I replaced 6 official Android apps with open-source alternatives — they’re all much better

I did not start this experiment out of ideology. I have a Google account; I use a stock Android phone, and I have no interest in removing Google from my life entirely. I still want Android to feel like Android. But after years of using the official apps simply because they were already there, I couldn’t bear how much they expected from me in return. I’m talking about account sign-ins, cloud habits, ecosystem nudges, and features built around what a company would prefer me to use next.