This post is going to be a bit personal (and maybe a little bit out of context, it’s not just Google software I want to remove) but I’m tired of not knowing what to do about it. I want and have wanted to get rid of a bunch of proprietary software in my life, including but not limited to Google’s software, for quite a while now, and I even got a Pixel 7A with hopes of installing GrapheneOS. But there are a few problems. First, my parents are understandably concerned and need me to use Google Maps’ location sharing whenever I go to school. All my classmates use Instagram and we have that as our only messaging platform. I currently use DFInstagram, but I feel that it is not free from spyware. Finally, I also own a DJI Mini 3 Pro, and the associated DJI Fly app just refuses to work under GrapheneOS (I tested). Is there anything I can do to replace or limit the access of these aforementioned proprietary apps?
You can offer your friends the option to use Signal for messaging. It’s not a big deal to use several apps for messaging different people.
I don’t know how old you are or were you live, but it just sounds crazy to me your parents want to know your location at all time, it seems paranoid. Maybe there are other “location sharing” apps out there, but they are by definition not very privacy oriented, not sure if I would trust another app more than Google-Maps…
Yeah, no, it’s a group chat of my entire class. Making all of them switch is not an option, it’s too many people who don’t care so much about digital privacy and aren’t interested in tech
Feels crazy no one has mentioned it yet, but Beeper finally got released a couple days ago. Check it up, I’d recommend you to use the “OLD” client tho, new one feels like a beta version.
It’s just a preconfigured matrix server with (proprietary) clients and easy to use bridges, it allows you to use multiple messaging networks in one app, so you could use signal or matrix chats with most people and keep only essential exceptios like the instagram class group.
Really stupid easy to set up, and if you feel more concerned about privacy you can always search for a matrix homeserver with bridges or self-host your own (pretty complicated, wouldn’t recommend too much).
Isn’t the point of deGoogling removing the majority of the proprietary apps on an Android Phone, though?
Oh i agree on that, but matrix itself is open source, that’s why i listed it too. The 3 options are good, but the more secure the more complicated.
Beeper is the easiest, with the con of closed-source client (the server is open source and they contribute a lot to the matrix ecosystem, thus my trust in them). This is what I’m currently recommening to most people as a lesser bad just because how easy it is to use.
Public matrix instances are good too, i personally use frei.chat, but most of them use unmodified matrix servers and there’s a bunch of open source clients available. Bridges with other networks are configures through bots.
Then you can self-host your own server, but it can get messy and expensive. I usually prefer to self-host everything, but decided to pass on matrix for now.
Agreed. Actually some people are crazy about Signal for the Stickers https://signalstickers.org and I’ll admit that I find the Signal Stickers fun as well. Stickers could be the decisive argument to have them use Signal :)
OwnTracks is good for location sharing/logging and is open source. Ideally requires you to run your own MQTT server though.
If not using your own server, you can use payload encryption to protect your location data from being snooped by other users. (But ideally you should just run your own server, it’s pretty easy.)
Hmmmm. I actually disagree with this comment.
I think that signal is a useful alternative for people that are privacy oriented or that do not have an existing chat, but to make the transition from Instagram to signal is going to feel like a step back for the vast majority of normal users especially teenagers/preteens.
On a related note, because we do not know the age of the original poster, it is a non-starter to say that his parents should not be tracking his whereabouts until we have more information. For all we know, this could be a 13 year old. I’m more useful alternative would be to suggest privacy-friendly location apps
I’m relatively young, but my parents weren’t always aware of my whereabouts when I was thirteen. Heck as young as 8 years old they let me bike the 5km to school. I think that trust and autonomy was good for me, especially as a preteen/teen.
Contrast with my younger brother, who our father still tracks via Snapchat in his early twenties. I can say the constant feeling of surveillance has definitely had an impact on his mental health.