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Comment by spookybones | Hacker News Reader

My issue remains privacy. I can’t help but feel that every swipe and key I type into an Android will be added to some profile on me.

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Actually one of the best things about Android is that you can drop all the Google apps. Don't use the default Google keyboard but install your own. Don't want to see ads in YouTube? Get YT Vanced. No ads in apps ever? DNS66. Want the Play Store apps without Google? Yalp.

That doesn't change the fact that you need google play services for most of the phone to work. It can be done, but it's a huge pain in the ass.

You may already know about this since it comes up a lot on HN but I am keeping an eye on https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ development for this reason.

While this is great, I'd rather have a cheaper phone, less than $150.

Not to brag but I'm dying for a low end open smartphone, with the same concept of the raspberry pi.

Until last year, I was buying refurbished S5's on Amazon for that price. Unfortunately, the set of apps I run finally bogged that phone down.

MicroG? Or simply drop Play services and such and use a different ROM?

Couldn’t you setup a g-suite profile, and use that? I mean it would cost you money, but I’m not sure where you can find privacy and ownership for free these days.

Um, Apple?

Try GrapheneOS (https://grapheneos.org)

Support for Pixel 3a and 3a XL will be added soon.

But don't you lose the software/drivers that makes the camera great?

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