GmsCore VS AltStore

I, an engineer, am not doing this myself, too. There is a middle ground though: just use a privacy-oriented Android build, like DivestOS. [1]

There are a couple caveats:

1. It is still a bit tricky for a non-technical person to install. Should not be a problem if they know somebody who can help, though. There's been some progress making the process more user friendly recently (e.g. WebUSB-based GrapheneOS installer).

2. There are some papercuts if you don't install Google services on your phone. microG [2] helps with most but some still remain. My main concern with this setup is that I can't use Google Pay this way, but having to bring my card with me every time seems like an acceptable trade off to me.

[1]: https://divestos.org/

[2]: https://microg.org/

I have been running de-googled LineageOS since before it renamed/reformed from CyanogenMod, so since somewhere around 2013/14. That has looked rather different depending on what exactly I need from my phone but I'll share what my current set up looks like.

First, I have don't use any kind of Google/Samsung/Apple Pay wallets so if you do, this may not be helpful; I've never looked into trying to get any of those working. Also, by "de-googled" I mean that I don't have GApps installed on my phone. I do have microG[0] installed as a Magisk[1]/LSPosed[2] module; this allows a few apps to believe I have GApps while most apps do not see/have access. I do not turn on microG for any apps (i.e. no connection to the Google servers/services via microG).

Most of my apps come from F-Droid[3], a few from Aurora Store[4] (a 3rd-part frontend for the Play Store that does not require either an account or GApps installed), a very few from FFupdater[5], and have played with using Obtanium[6] but currently only have one (weather) app updating via it. I have several different repositories configured in F-Droid but I don't generally keep mental track of which repository I am dependent on for which apps; the default, IzzyOnDroid[7], Bitwarden[8], NewPipe[9], microG[10], and Collabora[11] are some of them.

I have two banking apps installed via Aurora Store, one of which requires microG and root-hiding (via Magisk module) while the other doesn't require either. My browsers (Firefox, Firefox Klar, Brave) come from FFupdater and none require microG. My texting (QUIK SMS), email (K-9 Mail), TOTP authenticator (Aegis), password manager (Bitwarden), GPS/Maps (OsmAnd), file syncing (Nextcloud), notes (Nextcloud Notes), HN reader (HN), and Contacts/Calendar sync (DAVx5, ICSx5) apps all come via F-Droid (either the main repo or others). I have many others apps which come from F-Droid or Aurora Store but the above are my most used.

For file, calendar, notes, photo, & contact syncing, I have a Nextcloud server set up and find it to work quite well; the Nextcloud apps are also quite good. Someone who doesn't want to run their own could use a hosted account[12]. Contacts & calendars are synced to Nextcloud via DAVx5 & ICSx5.

The primary challenges I am aware of at this point are hardware (it is increasingly difficult to install LineageOS on most hardware due to bootloader locks), and navigation (OpenStreetMap data usually doesn't include addresses in the USA). For hardware, the solution is essentially just to properly research the phone you want to buy; I always make sure the model is well supported by LineageOS before purchasing and then tend to hang on to it for several years. For navigation, I usually find the address on my desktop or mobile browser (via DuckDuckGo) and then manually input the location into OsmAnd before the trip but I also keep WeGo Here maps installed in case I don't have time for that (it usually takes <2 minutes and rarely more than 5 to manually find & enter the address). Additionally, getting the one banking app to work without GApps was a pain in the butt initially (requiring testing several Magisk & LSPosed modules), but now it just works and I don't really think about it.

Overall, I don't find my version of de-googled to be a detriment; my phone is useful and I have more control over my data and over annoyances (such as unnecessary notifications) than I would otherwise.

[0] https://microg.org

Is anyone here daily-driving microg and can share their experiences? https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/wiki/Implementation-Status does not exactly inspire confidence.

...will need to be rewritten to avoid Google Play Services.

Not true.

All that needs to happen is for open source developers to "re-implement Google’s proprietary Android user space apps and libraries".

https://microg.org/

microG itself connects directly to Google: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/wiki/Google-Network-Connec...

No shit, of course they do.

>In general, we obviously try to minimize the connections to Google, but some services strictly rely on them and would just not work without.

What exactly do you think they should do instead?

MicroG

In release notes for GmsCore v0.2.29.233013 (https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/releases/tag/v0.2.29.233013), I also see:

Yes, the Xposed module is one way. There are also other ways

Which one should I use? Is this MicroG's official website right? (https://microg.org/)

AltServer from the AltStore folks allows you to automate the renewal of sideloaded apps. It’s not perfect, but it’s an excellent workaround.

http://altstore.io/

That's probably to prevent the most obvious workaround of creating a new shell company for every million users. (Which would be not so ridiculous as it sounds, there is plenty of software you cannot buy directly but only through a reseller. Epic could become a pure b2b shop on paper and sell Fortnite clients to regional distributors, or something like that.)

