DGdroid — de-Googled Android, done right on DGdroid

Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra and Flip8 privacy guide

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Samsung launched three foldables on July 22, 2026, and they went on sale on August 7. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra ($2,099 at launch) is the tall book-style Fold with an 8-inch inner screen and a 200MP camera. The Galaxy Z Fold8 ($1,899) is the new wide model: a 5.5-inch cover screen that opens into a 7.6-inch 4:3 tablet. The Galaxy Z Flip8 ($1,199) is the clamshell with a 4.1-inch FlexWindow on the outside. All three run One UI 9 on Android 17, use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, and sit on Samsung’s monthly security-update list.

Motorola Signature 27 is the first non-Pixel GrapheneOS phone: what's confirmed

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:10:00 +0300

For the first time, a non-Pixel phone is officially headed for GrapheneOS, and it’s GrapheneOS’s own pick. The project confirmed in September that the Motorola Signature 27 will be its first supported Motorola phone, the result of a partnership the two announced in March. The phone isn’t on sale yet, and GrapheneOS hasn’t published builds for it. Here is what is confirmed, what isn’t, and what it means if you’re choosing a phone now.

GrapheneOS adds secure paste and call recording, and works around a Pixel-only Android 17 QPR1

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:05:00 +0300

GrapheneOS adds a lot in its latest updates: it shipped eight releases between early September and early October 2026, and together they add two features people have asked about for years: a way to stop apps reading your clipboard, and call recording built into the phone app. In the background, the project also had to work around a change on Google’s side that kept the newest Android update for Pixels out of the open-source code. Everything here comes from the official GrapheneOS release notes and the project’s own posts.

Pixel 11 and GrapheneOS: why the project says buy a Pixel 10 instead

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:00:00 +0300

For six years the rule was simple: a new Pixel comes out, and a few weeks later it runs GrapheneOS. The Pixel 11 broke that rule. As of October 14, 2026, the Pixel 11 series is not on GrapheneOS’s list of supported devices, and the project has told people not to buy one if GrapheneOS is the plan. Here is what happened, what the project has said since, and what to buy instead.

Above Phone

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Contact dgdroid

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Use the form to contact dgdroid. It goes straight to the people who write and check this site, and we read every message. Questions and corrections are the two things we get most, and both are welcome. You don’t need an account, and you don’t need to tell us your name. An email address we can reply to is enough.

What to write to us about

Questions about your phone. Not sure whether your model can run GrapheneOS, LineageOS or /e/OS? Start with the ten-second phone lookup. If the answer there is unclear or your model is missing, tell us the exact model name and number (for example “Pixel 8a, GKV4X”) and where you bought it. Carrier-locked phones often behave differently from the unlocked version, so that detail matters.
Corrections. If a fact on this site is wrong, out of date, or a link is dead, please tell us which page and what you saw. Include a link to an official source if you have one, such as the project’s install page or a maker’s spec sheet. We check the source, fix the page, and note the date on it. Corrections get priority over everything else in the inbox.
App questions. If an app you rely on won’t run without Google, name the app and the system you use. We keep the list of Google app replacements current, and reader reports are how we learn that a banking app started (or stopped) working.
Suggestions. A phone, accessory or private app we should look at, or a guide you wish existed. We can’t promise coverage, but every suggestion goes onto our list.
Business and press. Small businesses moving a team to private phones, journalists, and makers: put “Business” or “Press” at the start of the subject so it reaches the right person faster.

What we can’t do

We’re a small team, so a few things are out of reach. We can’t repair or flash a phone for you, and we can’t recover data from a device. We won’t guess at an answer about a specific model when the official project says nothing; we’ll say so and point you to the project’s own forum or chat instead. That honest “we don’t know” is more useful than a confident wrong answer that leaves you with a phone that won’t boot.

