In an effort to de-Goolag my life as much as possible, I went ahead
and either removed or shut down all of the Goolag apps on my Android
phone. I also removed any apps that I had previously installed via
the Goolag Play Store.
If I got a warning that the phone would not work properly if an app
was removed, I went into the applications manager and cleared the
data from that app, unchecked "show notifications" and did a "force
stop" on it. I did this on each Goolag app, including the Goolag
Play Store.
I then downloaded and installed F-Droid, and replaced Goolag Maps
with Maps and Open Map. I had already been using Firefox Klar, so I
re-installed it again, this time through F-Droid.
I then installed a few apps that were not available on Goolag Play,
such as a nice notepad and calculator. I also picked up Termux
again, and I am able to run Debian alongside Android, via an app
called "AnLinux".
I grabbed Orbot and Orfox, for surfing via Tor, as well as baresip,
which is a very lightweight SIP client, that works great.
I ran into two bugs, that are not deal breakers for me. I use Zoho
Mail to handle mail on a few domains that I have, and their app was
not available through F-Droid. I grabbed an .apk for it online, and
installed it. It works fine, but there is no option for it to notify
me of new emails, like there was on the Goolag Play version. So, I
have to check it now and then.
Protonmail, which I use for bills and stuff, is also not available
via F-Droid. I downloaded an .apk and installed it, but it kept
bitching about wanting to connect to Goolag Play. I tried an app
from the F-Droid repository that lets you install Goolag Play apps
under its account, but I could not get it to work. So, for now, I
will have to just check Protonmail via the web interface.
I am setting up a real mail server, so I will be able to kill those
two birds with one stone, and just use Android's built-in email
client to check those addresses in the future.
I might even go old-school and just check them with mutt on Termux,
or, if I am feeling like a hipster, with Alpine. :)
So, overall, the effort was worth it. My phone has much more space
on it now, runs smoothly, and I no longer get nagged by Goolag to
leave a review about how I liked my visit to Wal-Mart, whenever I
leave "Location" on by accident.
