Degoogled Android Fails NFC Payments and Maps While Privacy Gain Forces Users to Build Fortress-Grade Home Networks
Switching to degoogled operating systems like /e/OS stops mandatory Play Services tracking, offering a clear privacy improvement over stock Android.
The conversation fractures over the 'bulletproof' status of privacy. Some, like 'Atemu', warn that sophisticated mapping can bypass local defenses entirely. Others, like 'jjlinux', argue that layering defenses—Unbound, PiHole, and PFSense—mitigates risk to a functionally sufficient level. Practical annoyances persist; '7eter' points to broken NFC payments and Google Maps issues, while 'mortalic' notes bugs like poor brightness detection.
The reality is functional compromise. While 'MonkderVierte' sees the removal of Play Services as the key victory, the requirement for advanced, non-consumer-grade home infrastructure (load balancing, dual VPNs) suggests true privacy demands immense user overhead. The consensus settles on a trade-off: better privacy means ditching built-in Google convenience for complex, manual workarounds.
Key Points
Degoogling removes mandatory Play Services tracking, a core privacy win.
MonkderVierte asserts /e/OS is superior simply by omitting the built-in tracking mechanism.
Daily use is hampered by proprietary service failures.
7eter highlights specific gotchas including NFC-Payment failure and clunky integration of third-party apps.
True anonymity remains unattainable due to deep profile mapping risk.
Atemu argues that Google's capacity to map pseudonymous profiles to real identities is a persistent, major risk.
Achieving functional privacy requires extremely complex, DIY networking.
jjlinux demonstrated that maximal perceived privacy demands load balancing via PFSense, dual VPNs, and UnRaid hosting.
Community workarounds can substitute major Google functions.
skarn notes finding non-Google alternatives, citing Organic Maps as potentially superior to Google Maps.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.