how to completely remove google from android phone

[Chuk Farlie]

My interest is in the list of the files "APK's", the OP took out of his /system/app/ directory ? or from anywhere else in the filesystem.
Please list them. Please.
I also want a usable Android phone, without Google all up in it. after all , now I want it free from the big G. as well. I know it's impossible, but if people can have an appendix removed and still live why can't google have a little surgery without the "Robot" dying? too.
well it will be, when I finally toss a copy of Tizen to it. but then i would need to make it work on my carrier's network without them crying about my changes to the hardware/software.

 

[gearsnguns4me]

I can think of a ton of reaGoogleso do this. Everyone is making fun of the OP needs to wake up. Google apps are constantly draining battery, sending data, and spying on you.
. It's perfectly reasonable to not want this crap

Likewise, I am amazed at how many here assume one must be wearing a tin foil hat. It is not unreasonable to not want a corporation to know more about you than your family and friends do.

Being this is my first smartphone, I had no clue how connected Google was to Android.

I came across this thread wanting to do the same, get Google's prying eyes off my phone. Unfortunately, it appears completely removing Google from my device is beyond my capabilities at the moment.

 

[Revampd]

Everything from Google?

Well, I think it's impossible since you're always going to have at least a Google account to even have the phone work.

I am not really sure why anyone would want to do this. No Google search? No Voice Actions? No YouTube (yes, Google owns that). No Gmail? No calendar? No Maps? No Google Navigation? Heck, you'd even have to remove the Play Store.

It's an Android phone...it integrates with Google services (the same way an iPhone integrates with Apple services). If you want Android, you're in the Google ecosystem, if you don't, you probably need to go elsewhere.

This is not meant to offend, but it seems like such a wild out there request, I have to wonder if you're serious, and if so, why? Is it a tinfoil hat scenario?

I don't want to offend either but I am so, so sick of this type of response to this question. I want the same answer. I want to keep my Nexus 7 (love the hardware) but don't want ANY Google services on it. Google has found and aggregated some information, even pictures from ALL of my time on the internet (a post from 15 years ago for instance!). Yes, I'm of another generation and for the life of me I can't understand why people would be so quick to give up their privacy for a little convenience.

I have been all over the internet (that's how I got here) looking for an answer to this question. If it absolutely cannot be done, just say so. Otherwise, can anyone please tell the OP and me how to do what we want to do with OUR devices?

p.s. I have not read the rest of this thread and I will now. Perhaps it will tell me how to do what I want. I just saw the first response and had to chime in. Please people... just answer the questions asked if you can.

 

[Revampd]

Oh, and before anyone mentions it, I am putting aside my beautiful new Moto X because of this (sob) and going back to Blackberry. But they no longer make a tablet, hence my question on the Nexus 7.

 

[mrsmumbles]

You can turn off most of the Google spyware in your phone settings. Settings/Accounts/Google also Search, and Location. Go into all the sub menus. (Tap on each little setting to pull up more pages of settings).

Sent from my LG-LG870 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rukbat]

Easiest way - get a feature phone. No actual features - it makes and takes phone calls and has a local contacts list it keeps on the phone.

Of course you give up most of the capabilities of a smartphone, but that's what you want - a dumb phone that can't "phone home". And the next time you want to know what they orange star is, or which way to drive to get where you're going, pull into the nearest gas station to ask. Life was easier in the 50s anyway - all you needed was nickles to feed the pay phones.

I may be old, but I like being able to get on the internet when the store I'm in doesn't have what I want, and find a nearby store that does. Without asking the store if I can use their antiquated Windows XP computer with the 12" CRT. I say "home depot" in a town I've never been in and the phone tells me the fastest way to get there. Donna Stone looked nice doing housework in a shirtwaist, but it's 2014.

