[2Gkashmiri]

whoa. this is one reason i am STILL NOT ON WHATSAPP..... seriously.

this comes from back when truecaller was introduced and i had an iphone. saw permission to access contacts. never used the app, even today. same for whatsapp or facebook. call me paranoid, but i don't want being "linked". same reason i dont have a google account and even though i have been using an android device for the past 2 years, there is no account and i use something like aurora store to get apps. works decent enough

[jlokier]

I have a "junk" Google account on my phone. It's not linked to anything except my phone. I don't even know the account name.

It means I can't use in-app payments, and will never pay for an app, but at least I can download essential (to me) apps like banking apps from the Play store.

[2Gkashmiri]

oh. why dont you try aurora store? that app allows you to download actual play store apps which is what i use. it uses anonymous google accounts to login and give you access.

[jlokier]

Thanks! I don't know if I will, because I'm loathe to mess with something so life-critical that is working, but I appreciate the pointer.