Fairphone (Gen. 6) with /e/OS

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Fairphone 5

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Galaxy A17 5G privacy guide: every setting that matters

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The Galaxy A17 5G is the Android phone Americans buy most. Counterpoint ranked it the best-selling Android phone in the US in the second quarter of 2026, and fourth among all phones. It launched in January at $199.99; Samsung.com lists it at $269.99 as of mid-October. Buyers want a cheap Samsung with long support, and many pick it up at a prepaid or carrier store.

Here is the honest privacy picture. You can’t unlock the bootloader on a US Galaxy, so GrapheneOS, LineageOS and other private systems are off the table. What you can do is harden One UI 8.5, Samsung’s own software, and cut back what Samsung, Google and your carrier collect. This page is part of our series on the 10 best-selling Android phones in the US, and it covers every setting that matters on this phone.

Galaxy A37 5G privacy guide: mid-range settings and AI

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The Galaxy A37 5G is Samsung’s middle child: more phone than the A17, half the price of an S26. It reached US stores on April 9, 2026 at $449.99 and sells for $489.99 at Samsung.com today. Its predecessor, the A36, was a global top-10 seller, and the A37 is the model Samsung counts on to sell in volume. The buyer is someone who wants a decent camera and long support without paying flagship prices.

Galaxy S26 privacy guide: lock down Samsung's flagship

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The Galaxy S26 is the flagship for people who want monthly updates and the full Galaxy AI package without paying Ultra money. It was a top-10 seller worldwide in the second quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint. It launched in March at $899.99 and costs about $999.99 after Samsung’s October price rise.

Privacy-wise, the S26 gets nearly everything its big sibling gets: seven years of monthly security patches, One UI 9, Knox Vault and the switch that keeps Galaxy AI on the device. Like every US Galaxy, though, it can’t unlock its bootloader, so a private OS such as GrapheneOS is not an option. This guide works through the settings step by step. It belongs to our 10-phone privacy series for US buyers.

Galaxy S26 Ultra privacy guide: Privacy Display and Galaxy AI

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expensive, and people buy it anyway. Counterpoint ranked it the best-selling Android phone worldwide in the second quarter of 2026, and about 71% of US Galaxy S26-series sales go to the Ultra. It went on sale in March at $1,299.99; after Samsung’s October 1 price rise, the 256GB model costs $1,399.99 at Samsung.com.

For that money you get Samsung’s strongest privacy toolkit: monthly security patches for seven years, a screen that hides itself from the person next to you, and a switch that keeps Galaxy AI on the phone. What you don’t get is a way out of Samsung’s software. US Galaxy phones can’t unlock the bootloader, so GrapheneOS and other private systems won’t install. This guide hardens One UI as far as it goes. It’s one of ten in our privacy series on America’s top-selling Android phones.

Google Pixel 10

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Google Pixel 10 Pro

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Google Pixel 6a

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Google Pixel 7a

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Google Pixel 8a

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Google Pixel 9

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Google Pixel 9a

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Jolla C2

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Moto g 2026 privacy guide: what to turn off and what to keep

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The moto g 2026 is Motorola’s mainstream budget phone: a 6.7-inch 120Hz screen, a 5,200 mAh battery, a Dimensity 6300 chip and Android 16, usually around $250 to $300 on Amazon. Motorola is the third-biggest phone brand in the US, with about 11% of the market, and this is the model a lot of its buyers pick when they want something better than the cheapest option without paying flagship prices.

Moto g play 2026 privacy guide: a cheap phone, set up carefully

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The moto g play 2026 is Motorola’s cheapest phone this year. It launched in November 2025 at roughly $170 to $180, with a Dimensity 6300 chip, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 6.7-inch 120Hz screen and a 5,200 mAh battery. People buy it at prepaid counters, as a first phone for a kid, as a phone for a parent who just wants calls and photos, or as a spare.

Moto g power 2026 privacy guide: set it up once for the long haul

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The moto g power 2026 is the battery phone in Motorola’s 2026 lineup. It launched in January 2026 at $299.99 with a Dimensity 6300 chip, a 5,200 mAh battery and Android 16. Its best privacy feature isn’t a setting at all: Motorola lists security updates for it until January 2029, the longest window of the three 2026 moto g models.