 

[BLOWBACK]

the android phones in China mostly have google removed from them. not completely, but i think alot of the important things have been removed. there's also a Chinese android fork named Aliyun, made by the alibaba corporation. it should have little to no google components, while being able to run apk files. China is coming out with an operating system called COS. alot of people are saying it's similar to android. i think it might be able to run android apks without anything from google. the announcement was made in january, and still no news on when it will reach stores.

 

[z33dev33l]

I used to build Ross for this reason because I think Google is evil. Even after flashing the room it still takes busy box but it's totally worth it.

 

[raptir]

the android phones in China mostly have google removed from them. not completely, but i think alot of the important things have been removed. there's also a Chinese android fork named Aliyun, made by the alibaba corporation. it should have little to no google components, while being able to run apk files. China is coming out with an operating system called COS. alot of people are saying it's similar to android. i think it might be able to run android apks without anything from google. the announcement was made in january, and still no news on when it will reach stores.

Yeah, and the phones from China are loaded with their own spyware.

Report: Chinese phone comes preloaded with spyware - Story | abcactionnews.com | Tampa Bay News, Weather, Sports, Things To Do | WFTS-TV

The main reason I don't worry about all of this is that Google has far more to lose by misusing my information than they have to gain.

 

[Rukbat]

Even after flashing the room it still takes busy box

Which has nothing to do with Google, it's a Linux thing. (It just replaces all the Linux commands that Google left out of the kernel. It's a lot easier doing that than taking them all out of busybox and adding them to the kernel in the ROM, and it works the same way whichever way you do it.)

 

[AaronAverage]

I just read the thread because I was interested in removing Google stuff from my Android too. Well, it really seems to be impossible to fully remove Google because - Android is Google.
But I was a little shocked about the people here saying like "It's a Google OS so it's of course sending our data to Google. Other OSs do that too." That's right, but I was wondering - Wouldn't the idea of an independent phone OS be better? Why do we have to transmit our - in some cases sensitive - data if we want a phone that is able to run apps? We can at this time only decide between having an OS being able to run apps you want but sending your data to big servers located anywhere abroad and having a phone only be able to place calls and send SMS but respects our privacy. You're not even realizing that these companies are growing bigger and more uncontrollable through what's going on at the moment. The problem is just that nobody cares about what their phones send in the background. I think the OP is right with his doubts about Google.
In times where your private messages can be sniffed, the NSA has an eye on you if you don't want to share data with them, where we're storing data where anyone can theoretically access them and AOL publishes what every single person is searching for it's always better to think about privacy. Imagine the Holocaust repeated, and "they" would just have to access Facebook's Graph search to find out who'd be a jew, and for those who are not publishing it on Facebook they could find a way to find it out anyways. Just to give an example why all this internet storing stuff could end really bad.

I decided to make a tutorial as far as I can help. I'll seperate it to root and non-root operations you can do to remove Google content and increase the security of your data (I know the increasing security part is off-topic, but I'll add them because I think who reads this topic is interested in data security anyways).
I don't know if all of the steps are really helping. If you tell me more stuff to add it'd be great as we then have a mostly complete list of what you can do. Hence this list is not complete but should help the one or other anyways.
I've also posted - in my opinion reliable - alternatives for Google's apps at the bottom.

1.: Stuff unrooted users are also able to do to decrease data sent to Google (aswell as rooted, of course)

• Disable Google's components
  I don't really think this will change much, but the more the better.
  Go to your device's settings and head to the application manager. There you can deactivate as much Google Apps as you want - best would be all that are able to be deactivated. Some apps may require "uninstall updates" before deactivating.
  If you have any Google application from the Play Store (or anywhere else) and these were not pre-installed you can also fully uninstall them.
• Delete your Google account.
  Not just from the phone, I mean really deleting it unless you don't need it e. g. for work. If you really want to unbind yourself from Google this is an important step. You can disable your account here. As Google will not fully delete your data stored at them anyways, it may help to delete everything manually first, like Google Drive content for example
• Disable extra Google content where possible
  There's some stuff more left which you possibly can disable too. However, some might not be needed to be disabled anymore if you removed your Google account. The paths may vary in different Android versions. I'm using Android 4.4.4 and will post these steps how my phone displays them.
  Device Settings -> Location: Disable Google Location Reporting
  (Sorry - I haven't found more, but I'll add stuff here if you know something else)

