Topic: Huawei without Google (Read 1292 times)

I like the Huawei hardware. It seems to be well made, good value, and has some great features. What I would really  like is to be able to choose the software to run on my phone, as well as choose the hardware. I can do this with computers, and it is starting to become possible with mobile phones.

I have no real objection to data harvesting provided that the outcome is beneficial to me. For example, I like French brie,and I probably developed this taste in France over 60 years ago. The cheese was wonderful, but it is a long time since I have tasted really good brie. Certainly not since we were sucked into the EU. That dropped our food standards significantly, and we seem to be seen as a dumping ground for low quality French ( and other member states) products. The current supermarket brie is a sterile tasteless product, and it is not possible to improve it with ageing. I've switched to English brie from Somerset, and whilst this is not quite up the the standard of my childhood brie, which I ate with a spoon, it is superior to the low quality French export cheese. I would be pleased if the data from my cheese purchasing became part of an analysis project which led to an improvement in the product quality. Unfortunately, all that seems to happen is that I get a load of results telling me that I can save a couple of pence if I buy some inferior plastic imitation. Part of the problem seems to be the  disinterest of modern shoppers. All they seem to want to do is to order rubbish on line, and continue watching football or some other low vale TV programmes. I understand that sawdust has been found in some beef mince products, but no customers seem to have complained about it.

I've come to believe that the obsessive pursuit of privacy reduces the quality of life. We are social animals, and as a result, there needs to be a certain amount of observation and monitoring to ensure that we can preserve this quality. This becomes even more important as population density increases. However, I also believe that we should be allowed to preserve privacy in some parts of our lives. If I want to have a sexual relationship with two consenting women at the same time, then I don't thing that should be of any concern to anybody else - unless there is a husband that has been left out of course.

Once the de-Googling fun part begins, you may find yourself getting quite obsessed with your privacy and how your data is used. It's something I never thought I'd start doing once I begin experimenting with my older phones.

I wouldn't see this as not staying "within the letter and spirit of the law" though. It's just that you feel so much better when you know you have control over almost everything. It's the same thing as checking the "Never ask again" box when a browser asks for permission for your camera and never knowing when it'll be used vs not checking it and being asked every time the browser wants to use it. That feeling is great when it isn't only about the browser but the entire operating system.

As you're annoyed with the result-influencing apps, you may also want to turn to OpenBoard instead of whatever keyboard your phone uses by default. There are some options that may help with the anonymity of what you type. I'm not 100% sure if keyboards are to blame as well for the creepy Google results however.

Obviously though, there are things that will never be able to be 100% secure. Like I think I remember you said in other posts of yours, hardware has built-in backdoors anyway so trying to step to the side of the row easily makes you a target if the government suspects you. Then, custom ROMs are less likely to be stronger than the stock one from a security perspective. The ironic part about seeking more privacy is that you're probably going to be way more spied on by authorities than the average person is.

You have a very interesting way of looking at these things anyway. You're almost always giving me a little headache trying to understand the motives behind some stuff like, as @paxmao mentioned above, the fact that you hate Google but prefer the Chinese Huawei instead.

Whilst some may consider me to be unconventional, I try to stay within the letter and the spirit of the law, and I hope that I am not socially disruptive. I can be assertive of my rights, and this can lead me into some difficulties on occasions. I don't mind being observed in public, but I resent being spied on. For example, if I go into a supermarket, then I would expect the security staff to watch me in case I am likely to steal something. I have never done this, so I consider it as a means of keeping down prices, rather than an invasion of my privacy. If I am sitting at home ( or anywhere in fact ) and discussing the restoration of stationary engines with a friend,then I don't want to find that my next Internet searches prioritise results about metal paint or engine oil, rather than my current topic of interest. This ir why I would not allow Alexa into my home. I spent a lot of time trying to disable Cortana and other Microsoft spyware, and I haven't had much success. Google is possibly even worse, and I don't use facebook or twitter, or any of the other social media platforms that appear to encourage low level communications and recording users interests.

