I have switched everything to privacy alternatives is it safe to delete my Google account or is it needed for some android features also if I delete my account does Google delete all my data if not, can I request the deletion of my data under the GDPR

  • Samsuma@lemmy.ml
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    3 days ago

    Google Account deletion in theory should delete all data stored in Google, but that theory rests on Google following up on what basically amounts to a pinky promise. As long as you don’t have anything important stored anywhere, like in your Google Drive/Photos, etc…, it should be fine.

  • Spykee@lemmings.world
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    3 days ago

    You can delete Google from your life.
    But Google will never delete you from within itself.
    You will live in its memory forever.

  • jet@hackertalks.com
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    3 days ago

    Google will eventually delete your data, eventually. You can request the gdpr deletion.

    Depending on your phone, you might find life easier with Google account, but it doesn’t need to be your old Google account. It could be a throwaway. Mostly for Play store access. Other than that it’s not necessary

    Before you delete your account, make sure you use Google takeout to get all of your data and archive it for your purposes

  • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works
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    3 days ago

    by default they require a google account to be able to access the play store on android, but you can use the aurora store app to access it without a google account. you can find it on f-droid.

    though be aware that in a year or two google wants to lock out all apps they don’t like, by inserting a check into your phone so that only apps approved by them can be installed from any store. aurora, newpipe and lots of others are not expected to make it.
    you are affected if you have google services installed to your phone. this includes if you have the factory operating system on it.

        • ZinQ@lemmy.ml
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          12 hours ago

          Since you get your apps straight from the source. Also F-droid is recommended against in Privacyguides. And lastly you can download F-droid apps in obtainium. Just make sure to use Appverifier or at least compare hashes if Appverifier doesn’t support the app

          • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works
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            9 hours ago

            oh and also, nobody really verifies what gets into an apk uploaded to github releases. but f-droid does have an array of checks, and I like that they can catch if an app tried something fishy or had a build accident (like accidentally including google servifes dependencies that automatically run code, because another new or updated dependency pulled it in). in the past there were occasions where an app got unlisted, and when I went looking for the reason it was either developer negligence, or sometimes changes that were really not too good.

            • ZinQ@lemmy.ml
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              3 hours ago

              Last thing, I trust Appverifer more than I trust F-droid verification

            • ZinQ@lemmy.ml
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              3 hours ago

              I think Obtainium is objectively better since you have 24 sources including F-droid and Google play store with Shizuku or Sui

            • ZinQ@lemmy.ml
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              3 hours ago

              “Due to their process of building apps, apps in the official F-Droid repository often fall behind on updates. F-Droid maintainers also reuse package IDs while signing apps with their own keys, which is not ideal as it gives the F-Droid team ultimate trust. Additionally, the requirements for an app to be included in the official F-Droid repo are less strict than other app stores like Google Play, meaning that F-Droid tends to host a lot more apps which are older, unmaintained, or otherwise no longer meet modern security standards.” This is what PrivacyGuides says. Also you have Appverifier integration in Obtainium which verifies signatures or smth, I know it’s a lot better than comparing hashes

          • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works
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            9 hours ago

            I see, that’s fair. Personally I trust f-droid more. also I was surprised to notice recently that obtanium just added a china specific app source that is default enabled in the search menu. that store is not really known in the global android community.

            • ZinQ@lemmy.ml
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              3 hours ago

              I don’t think adding a Chinese source is necessarily bad, what if they have users in china that want local apps?

  • wunderkatze@discuss.tchncs.de
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    3 days ago

    I would not recommend acual deleting it. Save and delete all your data. Set a new very long password (they allow up to 128 char.). Then never use it again. This prevents impersonation. Nobody knows if/when your account nicht be available sometime after deleting it. Also, if you forget to change your e-mail adress you still have access.

  • Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org
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    3 days ago

    does Google delete all my data

    LOL No, they never delete.

    Harddisks are cheap, especially when you buy thousands of them.

    What you should do: a few days before you set the deleted flag to your account, clear all the data fields that can be empty, and change the ones that cannot be empty. Change them to contain only nonsense. Everything. Your name, your password etc.

    • Leon@pawb.social
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      3 days ago

      There’s definitely history for this. Don’t think it’ll achieve much.

    • Comrade Rain@lemmygrad.ml
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      3 days ago

      What you should do: a few days before you set the deleted flag to your account, clear all the data fields that can be empty, and change the ones that cannot be empty. Change them to contain only nonsense. Everything. Your name, your password etc.

      I doubt this would make much sense since they probably store older revisions of (most) data. You yourself said hard disks are cheap.

      • AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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        3 days ago

        I would try removing your Google account from the phone in settings and see what happens (before you delete the account). If you can survive with the results, go for it!