That makes it a phone people keep for years, so it’s worth setting up properly once. It also ships with the longest list of preloaded apps of the three, including TikTok, Booking, Amazon Music and the Perplexity AI app. No private operating system supports it, so everything below happens on the stock software. For the other nine phones in this series, see our roundup of popular US Android phones and their privacy limits.

Motorola Edge (2024)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Motorola moto g 5G (2024)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Motorola Signature 27

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

NitroPhone

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Nothing Phone (3)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

OnePlus 12

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

OnePlus 13

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

PinePhone Pro

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Pixel 10 privacy guide: tame the AI or switch to GrapheneOS

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

A year after launch, the Pixel 10 is still selling steadily on Amazon, often below its $799 launch price. It runs the Tensor G5 chip and Android 17, and Google guarantees OS and security updates until August 2032. It also happens to be the phone GrapheneOS points people to right now: when the project declined to support the Pixel 11, it called the Pixel 10 “cheaper with similar hardware and MTE.”

Pixel 10a privacy guide: harden it or install GrapheneOS

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The Pixel 10a is Google’s mid-range phone for 2026. It launched in March at $499 and now costs $599 at the Google Store after Google’s October price rise. Inside are the Tensor G4 chip and Android 17, and Google promises seven years of OS and security updates, to March 2033.

For privacy, the 10a has one big advantage over almost everything else at this price: you’re allowed to replace the software. An unlocked 10a can run GrapheneOS, CalyxOS or LineageOS, all with official support. So this guide gives you two paths. Path A keeps Google’s own software and switches off what it can. Path B installs GrapheneOS. The 10a is one of ten phones in our privacy series on the best-selling Android phones in the US.

Pixel 11 privacy guide: the most private setup without GrapheneOS

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

The Pixel 11 went on sale in August 2026 at $899 for the 256GB model. It’s Google’s current flagship, with the Tensor G6 chip, the new Titan M3 security chip, Android 17 and seven years of updates, to August 2033. If you bought one, or one was handed to you at work, this guide gets the stock software as private as it goes.

That last part matters. Unlike the Pixel 10 and 10a, the Pixel 11 can’t run GrapheneOS today, and no other private OS supports it either. So everything here is about hardening Google’s own Pixel software, and the single most useful switch is Advanced Protection. It’s one of ten phones in our US best-seller privacy series.

POCO F5 Pro

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Privacy guides for the 10 most popular Android phones in the US

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Most people don’t buy a privacy phone. They buy whatever is popular, on sale, or offered by their carrier, and then wonder how much of their life it reports back. This series starts from what Americans actually buy. We took the 10 most popular Android phones on sale new in the US in October 2026 and wrote a privacy guide for each one, built from the maker’s own support pages and Google’s documentation.

Purism Librem 5

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

SHIFTphone 8

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Sony Xperia 1 V

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Volla Phone X23

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Fairphone 5 calls work on Nura edge

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 07:30:00 -0700

What changed

Nura, the project formerly known as postmarketOS, published a September update listed as Nura in 2026-09: FP5, ME30 Call Audio Routing on October 11. The public blog index gives the headline and date, and LINMOB’s October 11 weekly mobile Linux roundup gives the practical detail: Fairphone 5 has calls and cameras working on Nura edge.

That matters because Fairphone 5 is a repairable Android phone with an unlockable bootloader, while Nura is a mainline Linux phone project rather than a degoogled Android ROM. For readers who want to reduce dependence on Google services, this is not a drop-in GrapheneOS or CalyxOS path. It is a different route: replacing Android with a Linux mobile distribution, accepting rougher app compatibility in exchange for a more conventional Linux stack.

Which degoogled Android OS fits your phone?

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 07:30:00 -0700

Which degoogled Android OS fits your phone? The practical answer starts with hardware, not ideology. A first-time privacy switcher can compare privacy scores all day, but the phone often decides the shortlist before preferences do.