Some time ago somebody made an alternative App Store for emulators, https://altstore.io . I think it works by having users get a developer's certificate and installing the apps like an in-development app. I think it would be really neat if this model got tested in court and declared completely legal.

See: https://altstore.io/

2 apps, re-sign weekly maximum. 3 if you do it without AltStore. Unlimited with a $99/yr developer account.

you already could in a way... by using altstore[0] on non jailbroken devices... It's not as straightforward as on Android but it is possible (there were even some builds of blink engine)

[0] https://github.com/altstoreio/AltStore

I mean, that's fine. My argument about adblockers applies to other software too: the Apple ecosystem has some of the basics (like sync, browsers, etc) figured out for me so that I don't need to fiddle with it. While I'd like to use Firefox, I don't need to, and the tradeoffs that come with accepting Safari instead are worth it for my specific situation. Forcing myself into a different ecosystem so that I can use different software that does the same thing isn't a good tradeoff for me. It sounds like that's not the case for you - glad you've found an ecosystem that works for you.

There are a couple of things you might want to be aware of though:

* AltStore exists and works pretty well: https://altstore.io

* iOS 17.2 allows users in some locales to side load apps: https://medium.com/@rmndrathna4/ios-17-2-sideload-apps-what-... . This was sparked by the Digital Markets Act, which could also force Apple to allow alternate browser engines. It went into effect May 2023, but I'm not a lawyer and idk how this will actually affect the Apple ecosystem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Markets_Act

No problem! I can guide you step by step here. You will need: A Mac Computer A supported Device (which I know you have) A jail broken device This tutorial is for iOS 9 btw, so you should probably update. It’ll only be temporary. First, jailbreak your iPhone. Personally, I updated my iPhone to iOS 9 then jail broke it using Phoenix. To do this, turn on your Mac and download Altstore. (https://altstore.io). Go to the phoenix website and download the ipa file. Then go into Altstore and sideload the ipa on your device by plugging in the 4S and trusting the Mac. It’ll ask you for your Apple ID and password, but if you don’t feel safe giving it, you can create a throw-away Apple ID. Once the ipa is done sideloading, you should see the Phoenix app icon on your main iPhone menu. Go into it, and it’ll say iPhone 4,1 isn’t jailbrolen. Click on the begin button, and go through the terms and service. They will show you their mixtape, but you can ignore it. Now, click begin installation. You should see two buttons to use the premade files or your own. Here, you MUST WAIT at LEAST 5 minutes on this screen before you proceed. If you click the button before five minutes, the screen would fade black and you did it incorrectly. After five minutes, click the use premade asserts button (the button above). After a bit, you should get a storage full message. Then the phone will shut off on its own. When the phone is on, you should have Cydia. Go back into the Phoenix app and make sure it says your iPhones is jailbroken and Cydia can be launched. If not, click the “jumpstart jailbreak” button, and when you get to the assets thing again, wait 5 minutes once more. Once that is done, go into Cydia and go to the sources button. Click Edit on the upper right hand corner, then click Add. Then type this link in. http://repo.tihmstar.net/. Once done, scroll through his selection until you find the kDFU app. Download it, and go into the app. Turn on all the switches, and enter kDFU mode. Now we go back to your Mac. Go here: https://github.com/LukeZGD/Legacy-iOS-Kit/releases/tag/latest. Click on the one that says _Macos. That should download the zip file. Now unzip it, but don’t go into it. Now go to the Mac Terminal. Type cd then a space. Then drag the iOS Kit folder to terminal. The path name should show in terminal next to cd. Click enter. Now type chmod +x restore.sh Now type ./restore.sh You should see some things pop up. Now read if it asks you to update. Type “y” if it asks, and let it do its thing. When it is done updating, type ./restore.sh again. Now if you iPhone 4S is still in kDFU mode and is plugged in, the Patcher should see your iPhone 4S. Now it should show you some options. Type “1” as you are downgrading and click enter. It should now show you if you wanna downgrade to iOS 8 or 6. Type “2” as that is the option listed for iOS 6. Click enter. Now you should see a list of options that show Ipsw related things. Type “2” as that should download the iOS 6 ipsw. When that is done, type “3” and click enter. That will begin the restore. It’ll ask you a few questions, and type y/n to what you want. Now let it finish. Do NOT unplug the phone. When it is done, you should be downgraded!

/u/sevenlayercookie5 /u/rogo725 - I side load it with https://altstore.io/ - it keeps it refreshed every 7 days as well. If you need any help with it, hit me up.

https://altstore.io/ Go here in your computer, download alt server then connect your phone via usb and download AltStore on phone. AltStore will have delta available to download.

Fuck you for not having a Linux version JKJK Thanks for Altserver and Altstore: https://github.com/altstoreio/AltStore