I don't know what Huawei is up to with customers data. I believe that the CCP has a significant interest in the company, and that CCP rulers have been recruited into the Eton/Oxford elite. You only have to do a bit of research in the activities of Tony Blair and others to be aware of this. But we also know that Google, Microsoft and others have even stronger links the US security, and thus the five Eyes Alliance. That is the military arm of the Eton/Oxford elite, so basically you can't get away from such surveillance. What you can do is to avoid commercial manipulation, and associated control of your computing and communication equipment, and I believe that this is less likely with Huawei. They seem to manufacture excellent mobile phones, and the prices are extremely competitive, and as I don't have any direct issues with the CCP, I don't see it as a threat. I have seen many news reports about life in China, and I would like to live there, but then, I spent a lot of rime in San Francisco, and I loved it, but I would hate to live there now judging by the reports I read about modern life there.

I don't know if I really need a privacy phone, but I want to experiment with creating one, and this is why I may convert my old phone into an E-phone. That won't happen this year though, as I need to do a bit more research about the concept. So I am probably going to end up with a hybrid phone with reduced Microsoft and Google influence on it. Obviously one of the first things to do it to get rid of Bing.

You are a bottomless pit of paradoxical fun. You would rather not have Google, but you are ok with Huawei.

Huawei is banned from using technologies from Google, which will be a disadvantage for them to go global, but that will be the motivation for them to create their own platform to compete directly with Google. This is very unlikely outside of China but with the domestic market, they can do it. The Chinese people are accustomed to their government banning social media from the US and using domestic apps.

It sounds like Huawei isn't confident with its HarmonyOS yet. Even the newly released Mate 40 lives with Android (without Google services of course). However, like it or not, Huawei's flagships are really good in design and camera. I don't know why Huawei's sales isn't really good in Asia but so good in EU. Maybe the Asian are mostly Apple's fan. Btw, I found a piece of news that might make you more convenient with your Huawei phone: Huawei unveils Petal Maps, Docs and adds more Petal Search functionality

I've  had the phone for over a day now, and I reckon I'm almost ready to read the manual/handbook.

First impressions are good. I had an initial problem with WiFi reception, but I put that down to Morrison's. Checking it as Asda, it appears to be better than the receiver in my P10. There is a yellow wash screen option to reduce eye strain, and I like it. The only problem that I had initially came from the Sim package I had been given. It was an O2 offer, and purported to have 10 pounds credit, but that seems to have expired in August. I'm using the sim card with no credit and the free Asda WiFi to post this. I'm also using a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard for the typing, but I need to register it, as it has no pound sign at the moment. I inserted a spare SD card that I have, and it is telling me that it is slow, and will affect the phone performance, I thought was was a nice check, and I'll buy a faster card.

There are 4 cameras, and I used the general purpose lens as a test. I thought it was stunning for the size of the device, but maybe I am out of touch with current developments. Although the device is supposed to be Google free, it comes with links to enable Gmail, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and a losd of other social apps. It also uses Bing as a search engine. The browser I'd a Huawei one, and I haven't checked to see if it is Chromium based. Everything that I use on the p!0 seems to be working, but faster. It is using a version of Android, and not the proposed Huawei OS. It doesn't link to Google apps, but links to a Huawei library, and I gather that is fairly comprehensive, but I haven't checked.

I'm going to have to change my original objectives in the light of my discoveries. I can switch to the Three network (Hutchinsons) and get unlimited data, texts and calls for 2 pounds less per month than I am paying at the moment, and I only get 15Gb of data. I'm thinking of transferring my existing phone number, and associated info onto this phone. That will obviously kill all the privacy advantages. Once the transfer is stable with the new provider, then I will try to flash the OS on the P10 and convert it into an E-phone of that is possible. I can then use that if I really need the privacy.

[decision time]

I'm in the Asda cafe (Walmart - ranked no. 3) with no power, and WiFi like treacle, but good value basic foods like fish and chips. The phone is being delivered to my Morrison's locker ( ranked no.4) WiFi a bit better, but loads of sites blocked, and no support for a node. They have power sockets, but the food is expensive, although slightly better quality. Delivery is usually between 11am and 2pm, but could be after 6pm. I can have afternoon tea and cakes in Sainsbury's ( no.2) with power sockets, and WiFi that is up to 100 times faster than Asda at the moment. If I get the phone soon, then I can go to Sainsbury's and play with it, whilst mu node continues to sync.

