Does Iphone have something like fdroid that allows installation of cool apps like ones for jellyfin, etc?
Just don’t install any Alphabet apps, like YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail.
No.
But you may consider rooting/installing a custom ROM.
I’m in the US so I can’t. Unless I get a Pixel, made by stupid google.
Buy an unlocked phone. Why are you even locling yourself to a carrier anyways?
Or just buy a pixel, they’re actually one of the most root-friendly phones.
From what I’ve read, the other Android OS’s do not work with any US carriers. I think some folks got them to work with a Pixel/T-Mobile/Graphene combo, but that is not only literally buying a Google phone, it is also limiting me to one carrier. I would get a Pixel, but the whole point is to get away from google, not give them more money.
Then buy a oneplus phone.
If that does not work for you either, it’s not the best choice but, the only other option is samsung. The rest is hit and miss.
Samsung is partnered with google and is filled with bloat. I might just try to offload all my data on a backup and then try to reset it to default to see what happens.
If I can get the OS on my Samsung then that will work.
you can use android without being logged in to google. Especially using the Aurora app store
Wait what? Really?
yep! Since I got the phone I got, I have never logged in to Google. Just gotta hit ‘Skip’ on the device setup - and you can download a .apk of the aurora app store and use it anonymously, in addition to using f-droid (tho, caveat, folks have opinions about f-droid) https://f-droid.org/packages/com.aurora.store/
Thanks for that! Do you have to put the .apk on the device before you start it, like through usb to your laptop?
If you’re expecting anything remotely like an Android experience on Apple’s devices, you’re going to have a horrible time. Anything even vaguely resembling your own file system, or non-Apple browsing engine, or alternative app store is basically nonexistent. And the way Apple squeezes indie developers means you’ve got less choice between decent apps even if you look on their store.
Among other missing apps, you get no Syncthing, no Firefox, no Tor Browser, nothing remotely like F-Droid or Obtainium…
… And as far as I can tell, there’s no such thing as an alternative to the Apple App Store (which mandates an identity and a signin), which isn’t also run by Apple…
Firefox and Tor browser exist (on the App Store) though they might both run on the safari “engine”, I’m not too sure. AltStore is technically an App Store alternative, though it is extremely limited and kind of a pain. File management is available with the default Files app.
Firefox exists in name as a thin wrapper over the Apple iOS WebKit engine. I personally don’t think that counts, although it’s arguable I guess.
There is no Tor Browser for iOS. There is an alternative, but it is notably hacky and flawed, due to iOS itself. The app also originally cost money in an attempt to recoup Apple’s developer licensing costs, before becoming free in 2017.
(IMO, this paints a picture of antagonism between Apple vs its users having nice things in general.)
AltStore (classic) is something I’ve tried, but it’s incredibly janky and painfully limited and, last I checked, kinda costs money every month. ?AltStore PAL operates only in Europe and at the express allowance of Apple itself.)
Again the antagonism of Apple against the iOS user rears its ugly head:
Apps installed with AltStore expire after 7 days, at which point they can no longer be opened…
Due to restrictions by Apple, you can only have 3 sideloaded apps installed on a device at a time.
And the file system with Apple iOS is not something I have a lot of experience with, but my expectations are below sea level…
I’ve never actually gotten the App Store “Tor browser” working tbh. I also don’t bother with Firefox because it doesn’t feel meaningfully different. I get by with privacy, malware, and advertisement blocking from my router while using SearXNG. It’s definitely not the best for privacy, but honestly, just getting rid of google maps from my life has been such a pain in the ass it’s hard to delve further.
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In Europe, Apple has been forced to allow sideloading. So you could have an iPhone without any Google apps on it, and sideload stuff like that. In the US, not so much.
As an aside, I use an iPhone without any Google apps, which is technically “degoogled”. Doesn’t stop people in this community from claiming I fail their purity tests though.
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