29
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by helmet91@lemmy.world to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

Given the recent news about Google's hardening of sideloaded apps, I need to speed up my efforts to get rid of Google services.

However, there are a few apps/infrastructures that I'm really struggling to find a replacement for, because I happen to be in a long distance relationship with my girlfriend and I often travel to South-East Asia.

Banking

Maybe the easier part is the banking: currently I use ING, Revolut and Wise.

  • ING is my main account that I trust. Employers in Germany sometimes require a German bank account, it's not enough to simply have a German IBAN. ~~For this, I've been thinking of N26. It seems like they have a full-featured web interface, so the app is probably not mandatory. Does anyone have any experience with them?~~ Edit: as someone pointed out, N26 requires a smartphone app for Android (with Play Services) or iOS. So N26 is off the table.
  • Revolut's web interface is not complete, so I cannot use it in the future.
  • Wise does have a full-featured web interface, but I still need to experiment whether I can actually transfer money to Asian bank accounts.

"Asian infrastructure"

Now this is the real headache. In South-East Asian countries, people only know WhatsApp. It's considered as a must-have. If anyone wants to contact you, it's either WhatsApp or it's not happening. And the other thing is Grab for an Uber-like service plus for food delivery, as well as groceries. Since in many of these countries it's simply not an option to walk, this is an important app. I'd be interested in some insights from locals, how do they manage to live there without Grab and WhatsApp.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: typo

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] kayazere@feddit.nl 3 points 1 month ago

N26 requires you to have their app installed to confirm the web logins.

[-] helmet91@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Ah damnit, you're right. I took a closer look, and indeed a smartphone app is mandatory, with Play Services enabled on Android. So N26 is off the table.

For completeness, see:

this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025
29 points (100.0% liked)

DeGoogle Yourself

13955 readers
126 users here now

A community for those that would like to get away from Google.

Here you may post anything related to DeGoogling, why we should do it or good software alternatives!

Rules

  1. Be respectful even in disagreement

  2. No advertising unless it is very relevent and justified. Do not do this excessively.

  3. No low value posts / memes. We or you need to learn, or discuss something.

Related communities

!privacyguides@lemmy.one !privacy@lemmy.ml !privatelife@lemmy.ml !linuxphones@lemmy.ml !fossdroid@social.fossware.space !fdroid@lemmy.ml

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS