My main Android phone is now 99% Google free - Simon Dalvai

My main Android phone is now 99% Google free<br>26. June 2026As of today, I run my phone Google free (at least everywhere I can influence).With pure LineageOS 23.2No Google accountNo Google Play Store or compatible clients like AuroraStoreNo Google Play ServicesNo Google Apps at all, also no Google MapsOn the surface it is indeed 100% Google free. But Android is made by Google, therefore some internal services might still phone home. For example I know that GrapheneOS has an option to use their servers for connectivity pings. So I guess some system apps still use Google servers, even when using LineageOS. Therefore the title says 99% and not 100%.Why no Google<br>I have many reasons why I don't want any Google or other big tech software on my phone. Mainly due to pricacy reasons, but not only. I guess everybody has to do their research and decide, what software to trust.I can only say that it was a very liberating feeling, and still is today. Knowing that I own my device and that (nearly) no one can track me makes me feel free and safe.My daily driver<br>Three years ago I bought a used Google Pixel 5, because I wanted to try GrapheneOS. I chose this phone, because it was (and still is) on of the smallest Pixel phones. I really don't like the big bricks most modern smart phones have become. Is still works perfectly and I replaced the battery after one year. I didn't expect that already three years passed, when searching for my order confirmation email. This confirms that with some dedication, even used Android phones can last for yearsSecond Android phone<br>Before explaining my setup in more detail, I want to clarify, that I still use a second phone. It is an older stock Android phone, with all Google stuff on it. I need still need to use banking and other apps, that don't work on custom roms.But this has also another big advantage: I can leave my important apps "at home". This second phone never leaves my house and therefore I can't loose it. It also allows me to do whatever I want with my main phone. Flashing new roms, experimenting new features or whatever would need a full wipe of my phone.GrapheneOS<br>Good that I wrote about flashing LineageOS in 2023. Otherwise I won't have remembered, that I did not install GrapheneOS immediately.Note: the last GrapheneOS version on my Pixel 5 was 2024101200. Therefore the following text is related to that version and new versions features could differ.For over a year I used GrapheneOS on my Pixel 5. It works really well, because of their Sandboxed Google Play Services. This allows that notifications arrive on time and that Google Maps works. This way the original Play Services run in a sandbox, where you decide it's permissions. Normally this services have nearly root access on your device.Features I miss from GrapheneOS today, are the automated Bluetooth/WiFi turnoff. When disconnected for over 5 minutes, both turn off, to safe battery and reduce the attack surface. I mostly care about the battery life.Another cool security feature is that the phone can be locked, by using the wrong finger to unlock. When tapped 5 times, the fingerprint sensor is disabled, and the password is needed to unlock. I luckily never needed this feature and hope I will never have to. But this shows how dedicated the GrapheneOS team is regarding security hardening.I also used contact scopes, that allow to limit what contacts and app can see. Just like it is possible with pictures in the gallery, but for contacts. This way I could limit Whatsapp to access only the few contacts I needed.Then one day I got the notification that my phone is no longer supported. I continued using it anyways for some time, because I really liked it. Buying a newer supported Pixel was no option, due to the size they have. And my Pixel 5 still works perfectly fine. For this reasons I switched back to LinageOS.LineageOS without Google Play Services<br>I really like the LineageOS project, because it is the successor of CynaogenMod. That brings good memories back, from my first days messing around with custom roms. Once I even hard bricked my phone, because I installed a rom from another phone. I learned it the hard way, that phone and version numbers must match :-)First I wanted to replicate the experience I had with GrapheneOS and the Google Play Services. So I tried microG for some days, but I never got it working correctly. I can't remember exactly what went wrong, but I did not like the constant tweaking.So I decided to try without any Play Services at all. For that I had to remove microG, and reinstall Whatsapp and Signal. When this apps are opened for the first time, they check if the Play Services exist. If not, they start using Websockets to get notifications, afaik. I have to say that Signal works perfectly and I get notifications instantly. Whatsapp notifications on the other hand sometimes take over 20 minutes to arrive. I suspect that Signal simply has more...