“You know,” I texted Roger, “we’re turning into the two old guys wearing tin foil hats.”

“Eh,” he replied, “it’s a drop in the ocean. But what is an ocean but a large collection of drops?”

Roger and I have been on a similar journey. Ever since the election of the orange buffoon and the slow erosion of decency on social media, we’ve been pulling back—cutting ties with as much of the online world as possible. I ditched Twitter long ago when Musk took over, but this latest push had me deprioritising Facebook and Instagram, shifting instead to Bluesky and Pixelfed. I downloaded Signal rather than WhatsApp. It’s not the easiest shift—most of my friends are still on the old platforms—but it’s a step in the right direction.

Someone on Bluesky made a point that hit home: these companies aren’t tech services; they’re advertising giants. And that realisation started to gnaw at me.

The biggest culprit? Google. It’s everywhere. Maps, Mail, Pay, Chrome, Keyboard—it’s woven into the fabric of daily life. So much so that there’s a hashtag for those trying to escape: #degoogle.

I had an old Pixel 5 lying around, its camera busted. Loved that phone, though. Small, light, elegant—not like the brick that is my Pixel 8 Pro. It charged fast, lasted all day (once I replaced the original battery), and had great cameras (well, used to). But the problem? No more security updates. If I was serious about degoogling, I needed a plan.

Turns out, there are quite a few alternative operating systems. Two stood out: GrapheneOS and CalyxOS. They exist thanks to an Android loophole.

Back in the day, when Android was just another contender against Apple, the mobile OS world was full of options. Nokia had Symbian, Microsoft pushed Windows Phone, and BlackBerry had—well, BlackBerry OS. The problem? They were proprietary. Google took a different approach: Android was originally open-source, luring manufacturers into adopting it. But as time went on, Google slowly locked down features, introducing the Play Store in 2012 as the gatekeeper to key functionalities. Graphene, CalyxOS, and others are built on that original open-source Android core.

Graphene is the go-to for security-first users, but it no longer supports the Pixel 5. CalyxOS does—until August, anyway. Good enough. If nothing else, it would give me a taste of what life without Google might be like.

I followed CalyxOS’s instructions carefully. A few heart-stopping moments later, I had a fully installed, degoogled Pixel 5.

CalyxOS offers two main ways to install apps: F-Droid and Aurora. I knew F-Droid—it’s a repository for open-source apps. Aurora, on the other hand, is an anonymous front for Google Play, offering access to the usual apps without logging in.

So, after a few days—how’s it going? Pretty well. Some apps that rely heavily on Google refuse to work, but there aren’t many. Some banking apps, but you can still access them through the web. Two notable absences: NFC payments (so no Google Pay—probably a good thing, given the bank fees that come with tap payments) and Android Auto, though some users have reportedly found workarounds. Not an issue for me—I drive a 13-year-old car and use OsmAnd on the bike. Google apps are technically available if you choose to log in, but that kind of defeats the point of degoogling. Interestingly, Google Maps works, but with limitations—no saving locations, no tracking. Perfect.

For tracking, I stuck a Tile on my key fob so Dalma can see where I am. Low-tech, but effective.

Will I stick with it? For now, yes. My Pixel 8 remains my Google-connected device, but who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll ditch Google entirely.

PS. Coincidentally, I read this on Reddit today.

Disclaimer: I’m not telling you to try this. You can brick your phone. It will void your warranty. If you do it, it’s entirely on you.