[Karunamon]

Play is a Google service. It kind of smacks of something beginning with "h" and ending with "ypocrisy" when you still use a Google service after going through the requisite self-flagellation to go out of your way to not use them, and then write a tone-deaf article on how awesome it is to do so.

It doesn't make much sense that someone would go through all this effort to ditch a company and still use one of their flagship products. That would be like me swearing off Apple and still carrying an iPhone.

[nilved]

Android and Play aren't synonymous. You can use Android without any trace of Google on your system; and, since Android is open source, it can be verified none of your information is being leaked.