Which Google apps/pixel exclusive features do you (still?) use on GrapheneOS??

N1b

To answer the OP, I have two Pixel phones (one for business and one for private use) and a Pixel Tablet (trying to replace my business laptop with it). Separation like this allows me to realize my threat model, as I don't use any Google Apps on the private phone, but I'm okay with Sandboxed Google Play on my business phone (for some proprietary apps to work) and even a bunch of Google Suite apps like Drive and Calendar on my Tablet since the company depends on these apps for collaboration.

So in case you struggle to solve your privacy balance with juggling profiles or apps on one device, using two or three devices might be the best solution, I know it is for me.

Eirikr70

I just use GBoard with network denied, since I have found no operational alternative for swiping in French.

memyselfandi

andrej567

https://github.com/openboard-team/openboard

andrej567

memyselfandi openboard - there is no SK wordlist.

Eirikr70

[deleted] I use DeepL for translations. It offers a contextual menu when you select text on the browser. I don't think it is open source anyway.

applesbana

N1b

Per @treequell my understand is that google cannot read notification content from apps using GSF.

N1b

applesbana interesting, would love to see more elaboration because I thought the main reason Signal put in the option to hide message content in notifications is to avoid being read by Google... Thanks for correcting me, I probably read some false article or post...

Anyway, Google will surely see some metadata (e.g. which app sends a notification at what time) and that might be bad enough for some threat models. Boy am I happy Signal, Element and Tutanota have their own implementation so I don't depend on GSF for being available.

Ixirup

treequell In fact, I keep my use very simple.

Ixirup

N1b I deleted my Google email address while keeping my account and replaced it with a proton address that I deleted. My account is not linked to any other account in this way.

Ixirup

I'm going to tell you something very important: Google doesn't give a damn about your life, it's just in it to make money and offer you a FREE service. The NSA doesn't give a damn about your data, they want to know what the world will be like in 35/50 years. They're paid to predict. There you have it. Nobody cares about your life.
Now there are people doing reprehensible things... And your phone should be the last thing on your mind. REALLY. A hacker is going to want to make you pay for your data by encrypting it and so on... The intelligence services want to plan on a grand scale. Believe me, the intelligence guys have a good laugh when they see some of your conversations. You can reactivate the Internet on your gboard keyboards... Good evening to you all.

de0u

Ixirup The NSA doesn't give a damn about your data, they want to know what the world will be like in 35/50 years. They're paid to predict. There you have it. Nobody cares about your life.

In theory, but not in practice, not for more than 20 years. There is no firewall between the NSA and the FBI. This is well documented - here is just one example: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jan/10/fbi-reveals-it-uses-cia-and-nsa-spy-americans/

de0u

de0u There is no firewall between the NSA and the FBI.

@Ixirup Today's example:

In October 2022, an FBI specialist broke the rules by running "a query using the Social Security number of a state judge who 'had complained to FBI about alleged civil rights violation perpetrated by a municipal chief of police.'" (Source: "Just declassified: US senator caught up in Section 702 FBI surveillance dragnet")

This sort of thing goes on all the time, generally not mentioned until somebody "important" is affected. If regular people like us are surveilled, we will never find out.

ifman13

Google camera, photos and gboard (for swipe in spanish) with network denied.

I am tempted to install google maps in incognito mode too, but for the moment I use it in a secondary profile.

Murcielago

I use Pixel Camera (formerly Google Camera) and Google Photos in a profile without Google Play (GSF, GPS and Play Store) and live with some missing functions. For a quick lookup I use Google Maps in the browser.

For navigation, I have installed Google Maps in another profile that runs sandboxed Google Play anyway.

5rlyn

The hurdle I can't seem to overcome is Google Wallet (for ticketed events). Ticketmaster simply will not make .pkpass files for tickets available, and my state went all in on the Covid hysteria so paper tickets pretty much don't exist here anymore.
Beyond that, GoogleTV/YouTube get usage because there's simply too much video content tied up there from before I took privacy as seriously as I do now, and AndroidAuto is way easier to utilize while driving than Bluetooth and a dash mount. All permissions are as limited as they can be in these instances.

« Previous Page