My life is full of these complex and difficult decisions.
I'm tempted to buy a salmon fillet, and cook it in the van at Morrison's, I can charge the notebook in the van on the way to the store. Then I'll use their WiFi from the car park, and wait for the phone delivery. Sainsbury's cafe closes at 4pm, so if it takes too long, then I'll miss afternoon tea there.

I made this post to show that I have a number of non-standard requirements for my computing and communication equipment.

Ah, I get it now. Thanks for the very detailed explanation.

I actually relate to almost your entire message, including the part about Bitcoin. But back when a BTC was 30 GBP, $10k was as unpredictable and uncertain as $1M is today, so I take that as just a paper loss.

The "cat health products" is something definitely happening with most of the corporations' products and platforms, especially with Facebook & friend suggestions and Google & search results, and that surely is creepy as hell.. hence why I became pretty much a privacy freak lately.

I may well play with some older phones at some time, but there are a few reason for choosing this one.
- Battery life is fairly good.
- I want to be able to tether the phone when WiFi is not available.
- The screen looks sharp and clear.
- Price and delivery is not too bad.
- I want to try the new Huawei OS when it is available.
- It is dual sim.

I don't play games, and I have no interest in most apps, and I find it annoying that I have to spend time deleting or removing them, I'm not bothered about government or police tracking me, but Covid test and trace may change that. What does annoy me is the way that Google and others mess with the system, and change my search results everywhere. If I am talking to a friend, and she asks me to have a  look at cat flea collars, they I don't want to spend the next couple of weeks deleting references to cat health products when I don't even have a cat.

I've got so many projects on the go at the moment, and so many things to sort out, that I just want to use easy stock options if possible, I'm really pissed off that I took so long to get started with Bitcoin, It was at £30 when I got my first few Satoshi, and it has now gone over £10,000, and I've still only got what most would consider an insignificant holding.

I watch financial, political and health videos quite a lot on the phone, and I use YouTube. I'm finding that many of the most interesting channels are being banned or de-listed, and they are switching to other media services. I'm hoping that those will have good support on the new phone. I don;t use contactless payment services, and I can be quite abusive about them, so the inability to use Googlepay or Applepay, or any of the others is no loss to me.

I have a genuine question though, as I've been watching this thread for a while now and this doesn't seem to be something you've contemplated yet: why don't you purchase an older (so cheaper as well) Huawei model with official LineageOS support and flash it so that you have much more control over what kind of apps your phone has?

One of the main things that keep me away from Huawei is that for most of their models it is a pain in the arse to change your Stock OS with a custom one. Unlocking the bootloader is a real headache. Other than that, I have a real curiosity to know why you prefer Huawei with Stock OS minus Google rather than any phone with a more privacy-oriented and almost entirely customizable custom ROM.

Im starting to get annoyed of my phone which huawei y6p and without google i cant download the games i want which is on playstore, so i look for alternative way, i manage to download tha games on other site, but when i try install it says device not compatible.

Well I need a spare phone, so I have just ordered this one.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086XH5SJK?tag=georiot-trd-21&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=trd-gb-4056148187785915400-21
I'll let you guys know how I get on with it.

I think the Huawei OS will be solid replacement for android.

Android were pumping the smartphone market by making their devices use more and more system memory so they become obsolete.

Imagine having a 32gb memory phone in 2020 lol.

Since the Huawei os will be linux, I think there will be .apk simulators or other ways of using google apps without google permission for pirates.

Yarr!

Data is pretty much the current gold mine and it's been exploited by authorities and those with the know how for several reasons. Google is one of the most fundamentals for every internet accessing technological device and most persons can hardly do without it. It's like the basic needs of life as we were taught in elementary school (food, water and shelter), that's the position google occupies and this have raised the vulnerability of a lot of users as most persons just use packages without knowing anything of it's development and node enter phase which could be used in spying on users. It feels unfair that these things are done but, you can't really escape it except you develope your own package. Perhaps, we've just got to live with it or use VPN to by pass them to some extent, you never can be completely out.

I think a smartphone is about as small as I want to go. I'm most interested in setting up a mobile coms centre in my van, and I'm going to try open Suse as an alternative to Ubuntu and Mint.

