📱 💬 📍 #volla #phone #experience #google-free #maps #notifications #osm #tracker #privacy
Hi Telegram-friends!
I bought a new phone this year and have been using it for a few months now. It's the Volla Phone 22 - a Google-free Android phone, that focuses on privacy.
It took me some time to set it up (while making new discoveries and learning about new apps) and I believe I have everything I need for now; and am quite happy with it.
🪂 What I instantly noticed was that the phone is quite heavy with 215g and the surface of the back cover is very slippery. I already dropped my phone quite a few times. 😩
▶️ No Google play services: I have underestimated how many apps actually need Google play services to run. Of course you'd expect all Google apps to depend on them and I was prepared to live without them.
💬 However, I didn't expect that the notification system is also part of Google play services. So even though some apps can run normally, but they don't send you notifications if it's not opened and running in the foreground. 😅 Which means I have to regularly open the app to check if I have received new notifications. (Thank god, that there's a Telegram fork, that has removed the google-dependency)
🗺 Obviously, apps that require google maps such as city bike and car rental apps also don't work on my phone. (Youbike's website has up-to-date bike station info that I can use.) For navigation I have to use openstreetmap now and have also started contributing to map edits myself to help keep the map data up-to-date.
📍 Somehow the GPS signal is also very hard to get with the Volla Phone 22. Even after enabling discovery over Wifi and Bluetooth it took me once 30min or more to get the GPS signal. 😅
Eventually, I found that by using a GPS tracker app and enabling tracking helps me get a GPS signal faster (~5min).
🕵️♂️ In terms of privacy I am really sure that no google services are running on my phone. 😜
2️⃣ Apps can also not run in the background (without being in my notifications).
3️⃣ If apps haven't been used for some time all of their permissions will be stripped from them.
4️⃣ It's also very nice to know that when you turn things off (wifi, mobile data, bluetooth, location) they are really off.
🔍 A privacy app, that I discovered through the Volla community is Tracker control. It's an easy way to monitor and disable trackers for all apps installed on your phone. I would recommend this app if you want to see and block trackers for any app. However, be warned that it can also cause apps/websites from working.
💫 That's it for my brief Google-free phone experience report.
🙏 Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment if you want to know more about the phone or my experience with the phone.
❔ Would you get a Google-free Android phone?
🤳 https://t.me/chuen1/559
Hi Telegram-friends!
I bought a new phone this year and have been using it for a few months now. It's the Volla Phone 22 - a Google-free Android phone, that focuses on privacy.
It took me some time to set it up (while making new discoveries and learning about new apps) and I believe I have everything I need for now; and am quite happy with it.
🪂 What I instantly noticed was that the phone is quite heavy with 215g and the surface of the back cover is very slippery. I already dropped my phone quite a few times. 😩
▶️ No Google play services: I have underestimated how many apps actually need Google play services to run. Of course you'd expect all Google apps to depend on them and I was prepared to live without them.
💬 However, I didn't expect that the notification system is also part of Google play services. So even though some apps can run normally, but they don't send you notifications if it's not opened and running in the foreground. 😅 Which means I have to regularly open the app to check if I have received new notifications. (Thank god, that there's a Telegram fork, that has removed the google-dependency)
🗺 Obviously, apps that require google maps such as city bike and car rental apps also don't work on my phone. (Youbike's website has up-to-date bike station info that I can use.) For navigation I have to use openstreetmap now and have also started contributing to map edits myself to help keep the map data up-to-date.
📍 Somehow the GPS signal is also very hard to get with the Volla Phone 22. Even after enabling discovery over Wifi and Bluetooth it took me once 30min or more to get the GPS signal. 😅
Eventually, I found that by using a GPS tracker app and enabling tracking helps me get a GPS signal faster (~5min).
🕵️♂️ In terms of privacy I am really sure that no google services are running on my phone. 😜
2️⃣ Apps can also not run in the background (without being in my notifications).
3️⃣ If apps haven't been used for some time all of their permissions will be stripped from them.
4️⃣ It's also very nice to know that when you turn things off (wifi, mobile data, bluetooth, location) they are really off.
🔍 A privacy app, that I discovered through the Volla community is Tracker control. It's an easy way to monitor and disable trackers for all apps installed on your phone. I would recommend this app if you want to see and block trackers for any app. However, be warned that it can also cause apps/websites from working.
💫 That's it for my brief Google-free phone experience report.
🙏 Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment if you want to know more about the phone or my experience with the phone.
❔ Would you get a Google-free Android phone?
🤳 https://t.me/chuen1/559
📍 🗺 👤 #opentracks #privacy #gps #outdoor #sports #tracker #offline #OSM #openstreetmaps
Hi Telegram friends!
💡 After switching to a google free phone, I found this privacy focused GPS tracker app opentracks. I've been using it for a while now and can only recommend it for people, who like to track outdoor activities. (The version on Play store is only available with a donation. Alternatively, you can get it on F-Droid.)
📝 The app basically just writes the recorded GPS data on to your phone and doesn't upload it to the internet. In fact you don't need the internet to use it. (It doesn't consume much battery I find.)
🗺 To view the data on a map you can use the OSMDashboard and you need the openstreetmap data downloaded on your phone. (If you haven't got an OSM app I'd recommend the lightweight app OrganicMaps.)
📊 Of course, you'll have stats like duration, distance and speed; and you can view elevation and speed on a graph.
📌 You can also add markers during the recording with a little note or picture to record your activity or a certain spot. For example I mark when I take a longer break in the activity, but don't want to stop the recording.
🖼 I've uploaded some of screenshots of my tracks in the comments. 😉
You can track all kinds of transportation vehicles.
Thanks for reading!
💬 Let me know what GPS or sports tracking app you use and what you think of opentracks. 😊
🛥https://t.me/chuen1/563
Hi Telegram friends!
💡 After switching to a google free phone, I found this privacy focused GPS tracker app opentracks. I've been using it for a while now and can only recommend it for people, who like to track outdoor activities. (The version on Play store is only available with a donation. Alternatively, you can get it on F-Droid.)
📝 The app basically just writes the recorded GPS data on to your phone and doesn't upload it to the internet. In fact you don't need the internet to use it. (It doesn't consume much battery I find.)
🗺 To view the data on a map you can use the OSMDashboard and you need the openstreetmap data downloaded on your phone. (If you haven't got an OSM app I'd recommend the lightweight app OrganicMaps.)
📊 Of course, you'll have stats like duration, distance and speed; and you can view elevation and speed on a graph.
📌 You can also add markers during the recording with a little note or picture to record your activity or a certain spot. For example I mark when I take a longer break in the activity, but don't want to stop the recording.
🖼 I've uploaded some of screenshots of my tracks in the comments. 😉
You can track all kinds of transportation vehicles.
Thanks for reading!
💬 Let me know what GPS or sports tracking app you use and what you think of opentracks. 😊
🛥https://t.me/chuen1/563