Asklemmy

Desktop Environment

• Operating System: Fedora Workstation Linux

  • Great package manager updates
  • Excellent performance

• Productivity Tools:

  • Note-taking: Zim Wiki (preferred for GUI and plaintext storage)
  • Document Editing: Considering OnlyOffice if Collabora Office doesn't work out
  • Backup Solution: Filen cloud provider with desktop sync app

• Browsers:

  • Primary: Firefox with Arkenfox
  • Backup: Ungoogled Chromium (for sites incompatible with Firefox)

• Password Management:

  • Bitwarden (kept on phone)
  • KDE Connect for clipboard sharing between devices

Mobile Setup

• Device & OS: Pixel 8 Pro running GrapheneOS

  • More stable and polished than previous CalyxOS on Pixel 5
  • Better Google Play sandboxing compared to microG

• Mobile Apps:

  • Browsers: IronFox and Vanadium
  • App Sources: Primarily open-source from GitHub/F-Droid, updated via Obtainium
  • Non-FOSS Apps: Sandboxed Google Play for banking and other essential apps
  • Maps: HERE WeGo (previously used Magic Earth but it lacked public transport info)
  • Loyalty Cards: Catima

• Search Engine: Kagi

  • Quality results
  • Sound business model (subscription-based)
  • Fediverse integration for Lemmy search

• Self-Hosted Services:

  • Contacts and calendar via Radicale on NAS with Nginx

• Car Integration:

  • Still using Android Auto (found MagSafe holder alternatives more distracting)
  • Physical cards stored in MagSafe wallet on phone back

I had to change my name and hairstyle

for me:

• google drive > pcloud (objectively better app tbh)
• chrome > librewolf > floorp (i like having the tab bar at the bottom, and librewolf is a bit annoying sometimes)
• photos > ente
• gmail > proton > tuta > "disroot" (proton and tuta aren't IMAP, and their first-party apps are slow. disroot probably isn't the best one, I just chose one that supports IMAP)
• google search > ddg > SearXNG
• google office > onlyoffice on windows, libreoffice on linux
• google maps > Organic Maps
• google passwords > bitwarden
• google auth > ente auth :)

Google office stuff > libreoffice

Chrome > firefox and librewolf

gmail > proton

Google > ddg

Iphone > grapheneos pixel

Youtube account > newpipe, libretube, grayjay with exported subscriptions

Google drive > synology

I think that covers about everything google specific.

Note: I included iphone because even iphones ping google SUPL servers whereas Grapheneos settings host their own servers to ping to avoid sending stuff out to google.

If I remember correctly I started deGoogling "seriously" in the last summer. At this point YouTube and Youtube Music are the only Google products/services I still use daily but only on PC. I never use them on phone. I also am quite forced to use Gmail sometimes but otherwise I avoid it like a plague.

I think my phone is as deGoogled as possible without rooting and/or changing the OS. I have uninstalled every Google app that I have been able to uninstall and also I have disabled every Google service that is possible to disable. I still have to deMicrosoft my PC. I want to move to Linux but I have understood that there's some compatibility issues with Reaper and virtual instruments. That's the only reason I haven't done it yet.

Anyway. Here is a list of apps/services I use instead of Google's sh*t:

• Browser: Waterfox on PC and Ironfox on phone (of course both with uBlock Origin)
• Cloud storage: Proton Drive
• Email: Proton Mail
• Calendar: Proton Calendar
• Authenticator: Aegis
• Map: OsmAnd
• Search engine: DuckDuckGo and Brave Search
• Play Store: Droid-ify and Aurora Store (not signed in)
• Speech Recognition & Synthesis: SherpaTTS
• Find My Device: FindMyDevice (FOSS)

I think that's all. There's some other FOSS apps and services that I use but they are not exactly replacements for Google's sh*t.

I've recently been thinking about this.

I've seen plenty of recommendations for the Proton suite, but seeing as the premium plan runs 10 bucks a month for:

• Mail (Need premium for IMAP compatibility with the Proton Bridge)
• Calendar
• Drive service --more on this one later
• VPN (this one looked nice, but IIRC VPNs are less necessary for home traffic if all my requests are HTTPS)
• Password Keeper
• And crypto wallet,

it was a mite expensive for my tastes who was only going to use the mail service and calendar and perhaps the VPN. I looked into Posteo.de and it had all that I wanted from an email provider (encryption on-server, IMAP compatibility and privacy-focused). It's much cheaper (1 EUR/mo.) and it has a fantastically retro and sleek website (the epitome of web design-- nice-looking without being obese or fiddly).

I'm also trying out a few search engines, namely Mojeek and Marginalia-search because I want to both move away from Big Tech and Google in particular as well as open my horizon to the more human side of the web.

I have yet to figure out what to do about Android. I'm trying out using a dumb-phone for a while, but that's more of a temporary thing.

With regards to Proton Drive, it seems nice but I've heard of poor Linux support. That's a big dealbreaker for me.

I'm afraid that I can't step away from Big G just yet; work runs off it. But one can dream. And every bit of data that Google doesn't have is one degree fewer of control they will have over me eventually, when the Big Tech overlords pull the trigger on whatever they have cooking up.

I am absolutely dumb with this stuff so I have one question: how do I get all of my photos off Google cloud? That's the only thing stopping me from shitting it down.

I also have a google pixel phone but that will be destroyed once my contract is up and I can afford something not google related

• Desktop OS: Linux (Arch)
• Phone OS: /e/OS
• mail, notes, calendar, online storager: mureno
• maps: cittymapper, magic earth

I'm pretty happy with all of those

• Desktop: Linux (Tuxedo)
• Browser: Vivaldi
• Search: Ecosia & DDG
• Mail / Groupware / Calendar / Contacts / Cloud Drive / Meet: Infomaniak kSuite Pro
• Backup: Syncthing
• Movies / Netflix / Amazon Prime: buying DVD / Bluray and ripping to my home media server with Jellyfin and Videoland.nl
• Mobile Phone: Fairphone with /e/OS or Calyx
• Whatsapp: Signal, Matrix / Element, Briar, Threema
• YouTube: Grayjay, Floatplane, Nebula, Curiosity Stream
• Maps: Magic Earth
• Photos: ente.io
• Authenticator: Ente Auth
• Twitter / X: Mastodon
• Cards: Catima
• Keep / Evernote: Notesnook / Anytype
• Backup comms: Meshtastic / UHF / VHF
• Translate: DeepL
• Podcasts: Antennapod
• Google Home: Home Assistant
• Google Assistant / Gemini: Mistral Le Chat / LLama
• Router: openWRT (GL.iNET Flint2)
• Firewall: opnSense (Deciso)
• Pushbullet: KDE Connect
• speedtest.net: LibreSpeed
• Fing: Ning
• Kobo / Kindle: Pocketbook
• Amazon: Local / European dealers
• Pocket: Wallabag
• Creality / Bambulab: Prusa
• VPN: Proton, Wireguard, Tailscale

Almost everything, finally!
OS: GrapheneOS
Calendar: Proton
Browser: Firefox
Storage: NAS
Youtube: NewPipe and SmartTube

I’m still stuck with Maps and Android in my car as it has Android Automotive, but I’m happy with my progress so far