I jumped through hoops with the Samsung. ADB-ed the hexk out of it and broke functionality in so many ways.

If I can save you the effort - DON'T even bother trying. There is just too much interconnectedness to undo without breakage.

I moved to a hunch of Pixels running Graphene and have lived happily ever after.

With the added Israeli spyware coming to Samsung, I cannot think of any reason to put any effort into it.

Additional info: Skip the Pixel 6 and 7. Its better to spend a little more in the Pixel 8. I got mine used and its brilliant. I also liked how the Pixels 4 and 5 were as well. Very good devices.

Fellow Samsung user here:
NO(especially after the removal for bootloader unlocking)

Go get a Pixel 7 or 8 and install Graphene OS.

Take off all that shit with Shizuku and Canta. Leave play store alone so you don't brick your stuff. Just use Canta to disable it. Get NextDNS and start using the built in filters. No Google is a good one.

I bought an S25 and just gave up. Got the new Fairphone 6 with e/os and never been happier. Spoofed IP, fake geolocation, detection of trackers in apps built in. Then I just use NextDNS and am happy.

When I use a Samsung, I use a firewall to block connections to samsung.com.

No, IMO. For a real private android experience you have to switch to Lineage or Graphene and F-droid apps. I'm writing this from a Galaxy A5 2016 with LineageOS with F-droid only apps in one (main) profile and WhatsApp and a couple of other (in my case, sadly unavoidable) proprietary apps in another profile.

Here is a list of supported phones by LineageOS in case you are willing to switch.

Yes. I have an s22 and am stuck with it just like you, I would love a google pixel.

I have gone through all the "trouble" of doing all that and it's definetely worthwhile, you can get rid of a lot of unessesary things. Definetly DON'T sign up for a samsung account, although it will try very hard to make you sign up.

F-droid isn't a pain, it's an awesomeness. Everytime you try to download a simple app like a stopwatch or something it's usually really bad and littered with spyware and ads, the developers who make these apps don't use the apps themselves. The quality of F-droid apps and other open source apps are so much better while having better privacy.

Check this out. It may help. universal android debloater next generation

Not worth, samsung is terrible and they do not care about the freedom of modifying your phone.

Worth it, especially if you are stuck with the phone. Find FOSS equivalents of the built-in utilities (gallery, files, etc.), disable what you can with uad-ng, block the apps that can't be disable from network access using Rethink DNS, and use the websites of services on a computer instead of apps whenever possible.

It's still far from what privacy ROMs can do for you, but until you can get a GrapheneOS, etc. friendly phone, taking some action is much better than just letting the spyware run wild.

Im stuck with an s23 for a while yet. Is it even worth the trouble of trying to use f droid, shutting off google play services and disabling all the other shit on my phone, when at its core its all spyware?

it of course is.

i'm guessing you already know how to debloat your phone using adb.

in addition to what's already posted you can use a private dns that filters system trackers as well ☞ https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

keep in mind, netGuard (or rethink) is less efficient when you use private dns

I really wish an alternative existed that wasn't just a prototype or $1000.

a reconditioned second hand pixel or 1+ from a trusted seller must be less than 200. if you go for a nonPixel, check before buying if the model is supported on https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

Hi there! I mentioned this in the other thread but I'll go into more detail here. GrapheneOS was created as a replacement operating system for mobile devices. It's based on Android, but improves security and removes the invasive surveillance. It's currently only available to install on Google Pixel devices, because while Google is bad with privacy, they are good with security. In 2026-2027 GrapheneOS plans to release their own smartphone in partnership with an OEM. GrapheneOS has 400,000 users and counting. Linux phones have a lot of security issues, especially when rooted. GrapheneOS worth looking into. You can buy a Pixel for around $200 second hand, that way you don't line Google's pockets to get one.

I've had my J7 for almost 10 years now. It's got TWRP and I have root access with majisk. While this particular model is not supported in GrapheneOS or even LineageOS, I still did my best to personalize it, so I gutted it with SDMaid and removed all the bloat I could (be careful if you're going to do this, since there are some apps that look like bloat but are actually quite necessary). I also use Termux with root access sometimes (be careful). Personally I don't think I'm ever changing it until I lose it or it breaks.

Samsung is shit.

I just got a new phone when my old be crapped out on me while in Vietnam, and the local guy I found who deals in cash only had iphones or Samsungs. So, I held my nose and got a Jump2.

I've been through, disabled as much as possible, added fdroid stuff for all the daily use things, and put a killswitch VPN on.

Seems to be doing alright ... I'm not obsessive about security, and I need Play Store stuff for work, so this is about as good as it gets, lol

Yes, getting started is still a start. Also means your workflow will be as ready as can be for GOS

You sound not yet ready to unplug 😃

But to provide another perspective, havent used a Samsung phone for 10yrs. I generally buy a cheap phone with as little as possible preinstalled spyware. Except for browsing and messaging, every app I use daily comes from fdroid.

I'm on the same phone. I fucking hate this thing. Screw Samsung I don't even know who to go to next though

it's not bad when Universal Android Debloater is used. I've used an Android 13 based samsung device for a year, debloated to hell with UAD and there were no weird network requests happening other than NTP timesync and google connectivitycheck. Do run RethinkDNS in allowlist mode though, just in case.

If you have an unlockable bootloader (specific region and not upgraded to OneUI 8 yet), just install a custom rom.

Yes, it makes switching easier.