[greentea23]

Degoogling is a misnomer imo. It's not about not using anything from Google or Apple at all. They both contribute to Linux, clang/llvm and other core open software tooling after all. It's about not using unaudited closed source code which cannot be proven to be secure or private, as well as getting away from the online services Google/Apple bake into their operating systems that spy on and tell on users as a requirement to boot the device at all. There's also some cool features that are blocked by both. Since AOSP is open source and the API is easy to target by 3rd party app stores, it's perfectly legitimate to use it as a starting point. There may come a day where Google stops releasing it in such a usable way though, and a more complete fork will be necessary to maintain OS sovereignty.

[flas9sd]

> It's about not using unaudited closed source code which cannot be proven to be secure or private [..]

Degoogling is not deblobbing and Lineage or /e/ use plenty of closed source software during runtime. The top parent and DivestOS author really is deblobbing* to some degree, but forks of LineageOS that introduce measures of "degoogling" hold onto vendor firmware blobs on androids /vendor partition for functionality. Those aren't known for connecting to the Google hivemind though.

* https://github.com/Divested-Mobile/DivestOS-Build/blob/de3ba...

My interpretation of the term degoogling fits the second part of your sentence, "getting away from online services": it is user agency in what network connections can occur, so either by default or optionally users can stop any signaling coming from the device they use. They don't have that freedom with the software the device came with.

[notyoutube]

Better phrased than I did, thanks. How feasible do you think such an endeavour would be? What are the roadblocks to people doing that right now?

[greentea23]

Sadly it's pretty hard. I have had a great experience with Lineage OS for several years now. Installing a custom ROM is not that hard imo, but it is scary to most and few flagship devices allow it. But I think more competition will be the key to more freedom and openness, and that is coming: Google is being pressured to embrace 3rd party app stores, and Apple is being pressured to allow side loading in Europe. Also things like RISC-V and the growing open source hardware movement are shaking things up. The death of Moore's law will also bring more competition into chip design in the coming decade which could help to establish more open standards and options in the market.