#DailyBloggingChallenge (166/200)

After using #GrapheneOS for 6 months, I sadly caved and set up #GoogleServices (GS).

A couple things surprised me:

1. Most proprietary apps that I am using from #Aurora don’t need GS to function (one might be missing some features).
2. There are some pesky apps that complain about missing GS, though after closing the popup/modal, one is good for the session.
3. Even worse than 2. are apps that don’t inform the user that they need GS to load. This either announces itself by being stuck in the loading screen or freezes up on their initial page.
4. Lots of travel apps use #GoogleMaps and thus they complain, although they usually would be better off with #OpenStreetMap, which in return could reduce loading times.
5. Would have continued using a GS free phone if only the apps wouldn’t force the user to install their app. On accounts where GS was not initialized either a quick link or #PWA was added to the Home screen. If only there was a way to get access to the browser developer tools for mobile.
6. Before giving in, I managed with two #Android devices or via a computer. Noticed that some tasks diminished their quality of usage during the time (questioned if I really needed the services in the first place), thus to get the most effort per time segment, the GS route was chosen.