For most basic users I recommend using Gnome desktop environment
2- Softwares
Browser --> Firefox π (It's recommended to tweaks and the settings and use custom user.js (Explanations about user.js))
Librewolf β€οΈ (For an out-of-the-box great experience)
Do not use default firefox version there are horrible, if you want to stay on firefox pls consider using Mull π
And maybe grayjay is a good option but I dont know exactly the app..
I'm currently using firefox nightly which seems somewhat hardened, browsing histlry and cookies are cleared on closing and adblocking is enabled by default. No add ons tho
you can configure firefox to be hardened pretty easily? I get that mull is preconfigured but the advantage of more fingerprinting protection becomes moot the second you change a setting. (as many are liable to do)
In this guide I propose Foss apps for a completely degoogled phone, so I will not recommend Gcam and Gboard, I privilege Libretube as it hide our IP from YouTube, and I do not recommend at all Xmanager because it just remove the ads and paywalls but not tweaks the privacy π for discord, I will not recommend to use the system of discord because of what's behind...
I've tried every FOSS QR scanner, and unfortunately, binary eye is total crap. They don't fully support all formats, and you need to get a near perfectly illuminated shot of the code. Also doesn't scan regular barcodes whatsoever.
Why do you have this bad impressions of binary eye? Its maybe not the most feature rich, but it's working perfectly for me. And I wouldn't suggest this app from the play store.. So I'm going to search a bit more and maybe find something interesting
Like I mentioned, I tried every available FOSS app (on f-droid that is, plus a bunch of github releases, many sadly abandoned), and none of them was able to scan all QR and barcodes I tested it with.
I think I had, but it was crashing when scanning regular barcodes, which I'm doing at work quite a bit since our ERP prints them for version control on our quality documents.
I've just tested it again and it seems to work, will be using them in parallel for a while. Thanks!
True, it is a bit wonky indeed when opening some chonky pdf files... I guess I just got familiar with the layout bc I was already accustomed with it on a jailbroken kindle.
Once you get the bells & whistles down, you can pretty much read anything cozily on any screen/orientation. Still, more of an e-reader app than a PDF viewer.
Anyway, thanks for the guide! Lots of apps I didn't know about and I'll be sure to try them all out :)
I tried a lot of keyboards but didn't find anything that felt just right until I switched to Heliboard and I've been really happy with it. The only thing I miss is being able to add gifs but I won't be switching back.
Hummm, for Mull the problem is that it lacks some functionality, has not an advanced ad-blocking (even with ublock origin) and firefox-based so it's slower on Android, that's a fact..
But I've no doubt that Vanadium is really cool but is it possible to get it without grapheneos?
Vanadium is GrapheneOS only, it specifically doesn't reimplement things that GrapheneOS already does so might not be as secure on other devices anyway. They used to recommend Bromite too, that's now become Cromite which seems pretty good in my experience.
Mainly because it comes with trace/swipe type input. Is there anything else out there that's better and more up to date?
Probably not up to modifying the above to include libraries.
I was a long term Swype user prior to getting a pixel 7, which it can't be installed on due to it being 32bit. I've not found anything else FOSS or otherwise that comes close to being as good as Swype's trace predictions. Sadly Microsoft bought the company that made Swype so the odds are it's never going to see the light of day again. They have their shitty Swiftkey app instead.
I'm still using Swype on my OnePlus, even 5 years after it was delisted. I'm dreading updating to Android 14 because of this.
But from what I read on the xda-dev forum, it's not the 32 vs. 64 bit architecture being problematic, but rather than Android 14 enforces a minimum version of the android sdk, and for an app that hasn't been updated for so long, they are now falling behind the requirements.
I'll try it when i get spare time. Based on post #79 in that XDA thread, it won't work on my pixel 7 as it also won't install 32 bit apps, same as pixel 8.
I run Graphene, but as far as I'm aware it has the same 32bit restriction.
Not comparable. Briar is distributed & a battery drain even if it is private. Conversations is decentralized, but still uses servers. Conversations is a replacement/upgrade to Element.