How to Use Android Without Google: Everything You Need to Know

Over the past few years, I made a big change to the way I use my phone. I decided to use Android without Google.

Can I use Android without a Google account? As it turns out, giving up Google is possible, and the experience isn’t nearly as bad as you might think.

This is a look at what I’m still able to do on Android without relying on any of Google’s services, including Google Play Services, and what I have had to give up.

First, Why Use Android Without Google?
Only a particular set of people are willing to give up access to the Play Store and Google’s suite of apps. That said, you may be one of them. There are many reasons why you might want to use a Google-free Android phone; here are some of the big ones.

1. Google Has Gotten Out of Hand

When I first started using Google, it was to perform searches. Then it became a way to manage mail, which then turned into a place for instant messaging. Later, Google became a way to look at maps, which morphed into a GPS replacement steering me around town. Still further, it became a place for writing documents and storing files.

Google became a way to browse the web and sync every page I visited. Then it turned into a way to download and manage apps, track Android devices, and wipe them remotely. Search on Android became Google Now, which then became Google Assistant, a digital assistant that uses everything Google knows about us based on our activity.

I’m not inherently against sharing any of this information with a company, but to share it all with one company is a bit much. This leads us to the next reason.

1. You Want to Increase Your Privacy Google Play Services runs in the background on every Android device that ships with the Play Store. This helps Google perform a number of tasks, from installing apps remotely to pulling up your location. These services also give third-party apps access to some of that functionality.

Opting to use Android without signing into a Google account reduces some of the information you’re giving away. That said, it won’t suddenly turn your device into a ghost. The act of pinging and connecting to cell towers makes mobile phones inherently trackable. But making this change reduces some of the information that you generate and share.

1. You Like Open Source Android is an open source operating system, but most of the software that we use on our phones isn’t. If you’ve ever wanted to use only the open source bits, the easiest way is to replace your phone’s default firmware with a custom ROM.

Is Android Really Open Source? And Does It Even Matter?
Is Android Really Open Source? And Does It Even Matter?
Here we explore whether or not Android is really open source. After all, it is based on Linux!

This way, you know you’re getting the parts Google contributes to the Android Open Source Project. Sure, there are some proprietary bits that get your phone’s radios and sensors to work, but that’s the same compromise many of us make when we install Linux on our PCs.

Since it’s really hard to know which apps in the Play Store are open source, avoiding it entirely decreases your likelihood of installing something closed-source. You will still need to get apps from somewhere, but we’ll come back to that.

Why Shouldn’t You Go Google-Free?
You’re curious about using a non-Google Android phone. But hold on. Here are some reasons why you might want to exercise restraint.

1. You May Have to Give Up A Lot of Apps You might not be able to continue using much of what you rely on right now. Saying goodbye to Google means losing out on the many Android apps that Google makes.

If you choose to go a step further, and use only open source software, like I did, this is even more drastic. Say goodbye to social networks, music streaming services, popular games, most navigation tools, cloud storage providers, video streaming sites, and many productivity tools.

There are alternatives to some of these apps available, but if you want to go 100% open source, you’re going to miss out on quite a bit.

1. Slower Updates Alternative app stores may provide access to a good number of apps you would find on Google Play, but updates don’t roll out as quickly. Some of these sources fall weeks or months behind.

This isn’t solely a matter of losing out on the latest features either.

1. Security Risks Slow updates can leave you open to known vulnerabilities. But that’s not the primary security risk you open yourself up to. The most common way to compromise a device is to install malicious software, typically unsuspectingly. Using an alternative app store means allowing your device to install software outside of the Play Store, opening yourself up to these kind of attacks.

Unfortunately, this is a trade-off you have to consider for yourself. Do you rely on the added security that comes from only installing software from the Play Store (which, for what it’s worth, can occasionally allow a piece of sketchy software slip by)? Or do you get your apps from elsewhere and run the risk of getting your hands on something that hasn’t been vetted?

What Apps Can You Use Out of the Box?
Even without installing a single app, our smartphones are already capable of doing a great deal. You can place calls, send text messages, take photos, maintain a calendar, listen to music, solve math problems, take notes, and browse the web without looking for additional software.

This is already more than what feature phones can do, and let’s be real, millions of people are still carrying one of those around without it having a negative effect on their lives. You can turn your Android phone into an advanced dumbphone and stop there.