Stuck balancing Privacy, Security & Convenience
>Long post and I hope this is allowed as its a bit general, but I do mean to find a good way to use my GrapheneOS device. I would very much like any in-depth takes on how people achieve their balance.
Like many others, I place a high value on security & privacy and I'm willing to go quite far to protect it. I do not have an excessive threat model and certainly am not being targeted by a nation state, but I will take what I can and leave what I do not need.
My primary motivation for moving to GrapheneOS (besides the fantastic security additions) is the the absolute and incessant tracking done by Google & friends, not because I'm paranoid but because I just plainly oppose their practices. This means my primary objective was to get rid of my Google Account and anything I need it for. But the more I try the more it seems like I cannot find a balance acceptable for my use cases.
First of all, app stores. After a fair bit of reading I have learned at least the following:
- F-Droid is not recommended due to their unreliable build and signature process.
- Aurora Store is not recommended because it just flat out does not add value beyond not requiring a Google account at the expense of security. Not to mention that the privacy 'benefits' are few if any.
This leaves me wondering how to acquire apps at all. Sure, I can try to only use FOSS apps from primary sources, but despite the fact that I really don't use my phone much, this seems like an impossible task. Some closed-source apps are just needed, for just about anyone.
I can download them from sources like APKMirror and use Appverifier, but this too comes at a cost.
Then even if I solve that problem, there's the issue that for a fair few apps, GMS is just required for notifications. Now I'm confident that there are solid reasons I am not aware of, but the very fact that a google service is required to get something as basic as timely notifications on my phone is insanity to me.
I could just install google services, call it a day and move on for the most part, but this requires a Google account and a phone number. I see recommendations to just make one and use a temporary SMS service. But honestly, I'm not too keen on using some random service for that, providing them with my card details only to get a google account. And even then I doubt how much it really helps considering the tracking and fingerprinting they do at every turn.
This brings me to what is probably the most difficult part of all this; information. There are a ton of resources out there and many people willing to share their take but I am just knowledgeable enough to know that a lot of it is incomplete even if meant well. There are sources that seem high quality and back their stance up with proper sources, but a lot of it seems, for a lack of a better word, extreme or unworkable.
Is 'Degoogling' even possible? Is that something I should even want?
I would love to be a fly on the wall and see how some people (say GOS devs), actually use their devices. Surely some people have a family member who absolutely refuses to move on from Whatsapp, or are engaged with a community on Discord, or engage in mobile banking - just as some examples. I don't use social media bar the once a year reddit post, and I've ditched a lot of services just not worth their cost. But I just cannot seem to get away from Google.
I know this post might come off as a bit of a rant and partly it is, but I am genuinely looking to be educated and come to a solution that balances my priorities in a way I can live with.