this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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33
Is Graphene the only possible way to use google maps almost anonimously? (feddit.it)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by dontblink@feddit.it to c/android@lemmy.world
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I've been proudly using Lineage OS with microg on my phone for a while now, and while it wasn't ideal, it was good for my daily use.

Now that i'm traveling, however, i really miss some important features, like a properly working geolocation service (i'm using the Mozilla one and it's slow and buggy), and a proper navigator, sad to say that google maps works just too well for certain things like buses or trains.

Magic earth was okay till i moved with car, i could get a position on google maps and then get there with my car and the navigator was working good, however when i need to move by foot or transports is terrible, it takes 10 minutes to find your position approximatively, only working with mobile data, and it doesn't follow you when you move..

So i found myself in some unhappy situations where i would need to rely on someone else's phone to not get lost in a city or to call an uber to my right location. I also got lost when i needed to move only by walking. Of course you can get wherever you want with older methods, like asking to people or signs, but sometimes you just need quick solutions that are reliable.

Is there any real way to use gmaps unonimously except that with the containerized version that graphebe offers?

I do not really want to buy a Pixel and give google more money.

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[–] NicoTimoNemo@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There is nothing anonymous about using Gmaps on Graphene nor any OS for that matter. If you install the app on your phone, Google will receive all your queries and what not.

You just have to get comfortable with planning ahead instead of just winging it and looking up directions on the go. I know there are times you will still get lost especially when traveling through a new area but you can mitigate the number of times you need to check the map by planning ahead.

OSMand is the only one with accurate public transit directions. Magic Earth does not provide all transit options.

Lastly, don't worry about having to pay for a Google phone. It's just a drop in the ocean and afterall it's not your money they want. It's your data.

[–] dontblink@feddit.it 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah but with graphene at least you can limit the permissions google maps has and treat the app like every other normal app, isolated and not able to grab informations if you're not using it, i wonder if there's a way to use it with an anonymous google account just like Aurora.

Yeah sure planning ahead helps, but it's difficult when everyone else you are with has a different workflow or if something unexpected happens..

I will try osmand again for public transports, but the problem is sometimes with the mozilla geolocation services (default in lineage) you get your position after 10 minutes (or you just don't get it sometimes) and it isn't precise at all, in my experience it was working well with car but by foot it just can't sort out where you are..

For the google phone it's not just the thing of giving money to google, it's also that i'm tired of phones you cannot unmount, change battery or other basic pieces like the screen, i would get a fairphone, but i'm not really sure the price is worth it.

[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

i don't know how anonymous it is, but there's GMaps WV

i use organic maps and keep that 👆 installed for occasional satellite images

[–] dontblink@feddit.it 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It does work for maps, but doesn't get your location so it's not very good for navigation

[–] PrepaidCompare@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Gmaps WV does use your location. It should prompt you to allow location when you tap the bullseye icon. It doesn't do spoken turn by turn navigation, however.

[–] c0mmando@links.hackliberty.org 5 points 1 year ago

You can't use online maps anonymously. Even if you downloaded offline Google Maps, you cant trust Google not to upload your historical data the moment you get internet connection.

Organic Maps and Osmand+ work on Graphene without google play services and 100% offline.

[–] skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know if it's missing any features or whatever but what about the web version? maps.google.com works fine in Firefox for me. For turn by turn navigation you'll need something else, but you can use Google Maps to get the address of your destination and plug it into something like OSMAnd or Organic Maps for that.

Location services are hard and I don't think there's a good alternative to Google's services. For privacy preservation can switch over to GPS only, which should almost anywhere (at the cost of more battery life). If it takes forever to get a lock, you may have disabled AGPS somehow, and you may want to look into enabling thst again.

[–] dontblink@feddit.it 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah the web version is cool but it doesn't give you the navigation and can't find your position, usually i wouldsearch for a destination in webview and open it in another nav, but that doesn't work well if you are by foot for example...

But that might actually be the case tho, because i don't get any position without my cellphone data active (only with GPS it can't find a position) that might explain why it gets so long sometimes.

[–] yoz@aussie.zone -1 points 1 year ago

Nice

[–] verysoft@kbin.social -4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Dont bother with graphene, project owner is a little crazy.

[–] random65837@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Aside from that being totally irrelevant, the "owner" doesnt develop it anymore, and you're clearly not aware of his history. Feel free to mention an OS that even remote compares to Graphene from a security standpoint.