2.: Stuff only rooted users are able to do to decrease data sent to Google

• Uninstall Google Apps
  (Not needed if you're going to do the next point and going to install CM)
  All of them.
  To do so, take your favorite root browser (for those who have no: Just search for one. Some need to have the root function enabled manually) and go to your root directory ("/"). Then open System ("/system") and head to App ("/system/app") folder. There your stock-installed apps are listed. Delete the *.apk's listed below. It's easier with this
  Google Apps list (Can't promise it's complete, that are all I found) (That they're listed here doesn't mean these are all installed on your phone; this varies. Delete any apk from these you see in your /system/app folder):
  Books.apk
  CalenderGoogle.apk
  Chrome.apk
  ChromeBookmarksSyncAdapter.apk
  ChromeBeta.apk
  CloudPrint2.apk
  Drive.apk
  GenieWidget.apk
  Gmail2.apk
  GoogleCamera.apk
  GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk
  GoogleEars.apk
  GoogleEarth.apk
  GoogleHome.apk
  GoogleTTS.apk
  Hangouts.apk
  iWnnIME.apk
  iWnnIME_Kbd_White.apk
  Keep.apk
  LatinImeGoogle.apk
  Magazines.apk
  Maps.apk
  Music2.apk
  PlayGames.apk
  PlusOne.apk
  QuickOffice.apk
  Street.apk
  SunBeam.apk
  Videos.apk
  YouTube.apk
  
• Flash CyanogenMod or another stock android rom without GAPPS
  CyanogenMod is a stock android ROM which is available for many devices. It supports all functions your phone needs and is - as far as I know - the most pure stock Android ROM. It doesn't have any bloatware, spyware or Google Apps preinstalled (except the usual Google stuff)
  I won't explain how to flash CyanogenMod on your phone as this probably varies for every phone. You can find installing tutorials for your phone in the internet. The basic steps are: Nandroid backup - Flash a custom recovery - Flash CM
  After flashing, don't install GAPPS of course.
  
• Don't use Google nor its products
  Google will collect some data anyways if you continue to use it with your phone. Alternatives are given at the bottom, too. The same is for their products like YouTube and so on.
  
  3.: Stuff you can do to protect your privacy even more, not specifically for Google
  
• Orbot + Orweb
  Orbot is an application which allows you to extremely anonymize your internet traffic. It's more than just a proxy, it "uses Tor to encrypt your Internet traffic and then hides it by bouncing through a series of computers around the world."
  It's not just encrypting your traffic, it also makes you able to visit specific websites e. g. not available in your country. For me (I'm from Germany) for example it makes me able to use the Pandora app. For non-rooted users it can only work for apps which have a proxy function like Twitter or Firefox, for rooted users it works for any app they choose or the whole system.
  Tutorial
  Orweb is the matching browser for Orbot. It makes you able to browse anonymously. It will not leave website data like web history stored on your device and even gives you access to .onion URLs.
  
• PryFi
  To say it shortly, PryFi protects your phone from being reported to stores which buy systems that make them able to track customers' MAC addresses. It can even "confuse" those systems by randomly changing the MAC often.
  More information about it you can see in the linked XDA topic, aswell as the download.
  
• Antivirus apps
  There are many antivirus apps you can use to protect your phone even better from apps sniffing your data, for example. It's, aswell as on PCs, always recommended to have one installed.
  
  4.: Alternatives for Google's Services
  To keep it short (this post is already lomng as hell anyways lol), I'll only add alternatives for Google services you can't "easily" find an alternative for. There are bunches of alternatives for example for Google Camera, Play Kiosk or Play Music.
  
