One of the projects I have been watching with curiosity over the past year is /e/ (formerly Eelo), a mobile operating system that is based on Android, but with the pieces associated with Google’s software and services removed.
The removed pieces have been replaced with alternatives, so that it still functions as a complete mobile operating system. DistroWatch is quite impressed with the release, while noting it still has some rough edges.
The /e/ phone does not offer all the apps Android does, and it might not be entirely polished yet in the re-branding experience. However, it does provide a very solid, mostly Android compatible experience without the Google bits. The /e/ team offers a wider range of hardware support than most other iOS and Android competitors, it offers most of the popular Android apps people will probably want to use (I only discovered a few missing items I wanted), and the on-line cloud services are better than those of any other phone I’ve used (including Ubuntu One and Google).
I’d certainly recommend /e/ for more technical users who can work around minor rough edges and who won’t get confused by the unusual branding and semi-frequent permission prompts. I’m not sure if I’d hand one of these phones over to an Android power-user who uses a lot of niche apps, but this phone would certainly do well in the hands of, for instance, my parents or other users who tend to interact with their phones for texting, phone calls, and the calendar without using many exotic applications.
That’s quite impressive, and while unlikely, it would be great to have a stable, fully functional Android ROM that’s Google-free.
/e/ is basically a modified MicroG LineageOS.
I believe it’s a bit disingenuous to call it Google free as it makes plenty use of Google services via MicroG.
The downside to this is, well Google still tracks you for one, and two Google could render MicroG useless should they decide to modify their proprietary APIs and gateways.
Having said that, it’s probably the most Google free you can go while still retaining a lot of the expected functionality.
NuxRo,
Microg provides an alternative implementation to google’s proprietary libraries in android. Unlike stock android, microg + lineage are open source. The project is technically in an incomplete alpha status, and you can see what’s been implemented here:
https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/wiki/Implementation-Status
Unimplemented functionality (for example “Analytics”) does not revert to google’s proprietary behavior, rather it’s a null stub.
https://microg.org/
You may still be tracked If you install apps that come bundled with google spyware or if you include things like google analytics web page tracking, but as far as I know there is no longer any google tracking through GApp services when using microg. If you have have any specific evidence to the contrary than please provide a link as that would be concerning.
I don’t believe MicroG depends on any google gateways, so that’s not an issue but again let me know if you have specific evidence to the contrary. As for the APIs themselves, well that’s true that changing them would cause new issues to MicroG. Hypothetically though if google were to change the APIs suddenly and not provide a backwards compatible API, then arguably stock android users would immediately suffer breakages with 100% of the apps still using the old API. This is why APIs tend to be deprecated for several years before removal in practice to give users & developers time to update before things finally break.
To be thorough, here’s a guide for de-googling lineageos, which may leave some google defaults (like dns, captive portal requests, etc).
http://www.reddit.com/r/degoogle/comments/cldohl/how_to_degoogle_lineageos_in_2019/
For starters I absolutely hate the name /e/ because I tried searching in multiple search engines and got exactly zero relevant hits….as clever as they thought the name would be, it is an extremely stupid choice for this reason alone. It will be impossible to find relevant results! I’m already frustrated by it and I’m not even a user, haha.
I personally haven’t tried Eelo, but I am intrigued. Unlike lineageos+microg, if they follow through this could be something I might be able to actually recommend to non-savvy users. As for the similar microg project, I am very pleased with it so far, however “fully functional” is in the eye of the beholder. If your intention is to drop google, then it’s pretty darn functional already. Realistically many users actually want google apps/services and for them they may come away disappointed in the alternatives.
Unfortunately I looked up my phone and just as with lineageos, support is limited to android 9 “pie”. I wouldn’t care so much except for a major regression in android pie no longer able to scan for wifi networks in real time with third party tools (aka wifi analyzer).
https://www.xda-developers.com/android-pie-throttling-wi-fi-scans-crippling-apps/
Google did this on purpose and at one point insisted that it would not be fixed in future versions of android. WTF google!? I expect this “we know better than you, puny user” from apple & IOS, but android users rightfully expect the ability to override restrictions. I don’t need to scan wifi networks 24/7, but when I do I expect android to let me do it damn it! This is regression is so bad that I contemplated downgrading to android 8 where wifi scanning was still allowed. Enough users complained that google was forced to add an option back in android 10, but alas I’m stuck with android 9 until any of these rom alternatives give me an upgrade path.
If/when eelo supports my device with android 10, I can see myself giving it a spin.