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August 25, 2026

Degoogling while still keeping GPS and GMS services on your mobile.

There are 2 non root methods to remove apps/services from your mobile

1)  ADB (Android Debug Bridge), using pm uninstall --user 0. This removes the app for your user profile completely (not just "disable"), without needing root, and it's reversible with a factory reset if you ever need an app back.

Setup (one-time):

  1. On the phone: Settings > About Phone > tap "Build number" 7 times to enable Developer Options
  2. Settings > System > Developer Options > enable USB Debugging
  3. On your PC, install platform-tools (contains adb.exe)
  4. Connect phone via USB, allow the RSA debugging prompt on the phone screen

 

2) A GUI wrapper called Universal Android Debloater (UAD-ng) does the same pm uninstall --user 0 calls through a checkbox list — same effect, no typing package names by hand.

 

github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation

It has 4-5 sections/classes. Its recommended class/section shows the package which it thinks can be easily removed.

 

Package to be removed.

App

Package name

Gmail

com.google.android.gm

YouTube

com.google.android.youtube

Google Maps

com.google.android.apps.maps

Google Photos

com.google.android.apps.photos

Google TV

com.google.android.videos

Google News

com.google.android.apps.magazines

Google Meet

com.google.android.apps.tachyon

Google Drive

com.google.android.apps.docs

Google One

com.google.android.apps.subscriptions.red

Assistant/Gemini

com.google.android.apps.bard (Gemini) / assistant is often bundled in GMS core — see note below

A few things worth knowing before you run the batch:

  • Google Assistant/Gemini on newer Android builds is sometimes tied into com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox (the search bar/widget) or partially into Play Services itself. Removing it may also kill the home screen search bar, "long-press power button" assistant gesture, or voice typing in the keyboard. Worth testing one app at a time rather than uninstalling everything in one batch, so you can spot which one causes a side effect you didn't want.
  • Google Drive vs Google One: if you use Google Photos backup or Drive backup for anything (WhatsApp backups often route through Drive), removing these breaks that silently — good to double check nothing depends on them first.
  • None of this touches GMS/Play Services or GPS hardware, so your earlier concern about Intune and location still holds — those stay intact either way.

 

Following Packages wont be shown under Recommended package but

Nothing AI

The relevant packages are com.nothing.ntessentialspace and com.nothing.ntessentialrecorder,  Com.nothing.essentialintelligence . These wont be under recommended package category. You will have to search them under other categories. 

Google Safery Core Alternative

Google silently installs SafetyCore (on-device sensitive content scanning) and it reinstalls itself every time you try to remove it. The community’s solution is simple and effective: a placeholder APK with an absurdly high version number (2,000,000,000). Once installed, Google can no longer overwrite it. 1. Uninstall SafetyCore 2. Install the placeholder 3. Keep control of your device GitHub: https://github.com/daboynb/Safetycore-placeholder Even blocking a Google component requires workarounds on stock Android.

Alternatives

Auroa store and F droid

PDF Converter by scoyo          Compass by Marcin Chwedczuk or F-Droid's "Compass"


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