  Chrome: Orweb (see above) / Opera / Firefox / Dolphin / Safari (not Apple's) / ...
  Play Store: Amazon App Store / 1Mobile / AppBrain
  YouTube: I don't really think there's an alternative for YouTube itself, but you can install an alternative app or visit YouTube from your favorite mobile broswer anonymously
  GMail: You can login to your Gmail account from any universal email app you like
  Google Search: I suggest you to use a non-tracking search engine like DuckDuckGo or Startpage
  Google Drive/Photos: Any online cloud such as Dropbox. I'm not sure if these are treating your data more safely but it helps getting rid of Google.
  Google+/Hangouts: I think the alternatives are clear here but you can access them from your browser if you really need to continue using them for some reason.
  Google Voice Search/input: I think this app is a good alternative
  Google Now: Unfortunately, I don't think there's an comparable alternative :-\
  Backing up your Contacts like Google Contacts does: This app should do so well
  Chrome alternative for desktop pc users (exactly like gChrome, just without Google stuff): SRWare Iron
  
  
  
  However, I know this is a long post and I'm sorry if it's not 100% complete, but these first steps of getting rid of Google (although you'll never fully get rid of Google's stuff with an Android) should help the one or other for now.
  If there are any slips in the grammar I'm sorry, I'm not a native English speaker and I'm trying to type the best English I've learned
  As I already said, if you know anything to add to here I'll add this, so we have a more or less complete list for those who want to get rid of Google at least a bit. Anyways, if you're actually hating Google or something and don't want to have Google receiving (sensitive) data from and about you you won't get around buying another smartphone anyways
  Thanks to all who wrote something yet, this makes it clearer what's possible to do so far

 

[opensourceisjustice]

Finally I've succesfuly removed all the services from my Xperia L which are contained "google" in it. Never looking back, EVERYTHING has a FOSS alternative. In addition, my battery uptime is increased by 30% without their unused bloatware background services. This post was helpful to begin with. Keep it up.

 

[Ad999]

Not sure if the tone is changing on this topic (privacy) or if the naysayers just lost interest. Bought my first smartphone a short time ago. Wanted to be able to run Navonics when boating, get tide and weather info real time. Read my favorite forums when on the bus or waiting. Maybe check email. Find something while on the road in an emergency.

Read a lot before selecting a phone. Never heard any discussion of privacy. Would have thought twice if I had!

Have yet to hear a decent reason goggle should have my personal "profile" and how it will benefit me? It's my data...if google wants it they can pay me for it. Glad the OP asked the question. Wonder why the pro goggle crowd is so vehement. I think younger generations are much more willing to accept the concessions for using google services. Obviously am not one of them.

 

[jean15paul]

Not sure if the tone is changing on this topic (privacy) or if the naysayers just lost interest. Bought my first smartphone a short time ago. Wanted to be able to run Navonics when boating, get tide and weather info real time. Read my favorite forums when on the bus or waiting. Maybe check email. Find something while on the road in an emergency.

Read a lot before selecting a phone. Never heard any discussion of privacy. Would have thought twice if I had!

Have yet to hear a decent reason goggle should have my personal "profile" and how it will benefit me? It's my data...if google wants it they can pay me for it. Glad the OP asked the question. Wonder why the pro goggle crowd is so vehement. I think younger generations are much more willing to accept the concessions for using google services. Obviously am not one of them.

I understand your point, but I feel I get a lot of benefit from sharing my data with Google. I get the best email client and search engine on the planet, great mapping and navigation, I get many conveniences like running apps that genuinely improve my life and make me more efficient.

But I am making an informed choice. The big problem with privacy today is that most people are using these services and "opting in" to their policies without all the information in front of them. The industry needs A LOT more transparency so everyone can make an informed choice like you and I have done.