The September 2026 dgdroid comparison puts five Android-based options side by side: GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/OS, iodéOS, and LineageOS. They all reduce Google in different ways, but they are not interchangeable. Some are built for maximum privacy, some for comfort, some for preinstalled convenience, and one is mainly the rescue route for older devices.

LineageOS 24.0 adds Android 17 and WebUSB flash tools

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 07:30:00 -0400

What changed

LineageOS 24.0 is out, and the project’s own release announcement, dated October 11, says it is based on Android 17. The team writes that it has been “rebasing all of our changes and features since Android 17’s release in June,” and that the work went faster than expected — “We’re early this year!” Third-party coverage agrees: IntraGoals reports the same Android 17 base, updated bundled apps and WebView 155.0.8059.30, and Jason’s Blog quotes the changelog’s rebase note.

October Android bulletin flags patch-level work for degoogled ROMs

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 07:30:00 -0700

What changed

Google’s October Android Security Bulletin was published on October 5 and updated on October 8 with AOSP links. It says Android security patch levels of 2026-10-01 or higher address the listed issues, and its version table says the October 8 update added AOSP links.

The bulletin’s summary flags the most severe problem as a critical vulnerability in the System component that could lead to local escalation of privilege, with no additional execution privileges and no user interaction needed. The rest of the list covers the Framework and System components, including Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi and telephony code. The bulletin does not say that any of the issues are being exploited.

What is the easiest degoogled phone path in 2026?

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 07:30:00 -0400

Buying a degoogled phone is not one decision. It is three decisions at once: how much privacy you want, how much Android compatibility you need, and how much installation work you are willing to do.

Our ratings split those choices into useful lanes. Here is how they line up in 2026, from the least work to the most.

The paths at a glance

Path	OS	Privacy (of 10)	Install
NitroPhone or Above Phone (Pixel)	GrapheneOS	10	None — arrives installed
Any Pixel 6–10	GrapheneOS	10	Easy — 20 min in a browser
Murena Fairphone	/e/OS	8	None — arrives installed
Fairphone 5	CalyxOS	8.5	Moderate — official flasher
moto g 5G (2024) / g45 / g34	CalyxOS	8.5	Moderate — official flasher
OnePlus 13 / Xperia 1 V / Poco F5 Pro	LineageOS	7	Advanced — fastboot, an evening
Locked phone (US Samsung, iPhone)	Stock, hardened	4	Settings only

If you want the least work

The simplest path is a phone that arrives with a privacy-focused OS already installed. In the ratings, that includes options like a NitroPhone or Above Phone running GrapheneOS, a Murena Fairphone running /e/OS, a Librem 5 running PureOS, a Jolla C2 running Sailfish OS, and Volla phones with Volla OS or Ubuntu Touch.

Block internet for unwanted apps — firewalls without root

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Part of the max-degoogle any Android phone series.

Debloating removes what you don’t need. A firewall handles the rest: unwanted network access from apps you keep but that have no reason to be online (gallery, calculator, keyboard, file manager, offline games) and system apps you couldn’t safely remove. Blocked from the network, they can’t upload analytics, crash reports or anything else.

How a no-root firewall works

Stock Android has no “Network” permission you can switch off per app (GrapheneOS adds a real one — see its Network permission toggle). The only way to build a firewall without root is Android’s VPN service: the firewall app creates a local VPN on the phone, every app’s traffic flows through it, and it drops the traffic of apps you’ve blocked. Nothing is sent to a remote VPN server unless you configure one.

Install apps straight from GitHub with Obtainium

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

F-Droid covers a lot, Aurora Store covers the Play catalog — and then there’s the third pile: apps whose developers simply publish an APK on their GitHub releases page and call it a day. Molly, Cromite, Brave’s builds, the newest versions of half the open-source apps in our private app picks. You can download those by hand and remember to check for updates every week. Nobody does.

Obtainium fixes that. It’s a small open-source app that watches a project’s releases page, installs the APK straight from the source, and notifies you (or updates on its own) when a new release lands. No store in the middle, no account, no middleman rebuilding the app.

