DeGoogle Yourself

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A community for those that would like to get away from Google.

Here you may post anything related to DeGoogling, why we should do it or good software alternatives!

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Is it safe to delete my Google account? (piefed.social)

submitted 10 months ago by artiman@piefed.social to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have switched everything to privacy alternatives is it safe to delete my Google account or is it needed for some android features also if I delete my account does Google delete all my data if not, can I request the deletion of my data under the GDPR

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[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

by default they require a google account to be able to access the play store on android, but you can use the aurora store app to access it without a google account. you can find it on f-droid.

though be aware that in a year or two google wants to lock out all apps they don't like, by inserting a check into your phone so that only apps approved by them can be installed from any store. aurora, newpipe and lots of others are not expected to make it.
you are affected if you have google services installed to your phone. this includes if you have the factory operating system on it.

[–] ZinQ@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Obtainium > F-droid

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

why do you think it's better?

[–] ZinQ@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Since you get your apps straight from the source. Also F-droid is recommended against in Privacyguides. And lastly you can download F-droid apps in obtainium. Just make sure to use Appverifier or at least compare hashes if Appverifier doesn't support the app

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (2 children)

oh and also, nobody really verifies what gets into an apk uploaded to github releases. but f-droid does have an array of checks, and I like that they can catch if an app tried something fishy or had a build accident (like accidentally including google servifes dependencies that automatically run code, because another new or updated dependency pulled it in). in the past there were occasions where an app got unlisted, and when I went looking for the reason it was either developer negligence, or sometimes changes that were really not too good.

[–] ZinQ@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago

I think Obtainium is objectively better since you have 24 sources including F-droid and Google play store with Shizuku or Sui

[–] ZinQ@lemmy.ml 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

"Due to their process of building apps, apps in the official F-Droid repository often fall behind on updates. F-Droid maintainers also reuse package IDs while signing apps with their own keys, which is not ideal as it gives the F-Droid team ultimate trust. Additionally, the requirements for an app to be included in the official F-Droid repo are less strict than other app stores like Google Play, meaning that F-Droid tends to host a lot more apps which are older, unmaintained, or otherwise no longer meet modern security standards." This is what PrivacyGuides says. Also you have Appverifier integration in Obtainium which verifies signatures or smth, I know it's a lot better than comparing hashes

[–] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

I agree with F-droid hosting a lot of old unmaintained apps - I've seen apps that are 13 years old there without an update

[–] Samsuma@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago

Google Account deletion in theory should delete all data stored in Google, but that theory rests on Google following up on what basically amounts to a pinky promise. As long as you don't have anything important stored anywhere, like in your Google Drive/Photos, etc.., it should be fine.

[–] Mattr@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yes, you can completely abandon Google services or directly use one of their clients. For example: instead of Google Play, you can use Aurora Store; instead of YouTube, you can use Newpipe, and so on. Besides, Google does not respect privacy; it makes a living by spying on us and more or less knows what you are thinking.