 

[hawkwind212]

Orbot + Orweb are not all they make out to be. The silk road owner the dreaded pirate Robert thought he was invisible behind the darknet, and the FBI still got him. The FBI is sending out the message "we're the FBI, and there's no place where we can't reach you!" That makes me shudder just to think that orbot + orweb gives me nothing but a false sense of security.

Sent from my LG-E980

 

[Rukbat]

The question is what data is Google getting from your phone, and how is it using it.

If it gets that you searched for a particular address in Maps, that's one thing, but if all it got is that a search was made for a house number in a given area, that's another. (There are areas in which Maps shows only empty space. If a lot of people are searching for locations in a space like that, maybe they'll increase the map granularity for that area.) I have no problem with Google knowing that a phone was used to perform a function, I do have a problem with Google knowing that I searched for a particular item or street address. Are they collecting statistics or personal data?

 

[jean15paul]

The question is what data is Google getting from your phone, and how is it using it.

If it gets that you searched for a particular address in Maps, that's one thing, but if all it got is that a search was made for a house number in a given area, that's another. (There are areas in which Maps shows only empty space. If a lot of people are searching for locations in a space like that, maybe they'll increase the map granularity for that area.) I have no problem with Google knowing that a phone was used to perform a function, I do have a problem with Google knowing that I searched for a particular item or street address. Are they collecting statistics or personal data?

Google is definitely collecting personal data and building a profile on you. They do this so they can target ads to you. You can actually see (almost) everything Google collects in you go to your Google Dashboard. And Google actually allows you to delete it.

Most people don't understand Google's business model. One common misconception is that Google sells your personal data. They absolutely do not. Your personal data is their competitive advantage. What Google does is sell targeted ads. To explain this we need some background.

Back in the old days companies would buy ads in print, radio, and TV. The only data that was available was the total number of readers/viewers. So whatever medium (channel, station, magazine, etc) could deliver the most people could demand top dollar for ads. Later people started collecting basic statistics and demographics on readers/viewers (think Nielsen ratings). So companies were able to design targeted ads. They could say, I want my ad to be seen by african-american males between 25 and 34.

Google has taken this to the next level with their information collection. Companies can approach Google and say "I want my ads to be seen be caucasian soccer moms between 28 and 30 who have a annual household income of between $80k and $100k, who have purchased a car in the past year and enjoy listening to light rock" and Google can deliver that kind of granularity to ads because of the personal information they collect. And because they can do this they can demand TOP dollar for ads. In theory this also creates a better experience for users because we see ads that we're actually interested in. (That's debatable.)

So yes, Google collects a TON of personal information. No, they don't sell it or share it; in fact they guard it like their business depends on it (because it does). And in exchange for all this personal information they provide users with a ton of free services to keep them coming back. You have to decide if it's worth it to you.

 

[Brian Willett]

i hate google i hate google i hate google

I read a thread on a guy wanting to remove google fROm his phone, i hate google can someone tell me why i cannot control my phone i dont own my phone i payed google to use there phone and im saying this sarcasticAlly google controls every aspect of my phone they turn down myt volume the make me wait TO make phone calls because they are to busy to stop[ what ever update it is that they are doing they draIN THE HELL OUTTA MY BATTERY I DONT OWN MY PHONE GOOGLE OWNS MY PHONE AND GOOGLE LETS ME USE IT ONCE IN AWHILE THIS IS BULL**** I WANT GOOGLE OUT OF MY PHONE OR I WANT CONTROL OF MY FREAKING PHONE I PAYED FOR, SO I EITHER THROW THE SOB PIECE OF GARBAGE IN THE TRASH OR I FIGURE OUT HOW TO BECOME THE FXXKEN GUY THAT OWNS THE PHONE , HELL I PAYED FOR THE SOB....ANY IDEAS?

 

[gone down south]

You're not making much sense, bud.

 

[ChromeJob]

Re: i hate google i hate google i hate google

I ... i hate google can someone tell me why i cannot control my phone....

I don't think any of us can answer that, but I could make an educated guess....


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