Harmony OS will be available on some smart TVs and smartwatches this year, and it should only appear on Huawei smartphones next year. The company has already announced that it will be possible to make a free upgrade from Android to Harmony OS for most new phones that will have EMUI 11. Personally, I don’t worry that Huawei won’t find an alternative to the chips as well as all the other components.

What do you think of their latest GT2 PRO smartwatch? I really like the really high quality workmanship and materials like titanium, ceramics and sapphire glass +200 watch faces

https://consumer.huawei.com/en/wearables/watch-gt2-pro/

It looks as if it does have WiFi and bluetooth, and it's Amazon that didn't bother to mention it.

I think some devices are starting to think about remote access. I've just bought a wild life camera that doesn't have bluetooth, and the WiFi has a remote switch. The switch looks like a watch with a couple of buttons instead of a face. I suspect this is to avoid people sensing the camera as they walk past with connectivity scanning enabled.

Really,? This is my first time to hear a phone that dont have wifi cause all phones today are with wifi. What model is that? Maybe its a phone from 2005.

I'm hoping that their new OS will arrive before thery run out of chips.

It's such a large well funded company, that I suspect they will be able to find an alternative source of chips, and that will be another massive  market lost to the US.

Search engine + keywords Amazon+Huawei smartphones = https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-Phones/s?k=Huawei+Phones

Do you have a link to any of those products? I'll go take a look.

I don't use Amazon, so I'm not familiar with how the products are presented there, but obviously someone thinks that such things are taken for granted - because who would buy a smartphone without WiFi or Bluetooth. However, there may be a small group of people who would be interested in such devices in order to use them as airgapped devices for cold wallets, which would mean that without WiFi, Bluetooth and SIM card such smartphones would not be able to communicate wirelessly with Internet.

It's because you are too used to Google playstore and nothing else. I have already familiarized myself with Huawei's App gallery on my phone as i am looking forward to getting another one of their phones and most of the popular apps are in there

There are a couple of popular third party android app stores I know about such as APKpure, and they always keep them updated. Whatever app you might fail to get in Huawei AppGallery, you can easily get it from 3rd party app stores.

That's what I thought, but I was looking on Amazon, and they didn't mention WiFi or bluetooth.

Impossible, what kind of smartphone would it be without WiFi? Look at all the available models here : https://www.gsmarena.com/huawei-phones-58.php , and you will see under Comms that each phone has listed something like this -> "WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot"

I've been looking at Google free Huawei phones, but the latest models don't seem to have WiFi. This surprises me if it is true.

Are you sure about all preinstalled apps can't be uninstalled? Some can certainly be removed without rooting your phone, you just need to follow few simple steps. For me, they are not a problem because I have 128 GB of space and 6 GB of RAM in my Huawei, which is more than enough for one smartphone.

https://www.androidguys.com/tips-tools/remove-pre-installed-apps-android/

---

Not only that, Huawei is very close to launching its Harmony OS on smartphones which will definitely be a turning point in their business. Unfortunately Huawei is facing a loss of chips and display panels for their devices, so their future production will be quite difficult. Given the influence that the USA has in the world, if Huawei wants to survive, it will have to produce all the necessary components in China. But even that may not be enough, because I believe that the attacks on this company will go so far that some countries under pressure will be forced to ban the sale of their devices.

I like huawie because of its camera and storage even it doesnt have google playstore, but soon all the games on playstore will be available on thier app gallery

Me, too, is also annoyed by the pre-installed applications from google, but as a Huawei phone user, I find it incomplete without using Google Playstore. Having it is more convenient, however other preinstalled applications takes so much space in my phone, I don't even use it. It takes so much memory and it can't be uninstalled.

I also don't like when phone is full of pre-installed apps, especially these which aren't needed for me. Rooting your phone helps in such cases, but downside of it that you loose warranty.
I like Android One series phones because basically, it's clean Android without bloatware and just some pre-installed Google apps.

I'm not bothered about privacy, but I am annoyed by useless apps being installed, and using up resources and bandwidth. I must be pretty boring because I  don't want to listen to music on the phone, or send pictures of my tonsils or other body parts to people, or use any of the other gimmicky apps that seem to try to install themselves.

