You sound not yet ready to unplug 😃

But to provide another perspective, havent used a Samsung phone for 10yrs. I generally buy a cheap phone with as little as possible preinstalled spyware. Except for browsing and messaging, every app I use daily comes from fdroid.

Samsung is shit.

Yes, only libre apps, it makes switching easier.

Im stuck with an s23 for a while yet. Is it even worth the trouble of trying to use f droid, shutting off google play services and disabling all the other shit on my phone, when at its core its all spyware?

it of course is.

i’m guessing you already know how to debloat your phone using adb.

in addition to what’s already posted you can use a private dns that filters system trackers as well ☞ https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

keep in mind, netGuard (or rethink) is less efficient when you use private dns

I really wish an alternative existed that wasn’t just a prototype or $1000.

a reconditioned second hand pixel or 1+ from a trusted seller must be less than 200. if you go for a nonPixel, check before buying if the model is supported on https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

No, IMO. For a real private android experience you have to switch to Lineage or Graphene and F-droid apps. I’m writing this from a Galaxy A5 2016 with LineageOS with F-droid only apps in one (main) profile and WhatsApp and a couple of other (in my case, sadly unavoidable) proprietary apps in another profile.

Here is a list of supported phones by LineageOS in case you are willing to switch.

Check this out. It may help. universal android debloater next generation

Worth it, especially if you are stuck with the phone. Find FOSS equivalents of the built-in utilities (gallery, files, etc.), disable what you can (judiciously) with uad-ng, block the apps that can’t be disabled from network access using Rethink DNS, and use the websites of services on a computer browser instead of apps whenever possible.

It’s still far from what privacy ROMs can do for you, but until you can get a GrapheneOS, etc. friendly phone, taking some action is much better than just letting the spyware run wild.

I’ve had my J7 for almost 10 years now. It’s got TWRP and I have root access with majisk. While this particular model is not supported in GrapheneOS or even LineageOS, I still did my best to personalize it, so I gutted it with SDMaid and removed all the bloat I could (be careful if you’re going to do this, since there are some apps that look like bloat but are actually quite necessary). I also use Termux with root access sometimes (be careful). Personally I don’t think I’m ever changing it until I lose it or it breaks.

Hi there! I mentioned this in the other thread but I’ll go into more detail here. GrapheneOS was created as a replacement operating system for mobile devices. It’s based on Android, but improves security and removes the invasive surveillance. It’s currently only available to install on Google Pixel devices, because while Google is bad with privacy, they are good with security. In 2026-2027 GrapheneOS plans to release their own smartphone in partnership with an OEM. GrapheneOS has 400,000 users and counting. Linux phones have a lot of security issues, especially when rooted. GrapheneOS worth looking into. You can buy a Pixel for around $200 second hand, that way you don’t line Google’s pockets to get one.

Yes, getting started is still a start. Also means your workflow will be as ready as can be for GOS

I’m on the same phone. I fucking hate this thing. Screw Samsung I don’t even know who to go to next though