I’m considering whether I should uninstall updates and disable Google Play Services and Google Framework Services on my bloated phone to enhance my privacy. Is it worth doing this?

Is Google Play Services merely a service or library that other apps rely on, or does it function more like spyware? What are the implications of disabling these services for my device’s functionality and overall user experience?

  • Pierre-Yves Lapersonne@programming.dev
    4·
    2 days ago

    If you are worried about your privacy, yes, you must get rid of Google Play Services. However a majors part of your apps may be broken as too much rely on this services and only in those services.

    If you want apps to based on this layer of Google mess, have a look on some open spruce alternatives of your favorite apps. Maybe some of them won’t embed Google Play Services. But keep in mind you may lose some features like notifications from Google devices or fine tunes location.

    You can have a look on microG or Open GApps for alternatives. However you may need to hack your device to flash them.

    What you can do, for example:

    • check if you can flash alternatives (possible to root and before unlock the boot loader)
    • maybe check if you can flash another ROM ; projects list the compatible devices. Have a look on LineageOS, GrapheneOS or also /e/OS