Never been fan of Huawei, but they were turning into serious competitor for Samsung and Apple. They were offering quite good phones for low price. But now, without Google services it looks like half-working product. Yes, Huawei are making their own AppGallery, but it reminds me story of WindowsPhone and how they failed. You simply won't find so many apps that you need. And I think it's not likely that majority of apps that you can find on Google Play will be ever uploaded there.
So, I don't any reasons to buy Huawei when I simply can buy fully working Android phone. Well, unless you're hardcore Huawei fan, but you have to be ready for lot of inconvenience while using this phone.
And none of Android phones is good in terms of privacy. If you really concerned about it, it would best to use old Nokia phone.

I don't install any social media apps, and I have disabled play services. My phone is not a play thing.

Significantly you're been spied by a certain company either by the USA(Google) or the China (Huawei).  So how could one be able to use social media apps houses by Google play services?

I also don't like Google's policy, which is that the browser should decide what to read and what to watch. And also I am the owner of a phone from a Chinese manufacturer. Everything can be easily configured by disabling and removing various services and prohibiting updates. In addition, YouTube has such a function when browsing history, search history, and much more are not saved. There are many videos on YouTube showing how to do to turn off Google tracking forever.


Also found an open-source browser on GitHub.
https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium

Ungoogled-chromium, in which all Google trackers are completely turned off. There is also a version for the android.

Whatsapp does not required Google as you said. But you what about backing up whatsapp chat. You can only back up chat on your device or Google drive. And many will prefer cloud backup. So whatsapp need Google for something too.

I am a Huawei user but I don't even think my phone without google apps.My phone is little old and all google app run smoothly.I have seen a lot of new huawei users are running google apps using third party apps.So I think it will be boring without Facebook,Whatsapp,Youtube ,Gmail and so others.And no phone can survive without google.Huawei users are still using youtube,Gmail and so ohers with the help of third party apps despite the ban.

So basically huawei are saying they are google free but still connected to it.Huawei without google cannot survive.In our country no one will buy huawei if they can't use google apps.

Google isn't controlled by a regime, it's part of the regime, and it is distorting history, and the information we receive.

yeah.  i have four android based tracfones.

only need one but to be able to do some degree 📜 of security. i need four to keep stuff less synched .

lets say I have the need to use and exchange and they want 2f.

I need a phone to never leave the house that has multiple 2f accounts.

lets say i am mananging an account for a farm i need a second phone that never leaves the house 🏠.

lets say i take a trip i want to use map features etc. thats three.

lastly my wife need a phone thats four.

the 2 f  phones stay inside the house and are place in double faraday box 📦.

quite frankly better desktops may come back with very good monitors.  a lot of people have seen what they can do on zoom. 

covid-19 has a really big wave two and the desktop looks better with mobile looking shitty.

not rooting for covid to grow this summer just pointing it out.

Google is actively working with different states and their authorities. Especially with intel agencies, which strip most of the privacy off you. Google or Huawei, it's mostly the same crap. Hell, a "free" corporation in a "free" country might have even more power than Huawei earns by working with the CCP. I'd argue that the in-depth personnel of intel is most likely as "control freak" as the front leadership of the Communist Party.

I still would prefer google over huawei and the reason is simple. I donot want my personal information call in the hands of a company that is controlled by a regime. I understand that google also know everything about me but it is located in a free country that has democracy. Huawei on the other hand is not, it is located in country that is ruled by bunch of control freeks. Sad to say but the situation the world is in now has been brought by that country.

I think we deserve a lil' breath of pure air after all the stuff Google has been able to learn from us. It's getting quite scary how people now believe life without Google cannot exist!

These phones without Google on them most likely have some custom ROMs on XDA you can flash together with the GApps. Probably wouldn't be as stable as the stock OS is, but it's still a workaround one can go for if they really want a phone with Google that comes with it not installed. There might even be a GApps zip file you could flash without even having to move to another ROM.

On the other hand though, unlocking the bootloader to be able to flash the ROM is a bit of a hassle when it comes to Huawei phones.

I've been using Android 8 without any kind of Google app and I'm using F-Droid as the app store. I can get most of the apps I really need off F-Droid, but there are obviously some exceptions such as WhatsApp although I think you can get the APK & use it without GApps if it's a necessity. FOSS and Google-free life feels great is all I can say.

Personally, it is a big loss for Huawei in my opinion, I mean it was just everything on an android phone is connected to google without having this google I think it just doesn't worth paying for.

