Google Play Services Explained: What It Collects and How GrapheneOS Gives You Control

Have you ever wondered what apps on your phone would work without Google? In the case of Apple, it has its own "walled garden" so for an iPhone, nothing would work without Apple. However, Google is a little different. There are some things that can work on a mainstream Google Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) phone without Google. And there are some things that don't work... yet.

Before I jump in, I want to provide a little background that you should know to understand this post, like what is Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) actually and how Google Play Services relates to Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. .

A quick note on Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc)

I'm going to mention the Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) Open Source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. Project ( AOSP Android Open Source Project ) in this post, so I want to talk about what it is and how it's related to Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. very briefly. AOSP Android Open Source Project is an open source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. project, owned by Google, that provides an operating system The core software that manages a computer and lets applications run. This would be Windows or MacOS on computers, Android or iOS for phones, for example. for mobile devices. Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) is the base for non-Apple and non- Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. phones as well as some tablets, smartwatches, TVs, VR headsets, and more. Open source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. means that the code is available for others to build upon it or " fork a separate copy of someone else's code base... unless I'm talking about cutlery. Use your judgement. it," meaning they take it and make their own thing.

what is open source

Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. is able to take the free and open AOSP Android Open Source Project code, and they build from it in order to create their own operating system The core software that manages a computer and lets applications run. This would be Windows or MacOS on computers, Android or iOS for phones, for example. , ensuring privacy-minded users have a secure alternative to mainstream Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) devices. So Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. is based on the same code that your average off-the-shelf, non-Apple phone is.

What is Google Play Services?

Google Play Services is the orchestrator of many things Google on an Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) phone. It coordinates apps and communicates with Google servers so apps can work as intended and sync your Google data across apps, meaning simply that it can bring all your Google stuff together. It's how your cloud storage on Google Photos can integrate easily with the Google Camera app. It's how your texts and conversations with friends can persist in your profile settings and data that belong to one user or session with the Google Messages app signed in to your account. It's also how Google's push notification service can work for the many apps (Google or not) that use it.

See this post for more about how push notifications work.

Who cares?

If you're coming at this from a privacy concern, you'll want to think about what Google Play Services is collecting. I like Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. for a lot of reasons, but one is because I believe the data going out from my phone is a lot less. Google handles some data locally on your phone and collects some that it stores in its servers. My privacy phone reduces what's sent out. If you don't include Google Play Services on your Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. phone, it should be even less than that.

I want to point out that some people want to have things like web search history, YouTube watch history, and location history turned on so that they have a protective trail of information about themselves. There are two downsides to this.

1. One is you don't control that data since your location history, for example, sits on Google-controlled servers. However, it can be protective to have this information. If AI identifies you as a suspect, but you weren't even in the same state, your location history can be a piece of evidence to prove your own innocence.

2. Two, it can also be intrusive and can be used against you. It could be used to mark you as a suspect when you've simply been near something, like in the case of geofence warrants. According to The Guardian, there was a burglary in Florida, and police asked Google to hand over information on all the devices near the home that was broken into. One guy was just riding his bike through the neighborhood and was marked as a suspect in the case

These are the kinds of things I think about as a regular person who wants to have that paper trail, but one that I control and store for myself. Google Play Services is a big part of this because Google is kinda everywhere.

You can say bye to Google Play Services

In GrapheneOS An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. , you have the option to avoid using Google services altogether. A phone with no Google services on it is typically referred to as a de-Googled typically refers to a device that has no Google-owned services or apps on it phone. An Apple iPhone is not considered a de-Googled typically refers to a device that has no Google-owned services or apps on it phone because it's just a whole different animal.

I use a couple of Google apps on my Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. phone

Google Play Services, as I said above, is the app that coordinates a lot of things in the Google ecosystem, but also it fills in gaps from AOSP Android Open Source Project . For example, there is code in AOSP Android Open Source Project for features that are incomplete. Google creates proprietary apps and features that fill in the gaps for these shortcomings. That means GrapheneOS An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. needs to address these types of issues in their own code when they pull from the AOSP Android Open Source Project .