Max-degoogle any Android phone — no flashing required

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Not every phone can be flashed. US carrier Samsungs, most phones on a payment plan, work phones, and plenty of perfectly good handsets simply have a locked bootloader or no degoogled OS that supports them. That doesn’t mean you’re stuck with the full Google-and-OEM firehose.

This guide is the series overview: how to max-degoogle the phone you already own, with no root and no flashing required. Each step links to a deep-dive with the exact settings and commands.

Privacy habits that actually matter

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Part of the max-degoogle any Android phone series.

Settings and firewalls cap what the phone leaks. Habits decide how much there is to leak in the first place. Here’s what actually moves the needle, roughly in order of payoff.

Start with your threat model (two minutes)

Ask: who do I want to keep what away from? For most people the honest answer is “advertisers and data brokers, plus whoever steals or finds my phone”. That’s what this guide is for. If your answer includes a stalker, an abusive partner, or a government, the same habits still apply, but you need more — talk to a specialist organisation, and treat the phone as a GrapheneOS candidate.

Private DNS, permissions and settings lockdown

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Part of the max-degoogle any Android phone series.

Menu names differ between Pixel, Samsung, Xiaomi and others. When a path below doesn’t match your phone, use the search box at the top of Settings — every setting here is searchable by the name in bold.

1. Private DNS: block trackers for every app (Android 9+)

Every app looks up domain names before it connects. Private DNS, added in Android 9, sends those lookups encrypted (DNS over TLS) to a resolver you choose. Choose one that refuses to resolve ad and tracker domains, and those connections fail in every app — including system apps you couldn’t remove or firewall.

Remove bloatware with ADB — no root

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Part of the max-degoogle any Android phone series.

Preinstalled apps, the bloatware your phone shipped with, are the first thing to go. You can’t delete them from the system partition without root, but Android lets you uninstall them for your user (user 0) or disable them — which, for privacy purposes, is what matters: they stop running, stop updating and stop phoning home.

Before you start Back up your phone first. Everything here is reversible with one command — except removing something that stops the phone from booting, in which case the fix is a factory reset. A factory reset also restores every package you removed, so you’d start over. Go slowly and use a curated list.

What you need

A computer (Windows, macOS or Linux) and a USB cable.
Android SDK Platform-Tools — Google’s official adb, from the official Platform-Tools download page. Unzip it; no install needed.
USB debugging on the phone: Settings → About phone → tap Build number seven times to unlock Developer options, then Settings → System → Developer options → USB debugging on. (The menu path varies slightly by brand — search Settings for “Developer options”.)

Plug in the phone, accept the “Allow USB debugging?” prompt, and check the connection:

Degoogle your life in one weekend

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

You don’t need to become a different person to get Google out of your life. You need one focused weekend, a plan that does things in the right order, and permission to leave a few Google services running while you wind them down. Here’s the plan we’d hand a friend.

The rules

Don’t delete anything this weekend. You’re building the new setup alongside the old one. Account deletion comes a month later, once nothing breaks.
Perfect is the enemy of done. Keeping one Google service (say, YouTube in a browser) doesn’t undo the rest. Google going from seeing everything to seeing one thing is the win.
Export first, switch second. Every step starts with getting your data out.

Friday evening — inventory and export (1 hour)

Go to takeout.google.com and request an export of Contacts, Calendar, Photos, and Mail. Big photo libraries take hours to prepare — that’s why this is Friday’s job.
Write down every app you actually used in the last month (phone Settings → screen time / battery list is honest; your memory isn’t).
Note which of those apps are tied to Google sign-in. Those need a password set at each service before the weekend is over.

Saturday — the phone (2–4 hours)

The phone is the highest-value target: it’s the device that follows you around broadcasting.

Do you actually need a Faraday bag?

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

A Faraday bag is a pouch lined with conductive mesh that blocks radio in and out: no cellular, no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, no GPS assist, no NFC. Phone goes in, phone goes dark. They’re cheap, they genuinely work when built well — and they’re also the most over-sold item in the privacy-gear catalog. Here’s the honest sorting.

