I Quit These 6 Popular Apps to Regain Control of My Phone

I can say, without hesitation, that I love my smartphone. These words did not come easy to me. For years, I hated this device. I wish my family members didn’t pressure me to have one. But I have since taken steps to reclaim this device that for so long did not feel like my own. That starts with removing many of the most popular apps.

Say goodbye to Google Chrome

Samsung Internet is my preferred browser

Google Chrome was once a rudimentary upstart browser, with a good chance of overthrowing Internet Explorer’s dominance. Now it is ubiquitous. It ships on most smartphones in the world and downloads on many of the remaining ones. The browser also tracks and monetizes anything you use it for. It serves two masters: you and Google alike.

The best alternative is an open source browser, like Mozilla Firefox, which has more privacy credentials even despite its various bugs (after all, it includes Google as the default search). Unfortunately, Firefox for Android is designed with mainstream phones in mind and doesn’t scale well to the internal display of my book-style foldable Galaxy Z Fold 6 or Samsung DeX on my 4K monitor. For that reason, I had to look elsewhere.

Surprisingly, Samsung Internet is one of the best things about Galaxy phones. I’ve been able to do anything I used to do from desktop browsers over Samsung Internet, and it comes with built-in privacy features that Google Chrome doesn’t include. It may not be open source, but at least Samsung’s business model doesn’t depend entirely on collecting as much data as possible to sell ads. Also, despite the name, you don’t need a Samsung phone to download Samsung Internet.

No dependency on Todoist

Instead, I use my phone’s default to-do list app

I was one of the first users of Todoist. I remember when the app was first released and you’ll see my signature on some of Android Police Coverage on Todoist when I was a baby. Despite it being a phenomenal software, I didn’t use it for a long time. I didn’t like the idea of ​​being beholden to this online software that required a subscription, could disappear at any time, or (worse yet) be bought primarily for its data and provide some new corporation with years of knowledge about millions of people.

I have no doubt that Todoist is an even better software today than it was back then. We have people on our team who swear by it. Personally, I prefer to stick with a system that I can maintain for free using one of the countless task management apps out there.

i used to download Tasks.org from F-Droid, but here’s another area where I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the app that comes with my current phone. now I’m left with Samsung Reminders – The Ultimate To-Do App for Galaxy Devices.

Goodbye, Google Keep

Keeping it local with Samsung Notes

It may seem strange to include Google Keep and Todoist in the same list. After all, Google Keep can work as a free alternative to Todoist. But Keep is primarily a note-taking app, and it saves your notes on Google’s servers and encourages you to save them there. You can get your data, but you have to investigate.

You might be able to guess which app I use now instead of Google Keep, but I’ll tell you anyway. They are Samsung notes. I’m surprised to say this, but I think Samsung Notes is the best Samsung software. I won’t go into all the reasons here, but unlike Keep, Samsung Notes saves notes to my phone by default with the option to sync between devices. These notes are then easy to export in multiple formats, and the app even works as a PDF reader and editor.

If you want a web-based alternative to Google Keep that is open source and available for any device, then it may serve you better Standard Notes instead.

I can do better without Canva

The endless ways I design in my studio.

Canva is great software. I’ve seen my wife use it to create brochures for her dance business. I appreciate software that allows people to achieve tangible goals without having to earn a degree in design or programming. But it’s still a cloud-based app, and that’s how it feels.

I maintain a varied selection of applications for this type of work. Infinite design is a nifty application for editing vector graphics and professional photo studio It is my choice for editing photos, since it is included with Google Play Pass. They are both apps that live on my phone, not web services that I have to log into to use.

Drop Dropbox

The apps that keep my folders in sync

I was once a big fan of Dropbox. The idea of ​​being able to drop my laptop without fear of losing my data was magical. The idea of ​​being able to access those same files easily from any smartphone? Also magical. But then came the price increases and data breaches, followed by the realization that Dropbox has the ability to read anyone’s files at any time. No, thanks.

There are now multiple viable alternatives. proton propulsion It is the simplest, since it seems like a more basic version of Dropbox. I prefer to use Synchronizationwhich keeps files stored exclusively on my devices. Syncing data is different than having a backup, but I’ve made peace with that. Furthermore, I use FolderSync to sync copies of my files to an external SSD also.

I never really loved YouTube Music

Disrupting my local MP3s

To be honest, Google Play Music was more my thing before YouTube Music existed. It doesn’t really matter. You can insert any music streaming service here, whether it’s Spotify or Apple Music. I’m not interested in any of them. Instead, I prefer to buy and download MP3.. Without algorithms. No ads.

I could tell you what app I use to listen to those files, but it doesn’t really matter. If it is Samsung Musicbut there is nothing special about it that makes it superior to any other local music player. If I were to trade in my Galaxy Z Fold 6 for a Moto Razr Fold, I’d probably download assistant from F-Droid or frolomuse from the play store. The important thing is to have my own music, which I buy mainly through Bandcamp.

You don’t have to run with the crowd.

This list could go on. Android is my main desktop operating systemnot just the software that powers my phone. I made this decision in part because, despite Google’s influence and the chaos that is the app economy, Android remains an open ecosystem with many companies invested in its success. I feel more rooted here than if I were using Windows or macOS, both of which are completely controlled by one company. Besides, as CoPilot and Windows 11 have shown usThat feeling of loss of control is not exclusive to phones at all.

8/10

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