I use Google Play Services because one app I use needs Google's services for its push notifications pop ups on your phone that alert you to messages from your friends or apps . I also use it because I want RCS chat in my messaging app. Google also has the only map apps I know that will account for traffic, and sometimes I need that. I more often use OSMAnd~ for directions, but recently started testing Mapquest, which shows the outlined route line better.

Regular Google Play has special access

In a typical, mainstream Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) phone, Google Play Services is able to access a broad set of a device's capabilities that other apps don't have. For example, it can control hardware and system services, collect data from and about apps that are installed, and extend functionality that isn't available to normal third-party apps.

Other apps are able to snoop on a remarkably large amount of data on your phone, but they've got nothing on Google Play Services. On a Google-certified device with Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) , Google Play has special privileges, allowing it to integrate the different pieces of the Google ecosystem, as well as provide features that ordinary AOSP Android Open Source Project is lacking under the hood. This allows a lot of things to happen seamlessly on a stock off-the-shelf Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) phone.

However, it's also responsible for intrusive pop ups, ad integration, and an extreme amount of data collection on you and your family and friends. That data collected is used and some (or all?) is shared and monetized. They've got "privacy policies" a mile long, with technical "gotchas." I don't have time to decipher that.

Google Play Services is sandboxed in Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones.

It has to ask permission rather than forgiveness

You may hear from reading online that Google Play Services is sandboxed in GrapheneOS An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. . A different type of "walled garden" if you will. In other words,it doesn't have the privilege I just talked about in the section above. It's treated like a normal app. If it wants to access sensors, location, microphone, camera, etc, it has to be granted that permission by you.

I like this because the last two Android the system running most smartphones (like Pixel, Samsung, LG, etc) phones would turn on my Wi-Fi when I had it off, and my phone would connect to open or strange networks without my permission. I always choose the "don't connect to unknown Wi-Fi networks" and settings like that on my phones, so I was very displeased when my disabled Wi-Fi would be turned on and connected to that Comcast "free public wifi" that Comcast does, or something else.

GrapheneOS An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. , on the other hand, is obedient, and I like that. When my mic is off, it's not turning back on without me doing it. I've never caught my Wi-Fi acting out of pocket when I'm out and about. My Bluetooth stays off unless I turn it on. Location and camera stay off when I turn them off.

Compatibility layer so it works with Google services

Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. handled this sandbox a limited area for a program, limiting its access to other things feature gracefully, partly by including a compatibility layer that interacts with Google Play Services when needed. This means there's a program that can handle the hand-off between what you want to do and Google Play Services requests. For example, it reroutes location requests to another Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. program that can fill in missing location if you choose to turn that off, or it can provide an approximate location if you choose that instead. The sandboxing and compatibility layer make it all work together.

You can even opt-in to using Google's location service if you want. But the nice thing is you have a choice. And it's an OPT-IN choice that's not difficult, rather than the default for big tech, which has required us to jump through hoops in order to opt out of something we don't like.

Conclusion

The Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. team found a brilliant way to allow Google services for those of us who still need it while enjoying many benefits of their privacy OS. Google Play Services is sandboxed and constrained to be like any other app, requesting permission rather than taking control. What this means for your daily life is you get some control of your device back.

What impact would Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. 's sandboxed Google Play have on your daily life? You have more control of your device, the one you probably carry with you everywhere, your phone. Your mic stays muted when you mute it. The camera stays off when you turn it off. You can still use a lot, if not all, of the apps that matter to you, like banking, web browsing, PTA, school sports, etc, without extra surveillance.

The nice thing is it's not difficult to install. I got a used Pixel off eBay, and took about 15 minutes. Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. only runs on a Google Pixel phone, funny enough. But you can go back to the stock Pixel OS if you don't like Graphene An alternative to Android or iOS on phones. or it doesn't work for you.

The best thing about it is you don't have to choose between convenience and privacy. I feel like these open source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. tools are so much more pleasant and easy to use than the stock experience we're sold in the store.

If you're interested in knowing more:

• YouTube: What GrapheneOS looks like
• GrapheneOS overview
• Why I use a privacy phone tell more detail about what apps and features work and what doesn't.

Image credit: Andrey Matveev https://www.pexels.com/@zeleboba/