I’m planning to get a Pixel 8 this month after using only iPhones since my first iPhone in ~2010. I used to be a big Apple fan, so I have a good understanding of iOS, good iOS apps, etc, from years of Apple blogs, podcasts, etc. I have nowhere near the same level of understanding of Android. For instance, I was just watching a video recommending a particular app and it mentioned ABD permissions, which I had to go look up. I’d love any recommendations y’all might have for good, ideally not boring resources that I can use to get a good understanding of the Android system, power user concepts, good apps, etc. Thanks!
The best thing about Android and Google Pixel phones is the fact that you can remove all Google spyware. Check out GrapheneOS, it’s probably the only version of Android that offers the same level of security as an iPhone while not compromising on privacy. It also gives you the opportunity to learn a lot about Android and how it works. I recommend you to read through their documentation on the website, I find it interesting and fascinating. If you prefer a video, I recommend this one.
I originally was planning to install GrapheneOS, but now I’m not so sure. I’m honestly quite interested in features like Call Screen and the photo editing stuff, and my understanding is that at least Call Screen won’t work on GrapheneOS. I’m definitely keeping it in my back pocket, but I want to try the full experience first, and I also need to go through a threat modeling exercise as well to decide whether I truly want to do custom roms or not.
I think with enough configuration you can get call screen to work. For google photos you can install gcam and google photos and deny network access to both