Where a Faraday bag earns its keep

Car key relay theft. The unglamorous best use case. Thieves amplify your keyless fob’s signal from outside the house to unlock and start the car. A fob-sized Faraday pouch by the front door kills the attack completely. If you own a keyless-entry car, this is a real, common crime with a €15 fix — buy one for this even if nothing else on this page applies to you.

Install GrapheneOS from your browser

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

GrapheneOS has the best install experience of any custom OS, full stop. The official web installer runs entirely in a browser tab: you click buttons, the phone reboots a few times, and twenty minutes later you’re running the most secure consumer operating system that exists. No ADB setup, no platform-tools download, no terminal.

Here’s the whole process, including the parts the official docs assume you already know.

What you need

A Pixel 6 or newer (6, 6a, 6 Pro through the 10 series). Carrier-unlocked — the US Verizon variants with locked bootloaders won’t work. Our phone checker tells you in ten seconds whether yours qualifies.
A second device with a Chromium browser — Chrome, Brave, Edge, or Vanadium on Linux, Windows, macOS, or even another Android phone. Firefox won’t work; the installer needs WebUSB.
A good USB-C cable. This is the number-one cause of failed installs. Use the cable that came with the phone, plugged into a USB port directly on the computer — not through a hub or monitor.
15–20 minutes. The flash itself is mostly waiting.

Before you start Installing wipes the phone completely. Back up photos, chats and 2FA codes first. If this is a brand-new phone, boot it once, skip setup, and check for a bootloader update under Settings → System → Software update before flashing.

Step 1 — Enable OEM unlocking

On the Pixel: Settings → About phone → tap “Build number” seven times to become a developer. Then Settings → System → Developer options → OEM unlocking → on. If OEM unlocking is greyed out, the phone is carrier-locked and can’t be flashed — that’s a return, not a workaround.

Private phones for small teams

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Most degoogling advice is written for individuals with infinite patience. A business has different constraints: phones must work on day one, the setup must survive an employee who doesn’t care about privacy, and someone has to be able to say what it costs. This is the playbook we recommend for teams of roughly 3–15 people — a composite of the setups we’ve researched and tested, with real numbers.

Why a small business would want private phones

Three reasons that aren’t ideology:

The private app starter pack, 2026

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Every phone we set up gets the same first hour of apps. This is that list for 2026 — not the 40-app “awesome privacy” dump, just the ones that survived actually living with them. All free unless marked, all available without a Google account. (Looking for a specific Google service instead? The app-by-app replacement directory covers all of them, service by service.)

First: where to get apps without Google

Aurora Store — an anonymous front-end for the Play catalog. Anything you’d normally install from Play, you install from here without signing in. This is the workhorse.
F-Droid (or the faster Neo Store client) — open-source apps only. Get Aurora from here first.
Obtainium — installs apps straight from their GitHub releases and keeps them updated. For the handful of apps that live outside both stores. (Ten-minute setup guide.)
On GrapheneOS, you also have the option of real sandboxed Google Play — the compatibility of the Play Store without the privileges. Use it for banking apps that verify their installer.

Messaging

Signal. Non-negotiable first install. Works flawlessly without Google services (it falls back to its own push system), and it’s the one private app your family might already have. Molly, a hardened Signal fork, is the enthusiast option — same network, extra protections.

LineageOS 23.2, and the map after DivestOS

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

LineageOS 23.2 is rolling out across its enormous device list, keeping phones alive on current Android long after their makers gave up. With DivestOS gone — the hardened LineageOS fork shut down and its users scattered — Lineage is where most of those refugees landed, so it’s worth drawing an accurate map of what it does and doesn’t give you.

What’s in 23.2

The project announced 23.2 in its February changelog as a “halftime release,” built after rebasing onto two large Android 16 updates. The visible change is the new look: LineageOS now uses Google’s Material Expressive design, with fully customizable Quick Settings tiles, an expanded dark theme and more file tools around private spaces. Several default apps, including the Twelve music player, the clock and the calculator, got matching redesigns.

