports many locations & data sources (Zapstore)
* Chance, great *chan reader if you’re into that, best I found so far (Obtainium)
* Linkahest, my own app to share links to X/Reddit/YT without compromising the recipient’s privacy (Zapstore)
* Hacki/Harmonic/Glider, HackerNews readers, if you’re into that (probably all Obtainium)
* CoMaps, fork of Organic Maps, OpenStreetMaps app (Zapstore)
* Nekogram, forked & extended Telegram client, fully OSS (Zapstore)
* Futo keyboard, closest to GBoard as it gets IMHO, supports local transformers/machine learning for autocomplete/swiping (Zapstore)
This thread is amazing for new #GrapheneOS users
Zapstore and Aurora store for apps. Ente Photos for your photos in the cloud, proton mail, Aves for you local gallery, Messages from Fossify for sms, Newpipe for YouTube, Amethyst for Nostr.
Another support for Ente. 10 GB of storage is a great starting point for free (can double that to 20 GB with a few clicks). Further storage upgrades are quite cheap imo and most people probably don't need more than 20-50GB of photo storage. Their AI tools are also run locally on the device (I think?) and work very well.
For me:
- Zapstore
- Standard Notes
- SyncThing
- Amber
- Nostr Clients
In that order 😅
I like newpipe for youtube, comaps for maps, thunderbird for email, makeacopy for scanner, antennapod for podcasts, the light for bible, molly if you use signal and breeze weather for meteo.
Some ideas:
Amber, Zapstore
Fossify suite of utility apps
CoMaps (my latest favourite) or OsmAnd
AndBible
FUTO Keyboard or Heliboard
NewPipe (instead of YouTube)
Musicolet
Yandex Translate
Aegis Authenticator
TutaMail's notifications work somewhat, w/o Google services, unlike Proton's.
SherpaTTS
Good list, I'd just substitute NewPipe with Tubular
I don't have the same phone use case as others and vice-versa, so I can't tell people what app is a "must-have", but the transition is easy if you set up sandboxed Google profiles (which aren't actually attached to a Google account, so the name alone can be confusing).
Basically you're creating walled-in setup for each type of profile, wherein the apps you set up in Profile A can't see what you have going on with Profile B, and the same goes for each app, you can even set storage scopes and limit what each app can see or do on your phone. For example, my nostr apps can't see my image gallery, only the ones I downloaded (and then I empty it after posting to nostr).
I have a profile for Banking and Maps, one for Uber, and one I keep important notes on. Then my main profile has my browser, games, and Primal/Amethyst.
I like using HereWeGo and Open Street Maps, and one tip I have for SwiftKey keyboard addicts is to disable network permissions so it's not connected to anything when you type.
Oh, and I know a LOT of people hate Pixel's design (so do I) I use LawnChair (home screen/app drawer launcher) lets me style everything in conjunction with Nova Launcher and hide things I don't use)
I love graphene, the standard camera app isn't much to celebrate though.
Sipnetic + data-only SIM (pay with cash) + virtual number from brax.me ---> for all voice calls on the PSTN (although if you and recipient both have sipnetic, I think you can call extension to extension for strong privacy, off the PSTN.
Signal for calls to as many contacts also using as possible (until perhaps White Noise has that capability).
* A good browser - Fennec, Brave, Vandium, etc. Something that works with PWAs while blocking ads and minimizing tracking. Most apps can be replaced with a web version.
* A maps app, Organic Maps or OsmAnd work great
* A media player like VLC if you're switching away from something like Spotify or regularly download audio/video from Youtube
* A notes app. I like Joplin for its sync feature, but other tools like Markor, Notally, and Simple notes are all good.
* An RSS reader, its great for following accounts across platforms and beats out most dedicated apps. Read You + Fresh RSS goes great, but Feeder works great too (& has Nostr article support)
* A YT client like NewPipe or Grayjay if you watch/listen to YT on your device
* Some form of cloud storage/sync - be it Proton Drive, Syncthing, Nextcloud, or something else
* Basic offline tools - equate (unit conversion) tape measure, tasks (to do reminders), trail sense (outdoor oriented tools), pocketpal (local llms), Snapseed (photo editor - by Google but runs offline with no G services needed), TTSutil (text to speech or audio file tool)
* Messaging apps - I use Beeper (for Google chat) and Signal because that's what family uses, it'll vary depending on what you need
* App stores - Aurora, F-Droid, Acresent, Zap Store, Obtanium - take your pick
* Termux or the integrated Linux terminal if you want to run CLI software
* Games, there's plenty of foss games to kill time with. A few recommendations: Anuto TD, SuperTuxKart, Unciv, Endless Sky, Tri Peaks, Solitaire, Domination, emulators.
* An ebook reader (I use Librera) + optionally a TTS engine
* And since we're on Nostr: Nostr clients/tools, proxies (vpns, orbot, Tor Browser, I2P), and/or crypto wallets depending on what you're personally looking for.
Keep 2 phones: 1 grapheneOS without SIM and 1 normy phone for have-to's.
Use SimpleX on grapheneOS phone and motivate your besties to come along.
Keep your normie phone in a Faraday bag as much as possible and use it only in 1 place as much as possible (eg only at home).
When will the tutorial take place?
PocketPal -> on device LLMs
Mullvad
Iron Fox Browser
Antenna Pod
AntennaPod
Mullvad
Phoenix
Can’t wait for the nostr:nprofile1qqspnzgrfett3asxcuj0gksje6z2zxzpvgd27uvz58m9vsuqh8zzw6cprdmhxue69uhkvet9v3ejumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgtm5dah8jqgewaen5te0vf6kwmtpdchx6em40yhxuet58g6rsdpcj4jwuw playlist 💪🔥⛓️💥
#sovereignty #privacy #bitcoining
