My Story
I have been using Android for as long as I have owned a smart phone. I had a certain way that I liked my homescreen to be set up, and I had specific apps I liked to use. It was comfortable and familiar. Upon reading the book that sparked the creation of Pyre Phone: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, I realised that I might need to make some adjustments if I was going to take my privacy seriously.
I was initially concerned that the adjustments I’d need to make would put me outside my comfort zone, and force me to compromise on the performance and convenience of the latest offerings from Google’s version of Android. I was very happy to be proven wrong.
What’s It Like To Use?
As a daily driver, if you’ve used an Android phone, you should be right at home with a De-Googled phone, and making the switch from Apple will not be any more difficult because of the Google-less nature of the operating system. Officially supported De-Googled operating systems (like the ones on the phones we sell here) are regularly updated and maintained. This means you’ll always have the latest security updates for your device, as well as the latest features of android.
My personal De-Googled phone running Graphene has been just as dependable as my old tracking device. I receive messages and calls as I always have, my internet connection is as (un)reliable as ever here in Australia, and I can use all the apps I normally do.
While you can install all your favourite apps on a De-Googled phone (as long as they’re free), you should think twice before negating all the privacy benefits of your De-Googled phone by installing something like Facebook on your device.
The Benefits
The De-Googled phone is a thing of beauty; after the switch I found myself with the same interface I was used to, a battery that lasted far longer, most of the apps I was comfortable with, all while still maintaining the latest in security updates and features. There was almost no compromise to the switch. My most used Google App before was Maps, but after I discovered Magic Earth, I was on my merry way. Check out our Top 5 Apps For De-Googled Phones.
Conclusion
So, I encourage you to try out a De-Googled phone. There are next to no compromises, and if you don’t like it, you can always install the original Googled version. I’d be hard pressed to find a reason to go back though when there’s so many good quality options available from the community of developers that don’t want your personal information.