GrapheneOS supports the Pixel 10 — and the update runway keeps getting longer

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

GrapheneOS supports the Pixel 10 series — 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and 10 Pro Fold — and the support is live, continuing the pattern that a new Pixel becomes a GrapheneOS phone shortly after launch. The supported range now spans five generations, Pixel 6 through 10.

The update runway keeps getting longer

The quiet story is the update runway. Since the Pixel 8, Google has promised seven years of hardware support, and GrapheneOS builds ride on that: a Pixel 10 bought today has an update horizon into 2032; even a used Pixel 8 runs to 2030–31. Nothing else in Android land comes close.

CalyxOS is back — and it changed the budget math

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

For a while in 2025 the honest advice about CalyxOS was “wait and see.” The project went quiet, releases slipped, and we stopped recommending it for new installs. That’s over: CalyxOS relaunched in mid-2026 on Android 16, and it came back with the most interesting device list in the degoogled world.

What happened during the pause

The short version, from the project’s own posts. In August 2025 CalyxOS shipped what it called the last update before the new release, warned that the version then on phones was unmaintained, and paused development. The team spent the following months rebuilding how releases are signed, moving to a new open-source system based on hardware security modules. A public Android 16 test build followed in May 2026, and on July 1 the project announced release 7.2.2.0 as the build that “will receive all future updates.”

Affiliate Disclosure

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

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GrapheneOS vs CalyxOS vs /e/OS

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Every degoogled phone runs one of three big operating systems, and people burn weeks researching a choice that usually comes down to one question: how much convenience are you willing to trade for how much privacy? Here’s the honest version.

The one-paragraph answer

GrapheneOS is the most secure consumer OS in existence, and thanks to sandboxed Google Play it’s also — surprisingly — the most app-compatible. If you’re buying a Pixel, pick it and stop reading. CalyxOS is for people who want privacy defaults handled for them, on a wider range of hardware (including cheap Motorolas). /e/OS is for people who want an iPhone-simple experience with a matching cloud, and would rather buy the phone preinstalled than flash anything.

Privacy Policy

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

For a site about de-Googling your phone, the privacy policy should be short. Ours is.

The short version

This site sets no cookies and runs no ad trackers. We count page visits with a cookieless tool that records nothing if your browser sends Do Not Track. If you sign up for the weekly email, we keep the record needed to prove you asked for it, and you can leave or have it erased at any time. That’s all. The details are below.

What Is a De-Googled Phone? (And Who Actually Needs One)

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0300

A de-Googled phone is an Android phone running an operating system with Google’s services stripped out — no Google Play Services running in the background, no Google account required, no telemetry flowing back to Mountain View. The hardware is usually the same phone you’d buy anyway (most often a Pixel, ironically). What changes is the software layer that decides who your phone talks to when you’re not looking.

What actually gets removed

Stock Android ships with Google Play Services — a privileged system component with access to your location, contacts, microphone permissions and network activity. It can’t be disabled on a normal phone. De-Googled operating systems replace or sandbox it:

Pixel 8a with GrapheneOS: the easiest way out

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0300

If you want a phone that doesn’t phone home, this is the one we recommend first. The Pixel 8a is affordable, gets security updates until 2031, and GrapheneOS installs from a web browser, with no command line.

This review is built from Google’s published specs and GrapheneOS’s own documentation and support lists. We don’t claim hands-on time with the phone; the scores are editorial ratings, not lab measurements.

Why it’s the easiest way out of stock Android

Three things make the Pixel 8a the shortest path from a Google phone to a private one.

App store apps without Google

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Browser apps without Google

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Calendar & contacts apps without Google

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Calls & messaging apps without Google

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Can your phone be degoogled?

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How the checker works

The checker asks two questions: who made your phone, and which model it is. Pick the brand first, then the model family. The answer appears right away, and the lookup runs in your browser from a list built into this page. There’s no account, no email and no form to submit. The checker is free, and it stays free.

