This is an updated version to an older article I wrote. I know the purists are not going to like it, but I have found it to be a good first step for someone who is completely entrenched in Google’s Android system. If nothing else, it might make someone new to thinking about privacy see that home screen filled with Google’s apps differently than they did before.
I may not respond to comments here, but do read them all and appreciate all feedback.
why DuckDuckgo browser?
After that, I leave ‘use location’ on
I think you are referring to the prompt on set-up to use location. In fact, this toggle is totally misleading, it seems to allow Google to access your location without extra consent. It isn’t necessary for apps to use the location.
Not a bad guide at all. Obtanium can be finicky to use, so f-droid + aurora makes sense.
I think there are some better options for applications. Fossify are all decent, but eg florisboard was more reliable for me as a keyboard. Fossify everything makes set up easy, but could lead to frustrations down the line as quality is uneven.
Brave and firefox do better for me as browsers than duckduckgo. I’ve been using firefox for progressive web apps and other services with launchers I want to stay logged into, plus brave for general browsing. Duckduckgo can be limiting and is basically tweaked google chrome.
For VPN, I would direct people to Proton since it’s free. Mullvad is good but starting with free services makes it easy for people to transition. Riseup VPN is also free though it could put someone off VPNs due to the slow speeds.
For email thunderbird mobile can be good (except for searching message bodies). Someone may not be ready to give up their gmail or other email and switch to Tuta. Tuta and Proton are both usable in free tier, especially if you combine with duck aliases, so having both one of those and Thunderbird could be worthwhile. You can use duckduckgo app to get the aliases, but it’s a lot nicer once you get it set up in bitwarden using the API info from desktop.
Google messages has RCS supposedly so could be worth keeping that. Signal is good, but you have to convince people to use it with you.
This is a good first step and makes a lot of difference, anyway. Even if the first step is someone’s last step, it’s already more than most people will do. Collective solutions and regulation matter more than achieving phone purism.
Also did you skip maps? Most people are going to need a replacement. For public transit you are stuck on a google play service using option, but there’s supposed to be some good ones for cars, bicycles, and walking.
I’ve added your helpful comment as an update at the bottom of the article. Hope that’s ok.
Yup that’s fine.
These are all good recommendations - thanks.
I forgot! I’ve added Organic Maps to the text. Thanks.