INTRODUCTION //
Flashing ROMs is nothing new to me. I have been flashing custom ROMs
going all the way back to Android 1.6 Donut on my HTC Dream. I even
remember bricking the Dream once with a bad flash and having to meet a
stranger from XDA Developers at a public mall who had a JTAG programmer
to reflash it.
Suffice to say, when I went through the GrapheneOS web installation
process, I was pretty stunned by how easy and intuitive it was.
This was not an attempt to prove that every Google service is useless,
that Google is stealing all your data, or that everyone should
immediately delete their existing setup. I just wanted a device that
relied less on one big tech company, focused more on privacy, and still
worked well with what I use day to day.
The only part I was really unsure about was app compatibility. Coming
from a microG-based ROM, I had gotten used to depending on the Play Store
for everything. A lot of "de-Googled" advice online still assumes Google
Play services are present, even when an app does not seem like it should
obviously depend on them. Some apps worked exactly as expected, some
needed a replacement, and a few simply were not worth fighting with.
A phone is a personal thing and should be set up based on user
preference, not what some company says you should use. This is not a
GrapheneOS setup guide. It is just a record of what worked for me, what
didn't, and where I had to make compromises.
THE BEGINNING //
I installed GrapheneOS on a brand-new Pixel 10a and left the bootloader
locked once the installation was complete.
I also made the decision not to install sandboxed Google Play.
GrapheneOS supports it, and I understand that certain apps require Google
Play services to function correctly, but I wanted to see how far I could
get without adding them back into the system. Did I really need them?
My starting point was simple, since most of these apps were already part
of my ecosystem:
Vanadium as the main browser
Proton Authenticator for two-factor codes
Bitwarden for passwords and autofill
HeliBoard for the keyboard
Thunderbird for email
Organic Maps for navigation
Proton VPN for public Wi-Fi
Syncthing and Markor for notes
Ultrasonic for a navidrome client
I mostly kept the GrapheneOS defaults and avoided changing settings just
for the sake of changing them. The defaults shipped with GrapheneOS are
already sane, and the goal was a clean daily-use phone, not a privacy
checklist where every toggle had to be different from stock.
WHAT WORKED //
Most of the basic alternatives worked without much effort.
Vanadium handled normal browsing, Bitwarden worked with biometrics and
autofill, Proton Authenticator restored my codes, and Thunderbird
handled email without any obvious limitations.
For local and self-hosted tools, things changed for the better.
Syncthing kept my notes in sync whether on my LAN or through Tailscale.
Markor gave me a simple, robust Markdown editor, ConnectBot handled SSH
access to Nexus when needed, and LocalSend is so useful I don't know how
I ever lived without it.
Organic Maps covered offline navigation. I downloaded my local map and
never had any issues using it. Proton VPN worked when I needed it on
sketchy public Wi-Fi, and Capy gave me a clean RSS reader for toilet
scrolling, replacing most of the news browsing I used to do through X.
Ultrasonic connected to my Navidrome server without issue and gave me
access to my music library from either the LAN or mobile data through
Tailscale.
None of these apps have made me feel constrained or like I was using an
inferior OS. They installed quickly, worked as advertised, and mostly
stayed out of the way, which was exactly what I was looking for.
WHAT NEEDED REPLACEMENT //
The bigger adjustment was not losing functionality, but finding the
right apps to handle it.
Some replacement apps were obvious. HeliBoard replaced FUTO, PipePipe
replaced YouTube, Organic Maps replaced Google Maps, and Capy replaced a
lot of the time I previously spent scrolling through X for news.
Music, however, was a little annoying at first. Chora worked on my older
phone, and I had grown accustomed to its UI, but it had issues connecting
on the Pixel 10a. While searching for alternatives, I found that nearly
every other Navidrome client on F-Droid was either stale or no longer
actively maintained.
Ultrasonic ended up being the first reliable option. I later discovered
Tempus, which has since become my go-to music app.
None of this was particularly difficult. Sure, an argument can be made
for convenience's sake, and it did require letting go of the assumption
that the first familiar app in an app store was automatically the best
choice. But the time and effort spent researching alternatives is what
paid off most in the end.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK - THE DARK TRUTH //
Right out of the gate, there were a few apps that were not worth the
effort or the headache.
Some just straight up refused to run without Google Play services.
Others would open, but with key features like notifications, location
access, or account logins broken. This was the point where I had to
decide whether having the app was actually necessary or whether I was
just used to seeing it in my app drawer.
Banking and payment apps were the area where I expected the most pain.
Compatibility varied based on the research I had done, but surprisingly,
the apps I actually rely on worked flawlessly as web apps in Vanadium. I
never felt pressured to install sandboxed Google Play.
Notifications were less predictable, which was new. Apps using their own
background connection generally worked without issue, but apps relying
entirely on Google's push service could be delayed or never received at
all. That was never a huge problem for me, but it required some extra
effort to find the right apps and set the correct battery permissions so
they could run properly in the background.
The biggest compromise for me was obviously convenience. Google Play
makes installation, updates, and push notifications feel almost
automatic. Without it, I had to use a mix of F-Droid, custom repos, and
direct downloads. It took more time and effort, but not enough to make
me want to crawl back to Google.
I guess that is the cost of knowing that I am in control of my apps and
data, and in control of what I choose to share with the world. I don't
mind making that compromise if it gives me some peace of mind.
THE VERDICT - END OF LINE //
For me, the experiment was a success.
I ended up with a phone that I actually like to use, enough in fact that
I am here writing about it. It feels fast, private, and fully functional
without Google Play. Getting the app drawer where I wanted it took some
extra effort. Some apps needed replacements, and others were simply not
worth keeping or fighting with.
Again, this is not a tutorial. In fact, I don't think anyone should copy
this exact setup. You should find what works for you. I'm also not
pretending there were no compromises. But after using it as my daily
phone, I have not looked back.
I guess that is a convoluted answer to the question I started with. No,
I did not really need it.