A process that started roughly a year ago with just changing browser and search engine, now feeling that I got somewhere. The journey ended up being more than just degoogle, but also demetaing and taking more control over my data and privacy.
Before and after picture with notes:
Chrome -> Zen browser (Firefox on iOS)
Google -> Qwant
Gmail -> Proton Mail
NordVPN -> Proton VPN (I don’t use VPN very often, but have NordVPN through another subscription, now replaced with Proton across my devices)
Google Drive / Photos -> Proton Drive
Google Password Manager -> Proton Pass
Google Authenticator -> Proton Pass / Ente (Ente Auth is only used to store my 2FA keys for the Proton account, other keys are stored in Proton Pass)
Google Translator -> DeepL
YouTube -> FreeTube (Unwatched on iOS)
Google Maps -> Magic Earth (OSM on desktop)
WhatsApp -> Signal
Notion -> Anytype
Keep / Notes -> Notesnook
X -> Mastodon / Bluesky
Reddit -> Lemmy (Voyager on iOS, dreaming of an eventual complete migration)
Instagram -> Pixelfed
Facebook -> stopped using
Windows 11 -> Ubuntu (Only personal laptop, work laptop still windows)
Yes, Custom ROMs as OOTB may not be enough. But with root privileges, hardening and debloating solutions, it can be better than iPhones and other options. iPhone will be less “Googled” because it is not Google’s product, but Android is a Google product. So it is possible to label Android as completely “Googled”. However, if we talk about privacy concerns, there are Google services within Android that we can categorize as core and malicious. We can remove the harmful ones as needed, but the iPhone remains a privacy nightmare no matter how few Google products it has. I don’t think the only criterion that defines a secure and private phone is how deGoogled it is. My personal decision is to use any free custom ROM with hardening and debloating.