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Phone + OS review: Google Pixel 9a and GrapheneOS
(typekmatus.blogspot.com)
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this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2025
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DeGoogle Yourself
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Do you even hear yourself?
"GrapheneOS isn't really degoogled"
"GrapheneOS doesn't come with Play Services pre-installed, but they make it super easy to add"
So in your estimation it would be only degoogled if they made it difficult to add instead of super easy? What are you even talking about dude?
Also, you don't have to buy the pixel from Google. You can get one refurbished or used.
What I mean is quite clearly explained in my post above... GrapheneOS only offers Play Store integration, not microG, while microG is a great Google alternative for Play Services. So basically, with GrapheneOS you're not only tied to a Google device, but also to Google Play Services, all 30 or something of them. How is that being deGoogled? As I said, for deGoogling there are better options: those that don't use Google Play Services but microG (most other custom Roms) and those that support other devices than Google Pixels
You are NOT tied to Google play services on gOS. An OPTIONAL sandboxed version of play services, without the system level privileges, is offered.
Also, consider the reasons for degoogling. For many, it is privacy. GrapheneOS is currently the only player on the field with any serious level of security.
Well you are tied to Play Services if you want to run most apps, which all require Play Services to some degree. I'm not saying you can't use GrapheneOS without Play Services, of course you can, just like AOSP, your phone just won't run most apps (well). My points remains: GrapheneOS only supports Google Play Services while there is a great non-Google alternative available + they only support Google devices when there is a whole marketplace full of other devices. In the area of deGoogling they do poorly
MicroG is insecure software and there isn’t a single ROM that uses it that passes even basic security checks. Low tier Chinese hardware is more secure than the best ROM using microG, including /e/OS.
This is important because microG contains all sorts of cool stuff that will help break Google's monopoly over the Android ecosystem at some point, like UnifiedPush, an alternative to Google's push notification system. That's why they are better. By offering support for Google Play Services but not microG, the monopoly of Google and the continued use of Play Services is supported, which imo it should not be