• Huawei App Gallery cannot install everything that is available on google play store their are so many applications that is not available at the moment.
  
• There are applications that are not going to work without the Google service or that might experience problems just like updated versions of Netflix etc.
  How about google play service + GMS?
  etc.
  
  Just not worth it considering there are so many China Brand that is offering the same android phones and performance with google play in it.

The fact is that Google apps don’t come pre-installed on Huawei phones, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for everyone to install the same apps on their smartphone. In other words, every Huawei smartphone/tablet can have all the Google app installed, but of course unofficially and at the personal responsibility of each individual user.

What Huawei is working on now is the proposal that Google Apps become available through their App Gallery, which would definitely allow them to become powerful players in the market again. For now, American politics has no ear for any concessions, especially after very serious accusations against China regarding everything that is happening regarding the pandemic.

Google losing its app on Huawei phone is a big loss for the company, I am against most of the policy of China but letting go of a very big market is a regrettable decision for Google. I commend that Google did make a stand but in a business perspective they are losing. I find the tactic of Chinese government very strategic because they are using their population as a bargaining chip for businesses and country's affairs, though I feel sad that their citizen will never taste real freedom.

It's true but there some linux based smartphones around like for example Librem 5 . It has hardware based kill switches for wifi,camera and microphone so if you are concerned about your privacy you can turned these off when you are not using your phone.



Tizen is another linux based operating system and mostly used by Samsung electronics. There is a Whatsapp native version available on their App store. There are few Samsung Z series phones around with this OS.

Few years back we have ubuntu phone which tried to do exactly what Librem and few other linux based smartphones are trying to do but it failed because Android and IOS have huge stack of apps. This means that any competing mobile platform must match or at least offer a compelling reason to ignore the benefits of an endless selection of apps. Secondly it must match the same hardware compatibility and performance as the existing phones.

Huawei flagship are one of the best but they are on a costly side and a premium band.
To really own your phone, rooting and installing a custom rom preferably without G-suite is the way to go.
https://www.androidcentral.com/best-phone-rooting-and-modding

  LMAO 
So reverse psychology works great on you, you say? 


They probably do. But as soon as a company recognized as a brand, the prices rise. And imho Huawei makes no exception.
One good point for you is that the devices without Google Play may be a tiny bit cheaper. And if you are so keen to have Huawei... I'm sorry, my idea cannot help. 

I want Huawei because I'm being told that I can't have it.

I think that Huawei produces great products at competitive prices, and I resent being told that I can;t use their products because I have to install a load of crappy intrusive apps that Google keeps pushing at me, and that I have to spend time trying to disable.

OP, if you don't want Google Play and the price is an issue, why don't you simply buy some no name smartphone from Chinese sellers (AliExpress and such) or resellers in your country? You have a good chance to find high specs phones at good prices if you research it well.

I am more typical user and I wanted Google Play, so I've bought Redmi at great price, although Xiaomi started to become a known brand.



Shortly: maybe you actually don't necessarily want Huawei.

Huawei not have Google services yet in mate 30 and after that too (P40,Mate40) huawai say they make app gallery bigger to support more 3rd party app.

if you not use a lot of  google ecosystem (gmail,map,drive) you can use huawai it good phone.

PS.huawai say if they can deal with US to use google service it can update in 1day to use it.

All new Huawei smartphones from the model Mate 30 is without Google services, so you actually get a device free of Google services if you pick newest models, but they are still based on Android OS.

I have P30 which is one of the best smartphones which I had, and no matter the cost, I can say it's worth every penny. Regarding Google services, there is no problem for me, just turn off all that you not need or what's annoying to you. Only info I get is when some new security/critical updates is available, and that is the most important thing I want to know.

There is a big difference between collecting my data in an attempt to manipulate my behaviour for commercial gain, and collecting my data to check on my political activities. My objection is over the way Google and Microsoft mess with my settings and activities in an attempt to scratch a few extra billion pounds.

ok





if you don't care about people spying on you, then backdoors into your hardware are irrelevant



hmmm, the Chinese government openly design software and infrastructure that spies on people in China. What difference does it make if western corporations are surruptitiously surveillance software in Google phones, and that Huawei are openly publishing their software, and their intentions as to how they will use the data they collect? Is your answer "Huawei want to collect my data to use it to give them power over my life, but they're honest abusers as they informed me beforehand"?

