Hey guys, it’s pretty much the tittle. I’ve been using Lineage with microg for a year now and despite using the majority of FOSS apps in my routine I still feel like I have to struggle to preserve my privacy and keep Google away from my data. Do you guys feel the same sometimes?
Every time I have to use a banking app is a pain …I kept changing banks to the ones who I could use with Magisk but every app update breaks my setup and I have to find a workaround or change to another app. I just quit using banking apps and passed them all to the wife.Now even home brokers have been blocking me asking to use a “official android version”
Today even a government app we must use to get access to services and information started complaining about my play store.
I self host a nextcloud service on my old desktop that serves as a server but every now and then the updates crash something. Sharing calendar and notes is too complicated if you don’t have a vps or a domain. I keep getting complains from the wife about how come I just don’t use google keep and Google drive anymore.
After a year I’m starting to think that maybe my data is not worth the hassle just to keep big tech out of my digital life… I guess Big Brother wins
What do you say? Am I too lazy or it is unpractical to stay away from big tech?
instead of changing banks, change the phone and try grapheneos’s google sandbox thing. i myself already gave up, have lineage and gapps installed, but i do block most of analitics with blokada. i also try to use foss as much as possible, but sometimes theres simply no alternative. in the end of the day, you need to reconsider if you really want to go with the full front assault, or just block most of the stuff.
I’m planning to buy a new phone in the next year or so and looks like pixel is a great option because of graphene. I wish it ran on my poco x3.
Graphene is in an interesting position as far as being the only majorly secure OS out of the box. So don’t give up until you try it even on a 200 dollar Pixel 6 or a Pro version if you like larger screens.
Use a second profile for all your normie proprietary apps and google services. Then use your main profile for FOSS and privacy outside of work things. Easy to setup and install. No tweaking really out of the box. I’ve never had a major broken component even with banking apps. Its kinda like the shit just works. I hate its on pixel devices but I Understand why having a secure chipset. The absolutely only complaint I could muster with Gos is needing location to be inside main and secondary profile at the same time Google maps I don’t know why. Beyond that. Its been flawless.
Edit: Don’t let other persuade you down the rabbit hole of full self hosting and going crazy micromanaging things for perfection. It’ll feel like a second job and lead to what you have which is fatigue of something you genuinely care about and rightfully so. If you need help once your on Gos. Message me. There needs to be less friction to achieve tasks not more or people just won’t do it.
if you have x3 pro, you could also try divetos. its a linageos fork with more security. if you have the nfc, then you are out of luck.
It seems like a lot of things you want to do on your phone are unnecessary. Why not just use the banking websites in your browser at home? Why not just keep a paper calendar?
A paper calendar is very inconvenient. I have found the Nextcloud calendar to be much more useful. I can accept invites and send out invites
I’m wondering this too. Does your bank not have a website OP? Webapps are the way to go for tracker heavy apps if possible
All the banks I have an account need an app in order to login. I’ve tried to use them using the browser but they all request you to use their app as 2fa. So the app doesn’t work and I just can’t do shit using only my browser.
Do what your comfortable with that doesn’t impede on your life. i.e. you don’t need to dig a moat and put up barbed wire around your house, you can just close the curtains at night as a starting point.
FWIW Banking apps have always worked for me on grapheneos without any extra work.
Make a list of what data is important to you, and who has access to it, and if your comfortable with it. If not use privacy guides to select a new provider
- Emails - Gmail -> something else?
- Location - Google, Cell phone company -> (your degoogled so google shouldn’t have this)
- Search - Google -> ddg?
- Photos ?
etc, just do things that arn’t too much trouble and increase your privacy
I think the best thing for cases like this is to see if the applications you want to use allow you to do what you want to do just using the web browser. Oftentimes there’s a progressive web act that will function well enough, or the desktop site can be accessed on mobile with enough function to make it through.
Can you do your banking through their website? Can that government app be used similarly through desktop?
I’ve tried and could not use none of them without the website requesting the app to login or to verify the transactions
Try using the “Desktop site” feature of Firefox.
Then don’t. It’s that simple. It is impossible to live a 100% private life, you have to value your own time and enjoyment.
Everyone is giving solid advice.
It is a trade off as google controls so much.
@fernandu00 I am out of #Google myself and my whole family too. I managed to replace all Google stuff with FOSS apps. I have a separate tablet for banking only which has all the usual Google setup but I use it like once a week to pay bills. For small daily banking I use Revolut.com - their app is working fine with all my degoogled devices - both rooted and unrooted. @protonprivacy services replace most of #Google apps that people use and the rest you can find on https://f-droid.org
Yeah I intend to buy a cheap android phone just to do banking …I guess that’s the easiest way to deal with this
I self host a nextcloud service on my old desktop that serves as a server but every now and then the updates crash something. Sharing calendar and notes is too complicated if you don’t have a vps or a domain.
Self hosting is a pain imo. You can pay a small cloud provider with nextcloud. There is a middle ground between big tech and self hosting.
I have a powerful homelab and a phone with zero proprietary software. There are some sacrifices but ever since I let go of dependence on proprietary software I am much happier.
For banking, can you use a browser instead of the app?
I do very little banking through my phone - what’s there to do?
There are some browsers that support sites-as-an-app, such as Cromite and Hermit, that may solve this issue.
Unfortunately some financial apps are “app or nothing”.
Just wondering if it’s that way for OP’s bank.
I don’t really use the app or the website (maybe to check a balance), so I have no idea what uses there are. Frankly I wouldn’t have banking at all if I could avoid those bastards.
And a lot of others require a special app for 2fa. I for example still need a app when using the website.
I found that having a second phone (just my old phone) as a dedicated banking device. How often do you need to initiate a bank-transfer while on the go anyway?
This is why I have a degoogled phone and a googled phone. I carry them both around with me but any bank app, or other data harvesting app or necessity goes through that phone,so I may keep the majority of my stuff clean and free (as much as I can within my capabilities)
Ultimately there are always going to be people who don’t have smartphones or computers, so society (including things which are currently almost mandatory to participate in society, like being able to bank) should be accessible to these people. If it’s accessible for them, it’s also accessible to people with smartphones or computers who have just removed the spyware from them.
I don’t do mobile banking; I just bank from my desktop browser. Not sure if this is an option for you or not, but I would have thought that online banking in the web browser should be even more common than having a mobile app for it.
Not sure what you mean by “home brokers” blocking you but if you mean their wifi blocks you, I’ve experienced that too on GrapheneOS but have found that VPNs allow me to use pretty much any public wifi.
Does your government app have a web alternative? If not that seems incredibly discriminatory against people who don’t have smartphones. If it has a web alternative but doesn’t work with any particular privacy settings, do you have a local library with computers you can use?
I think we have to persist. Make our statement and presence. Let banks know. Let everybody know there are people who care. Each day we are more. One day we will be many.
I just have 2 extra profiles besides my main one (which has absolutely nothing proprietary), 1 for financial apps and another profile for my work apps. This allows me to keep the financial profile off until I needed, and the work profile active during work hours. The rest of the time, I’m away from al that proprietary crap.
After a while you will find that you really don’t need most, if not all of it. But the disconnect does take time.
How do you setup separate profiles?
Go to the Settings -> System -> Multiple Users. Allow multiple users.
For banking apps: my Bank only has them as 2fa, if you say you don’t have a Smartphone, and give you the same Programm as Windows App eventually, runs great in a win10 VM, the payments are made in there Webportal
