So recently bought the Pixel 8 with my previous carrier being Verizon and was going to put Grapheneos on it but I had no idea that Verizon locks the boot loaders of their devices even though google does not. What are some things I can do to de google the device or make it more private like Grapheneos would. Or am I out of luck. Thanks
Absolutely, there are some really good ways to mitigate the data flow even if you can’t stop it entirely. The OS is a big deal, but I think the most fundamental change to make is the apps and services you use.
You’ve probably already done that to a degree, but see if there are more changes you can make.
Alternativeto is an excellent way to explore your options, but also the techlore and the new oil youtube channels are fantastic resources for limiting privacy leaks.
I’ll post a few debloater apps that I’ve run across when I get home too, I haven’t used them but I know there are options for removing some of the tracking elements of stock android.
Yes a debloater would be helpful probably. Just disappointing as part of the reason I went with the pixel was this option but now it’s not one.
I hear you man. That exact thing happened to me back with the Pixel 2.
You know, I’ve heard of people having success getting the carriers to remove the lock on the bootloader sometimes. It may be worth calling Verizon’s support line and asking them to do it.
Here is a good debloater that should allow you to remove some of the cruft from Google. It utilizes Shizuku which is a fantastic tool for accomplishing stuff without rooting your phone. I know I’ve seen debloating guides on YouTube that walk you through the stuff you can get rid of.
Something else that could really help is using a DNS blocking service to filter out requests to ad/tracking domains. I use NextDNS right now because it has some pretty comprehensive filters that are very easy to setup. Here’s a video that goes over setting it up. Pi-Hole or Adguard are self-hosted options, I used Pi-Hole for awhile and liked it, but switched in order to simplify my digital life a bit.
Edit: also, here is a guide from a reputable privacy site that covers a more technical approach to degoogling stock android. You can do a lot more than you might think.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
video
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
I’m not ready to really degoogle my phone, but wow next DNS has a lot of cool features! Thanks for the recommendation
Glad it helps! Yeah DNS level adblocking is hugely helpful both in terms of privacy and security.
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