My life is so boring, that I would like to sincerely apologize to any poor corporate spy or last-row underpaid bureaucrat that may currently be reading my email, messages or phone conversations. Sorry mate, is just that boring - not hiding nuting my.

I do not have payment methods installed in phones or computers.

I'm pissed off with Google, Apple and Microsoft for a variety of reasons.  I use a cheap  smartphobne all the time, and it is great. I use very few apps, and Google doesn't like that, and it keeps trying to change my settings, and sending me stupid messages. I won't be moving to 5G for quite some time, if ever. There are alternatives appearing that may be better for me,

We know that the Five Eyes alliance has backdoors into all phones and computers, and that is more of a concern for me than the Chinese government, if it is true that they will be using Huawei with open source software. The whole issue is rubbish anyway. Most computers and phones use Chinese chips, and the so called health service use Chinese manufactured drugs, that should be more of a concern.

I need a second phone, so I will be watching the market,and I'll probably buy a Huawei phone when a suitable one appears.

Perhaps you are in love with huawei or you are literally pissed of with Google. I am not sure how globally this brilliant copy cat will survive without the cooperation of google.

Already Chinese companies are known for their illegal activities but, hey! We are do much dependent on them.

Hi,

This is the Burkina Faso spying software. We don't have enough money to produce software to steal your sensitive data and sell it for
millions. Instead, please just tell us your name, age, orientation, address, political views, last time you insured your car & with which company,
a list of last things you purchased in the past 6 months and a photo of yourself.








On a more serious side, it's interesting how you can choose for google to not collect information about yourself, BUT if you ever agree by mistake
 with an app downloaded on your android phone to share your information, google will have direct access to everything
I am still researching if this applies to Apple too.

I'm not sure why the Anglophone empire is so stressed about China. Maybe Tony Blair's Schwarzman Scholarship isn't working. My only problem with China is that their restaurants can't cook decent English fish and chips. Roll on the time when we can chuck the French out of our fishing grounds, and we can reduce the price of this traditional meal.

The current government and corporate control of the Internet and our computer is so over the top and disruptive, that a cleaner Chinese variant would be like a breath of Spring, and who cares if Huawei has left a backdoor there. The current system seem to have the whole of the back wall removed.

What we need is a Qubes OS for phones that is open source and modular in design with selective installing of modules say you don't want any camera software install or you don't want your GPS module to be enabled bluetooth or other services a block based module OS would be perfect and give the end users full control over what is on the phone and what is not.

Cyagenmod used to be the go to solution but again it had it's downfalls I really think the first person who can create a module based OS for phoned that allows the user to build there own spec OS will be a massive hit.

I am not anti-Chinese either. I'm not against any race, I'm only against the way some corporations/govs spy on us.

If my post in this thread wasn't helpful for you (I don't see why having a fully-free OS would be a problem at all) and you only wish phones didn't have sideloaded apps, then have you thought about going for an Android One phone such as the Pixel? If that isn't enough and you don't want YouTube, Play Music, Chrome etc on the phone you can go for flashing a custom ROM without the G-Apps on it.

I've had something similar. The suggestions, not the dysfunction.
We're having our kitchen renovated, and were discussing lighting - actually discussing vocally; we had sent no texts nor made any phone or computer searches. We don't have Amazon Echo or Google Home or any of that crap.
... And then my wife went on her phone and was suddenly bombarded with ads for kitchen lights.


Actually, I think it will. Try to run your OS from a floppy, and it will be a disaster. Sorry

I really don't care if people are spying on me. I suspect I'm a bit of an exhibitionist. I am annoyed by the manipulation of search results and the way sites like YouTube push things that don't interest me based on a misunderstanding of some of my posting and searches. One possibly amusing example is happening at the moment. Because I have been discussing and searching about hard drive problems, YouTube has started to suggest videos about erectile dysfunction. I'm not sure Viagra will help maintain hard drives in my computer.

btw - If a site blocks access until I agree to an EU cookie policy, I just quit the site.

Hey! I'm not meriting anti-Chinese stuff, I'm meriting people who are complaining that everyone surveils us. The Chinese state may be bad, but it's Facebook that's my mortal enemy. There, I've said it.