If you don’t know your exact model, open Settings → About phone. The model name and number are listed there. Write the number down, because it matters later. Two phones with the same marketing name can have different bootloader rules depending on the country or carrier they were sold for.

Cloud storage apps without Google

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Keyboard apps without Google

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Mail apps without Google

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Maps & navigation apps without Google

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Notes apps without Google

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Office apps without Google

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Operating systems, compared

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How we compared them

The table answers the questions a first-time switcher actually asks, for the five Android-based systems most people can live with every day: GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/OS, iodéOS and LineageOS. Each answer is cross-checked with our device database and with each project’s official documentation. The privacy scores are the same ones used across the site, and you can read how each score is set.

Green means the system handles that question well, amber means it works with caveats, and red means it’s a weak spot. Neutral cells are plain facts, such as how many phones a system supports.

Photos apps without Google

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Privacy phones, compared

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How to read this comparison

The table above puts four very different privacy phones next to each other. Each one stands for a different way out of Google’s ecosystem: a Pixel you install a private OS on yourself, a repairable phone that arrives with a degoogled OS, a phone running an independent European OS, and a rugged phone from a small German maker.

Here is what each row measures:

Operating system: the software the phone runs. GrapheneOS and /e/OS are Android without Google built in. Sailfish OS and Ubuntu Touch are separate mobile Linux systems.
App compatibility: how many everyday Android apps you can expect to install and run without fuss.
Banking apps: banks run the strictest security checks of any app, so this row is the best single test of daily usability.
Updates until: the last year of software updates, as published by the maker or the OS project. “Not published” means we couldn’t find an official end date.
Camera: a relative ranking within these four phones only, not a score against every phone on the market.
Repairability: how easy it is to replace the battery, screen and other parts yourself.
Best for: the buyer each phone suits most.

Prices are the seller’s list prices when we last updated the table (October 2026). Euro prices come from European shops, so add shipping and import costs if you live elsewhere.

Privacy ratings

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

How the ratings work

Every operating system and phone on this page gets three ratings: a privacy score, an app compatibility note and an install difficulty. They’re editorial ratings, set from each project’s official documentation and our device research, and they’re the same numbers you’ll see in the checker, the directory and on product cards across the site. The current scores were set on September 1, 2026.

Privacy score, 0 to 10

The privacy score rates how much tracking exposure a system has as it ships, before you install anything yourself. Higher is better.

Search apps without Google

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Tap-to-pay apps without Google

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Tasks & to-dos apps without Google

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Translate apps without Google

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Two-factor codes apps without Google

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Which OS fits your phone?

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How to use the directory

This page lists every phone family in our device database, grouped by brand, with every private operating system that officially supports it. Use the buttons at the top to show only the phones that run one system, such as GrapheneOS or Ubuntu Touch, or leave the full list open and scroll through by brand.

Each phone card carries a label:

Excellent base: well-supported hardware with at least one first-class private OS. Most current Pixels and Fairphones sit here.
Workable: a private OS exists, but expect a real flashing project, regional model differences or fewer choices.
Private out of the box: the phone ships with a private OS already installed, such as the Jolla C2 or Volla phones.
Linux phone: hardware built for mobile Linux, like the Librem 5 and PinePhone. Great for enthusiasts, but not a drop-in replacement for Android.

Below the label, every supported system appears with its privacy score out of 10. Phones with no supported system get a link to the hardening plan, which removes most tracking from the stock software instead.

Why trust dgdroid?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

What dgdroid is for

dgdroid helps everyday people and small businesses get Google out of their phones. Some readers want a phone that arrives private. Others want to keep the phone they already have and strip out as much tracking as they can. We cover both, and we’re upfront about what breaks along the way, from banking apps to tap-to-pay.

The site has a few tools that work together. The ten-second phone lookup tells you which private operating systems your model can run. Our privacy scores and their method explain how each system and phone is rated. The side-by-side OS table answers everyday questions about GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/OS, iodéOS and LineageOS. The catalog of private phones and gear lists what you can buy, and our step-by-step articles walk you through the work.

YouTube apps without Google

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