CREDIT: Magictorch
The Android/iOS duopoly that dominates the mobile landscape gets us down. Apple’s walled garden approach to software and locked-down hardware keeps its ecosystem pristine, but somewhat boring. And stock Android just wants to show you in-app Google ads and harvest all your data to make Google richer. This is particularly galling, because at its heart, Android is built on open source. We’re going to show you how you can get rid of all that proprietary software on your device, so you can enjoy la vida libre. On your phone at least.
First we’ll look at some privacy-enhancing tips that will easily quell the Google-wards flow of information. Then we’ll look at some open source apps that you can enjoy, and how you can get them not from the Play Store, but the open source bazaar that is F-Droid. Next we’ll look at LineageOS, which is based on the same Android Open Source Project used by Android proper. LineageOS is supported on hundreds of devices, and has been around long enough that the project is considered by us to be more than ready for widespread usage. LineageOS will give you more privacy, more control, and maybe even slightly better battery life, too. Our guide will have you running it in no time, and with no tears or fears. Finally, we’ll have a quick look at two other mobile OS options – Ubuntu Touch (still alive and well, despite being abandoned by Canonical) and PostmarketOS (a lightweight OS built on Alpine Linux).