... And if you edit this so it says "I really care if people are spying on me", then I'll merit you, too. Go on. Do it. One word to delete.


Seriously though, the monetising of us poor users is getting absurd now, and it's really impacting our experience. It's not just nefarious behind-the-scenes behavioural analysis and nudging us to act (or indeed vote) in a certain way, it's now right out in the open and in our faces.

I had a rant about it a while ago.

I think you're in the UK, same as me, so we're both supposedly protected by GDPR and particularly the 'active consent' element. But websites are treating the law with open contempt. You can click once to 'accept all' cookies and trackers, but have to make many many clicks through different sub-menus to opt out - the exact opposite of how it is legally supposed to work. Anyway, I'm ranting again, sorry. Have a look at the thread if you're interested. But please, do care about these companies spying on us. They're not just subverting the web, they're subverting democracy.

Wow - so many merits for anti-Chinese sentiments.

I don't really care if people are spying on me. What does annoy me is that the big players are constantly messing with my settings, and installing rubbish apps that I don't want, and won't use. I don't want things like Alexa, Cortana, Facebook, Twotter (sic) and all the other trivial nonsense that goes on at the moment. I don't want crappy music superimposed on my surfing either.

It also annoys me when my searches are modified to push products just after I have bought something. Computers used to be tools, but now they are self-driving devices, and we are just passengers in our journeys on the net.

It's owned by Facebook though. And you know FB handling its social media and stuff.

But it's owned by Facebook, so removing all Google apps & services to sideload WhatsApp makes no sense imo..

WhatsApp does not require Google or any of it's services. Install WhatsApp APK by sideloading from Whatsapp website and you are good to go.

I wish I could go completely Google free, but my options would then be limited. One big issue for me was that WhatsApp really is a need and I believe there's no point in going for a fully free experience where you're off Apple/Google/Microsoft/whatever other company's track if the experience will not really be fully free. I believe WhatsApp doesn't even work if you remove absolutely everything related to Google from your Android phone, but I may be wrong.

Anyways, the point I was trying to make is, although I'd really like going for a fully free experience, there are apps I can't find an open-sourced version of so I still have to use some close-sourced apps.. yes, removing everything Huawei/Google related off your phone and having only a few close-sourced apps you really need is better than leaving all default stuff inside your phone. But I guess you get my point..

If you want to go off their radar as much as possible, you're going to go through a big headache. You'll probably just then find out how many apps you're using are not open-source and there's no alternative versions of them. You can't use social media either, and your communication with others will have to go through some app like Signal.

You can use a Replicant-supported phone and get their OS on it (or buy one from Technoethical), this is the best fully-free OS I have found yet. Other alternatives I have seen are CopperheadOS (I wanted to install it on my older Nexus but I have never tried it, apparently it isn't supported anymore for Nexus; keep in mind it only supports a few phone models) and LineageOS.

Removing all Huawei or Google apps and services will also remove the app store. You can then opt for F-Droid and get open-source apps off their store. Good luck!

As opposed to authorised access? When Google was questioned by senators, Susan Molinari (VP for Policy) admitted that Google lets app developers access Gmail inboxes and read through users' personal mail. In one example, a third party marketing company called Return Path read literally thousands of unredacted personal emails. This is a bit over a year old, and Google said they would tighten things up, but tech companies say a lot of stuff and tend to ride ahead of the law... does anyone seriously think that a company that provides services "for free" is really not one where users and their data are being monetised?


Absolutely true, I agree 100%. Personally, as a westerner living in a western country, I would rather be spied upon by China than the US/UK/Five Eyes. If I lived in China, the opposite would be true and I'd be trying to ditch my Huawei instead.

^ Pretty much this. It depends on who you want to be spied by, either by China or the US.

Basically data is the current gold mine now. You want convenience, that comes at the expense of security. There's no in-between.

You will replace Google and NSA spyware with chinese spyware. And chinese spyware is of lower quality, it means some 3rd party can get unauthorized access to it.

I really have a lot of problems trying to disable Google apps and Microsoft stuff. The new Google free phones from Huawei have a massive appeal for me, but it doesn't look as if we can get them in the UK for a reasonable price.

Do any of you guys want to be Google free on your phones?