Privacy done right from the get-go

Phone Number

Your phone identity is tied to your phone number. While it's easy to use a different email address, phone numbers are harder to swap. Start by getting a secondary phone line that won't break the bank from RedPocket (US). This is a real phone number, not VOIP so it'll get accepted by banks and any other fussy institution. The plan is sold only on their eBay store and can be purchased as a physical SIM kit, eSIM kit (delivered by email within minutes), or a renewal/refill. It costs $30 for 360 days with unlimited calls/text and 200 MB of data. They offer higher data plans if needed.

I've used Tello as well and can recommend them albeit being more expensive. A cool feature is that from within your Tello account, you can disable all incoming text and/or voicemail if needed.
 

New Google Account

Create a brand new Google account and make sure to activate 2FA TOTP immediately. If not set, then Google will eventually ask you to verify your phone number. If you're like me, and did not set one, then your account might get blocked and you'll have to go through the appeal process which was approved within 24 hours, but I had to wait an additional 48 hours before I was allowed to sign in again (even though the approval email said to sign in ASAP lol).
 

Purchasing a Pixel Phone

You can hunt for a used phone online and I can't help you there. But, if you're going for a brand new phone from the Google Store, then you'll want to read this reddit post to grab a "referral code" and save 10% on your order. The awesome part is that the discount applies to the MSRP, not the ongoing sale price (if any), saving you more $$.

GOS Installation

The web installer method is idiot-proof. You can't mess it up and brick your phone. The installation was so smooth that it's not worth writing about it. Kudos GOS team!
 

App Stores

I'll cover what I've tried and what is recommended in the GOS world.

• GOS App Store: ️ This comes pre-installed on your GOS phone. It has the basic phone apps/services which also has a GOS modified version of the Google Play store app. Try to use these apps and not alternatives for maximum security.
• Accrescent: ️ This is a highly regarded/trusted app store in the GOS world and actually has some nice apps that I stumbled upon (e.g. Arcticons, trale, Molly, IronFox)
• Google Play Store/Services: ️ You might think why use this on a GOS phone. For starters, it's sandboxed and unpriviliged. Apps are scanned and verified which minimizes the attack surface. It might also be the only place you can grab certain apps like banking ones that rely on Google Play Services and won't work without it.
• Zapstore: 🫤 Mixed reviews with many saying why use it when you have sandboxed Google Play, Accrescent, etc; use at your own risk.
• Obtainium: 🫤 Lets you install apps/apk directly from the developer; use at your own risk.
• Sideloading: Not recommended by the GOS team; use at your own risk.
• F-Droid: Avoid at all cost. Slow updates, bad practices, yada yada.. Learn more here
• Aurora: It's basically a UI for the intrusive Google Play Store. It doesn't stop any of the trackers, no unattended auto-updates, and no proper verification; use at your own risk.
   

Apps

As an iOS user, I couldn't use other launchers, icon packs, or apply user modifications. There's a reason iOS limits all that stuff as the phone just works. I hate to break it to you, but in Android, you need an app (or two) to get the job done. With that outta the way, here's what I'm using:

• Launcher: LawnChair Launcher
• Icon Packs: Arcticons, Aura, Lawicons, Oxygen, iOS 26 (yes, I went with an iOS themed UI )
• Calendar: Fossify Calendar (you also need DAVX5 for syncing with your Nextcloud calendar/server)
• Notes: Nextcloud Notes, Joplin
• Reminders: Tasks.org (free offline sync, paid with DAVX5 sync option)
• Youtube: FluxTube (no sign-in needed to save/bookmark channels and videos)
• Music: VLC, Substreamer (for your Navidrome server)
• Camera: stock Pixel Camera app but it's over 1GB in size (GOS camera app has a slight lag to it which I didn't like and is missing some features)
• Pixel Camera Modification: using Obtainium, add this repo and specifically install this "app-photosonly-release.apk" which is for GOS users. It lets you click on the gallery thumbnail in the camera app and will directly open your newly taken image.
• Gallery: stock GOS app
• Maps: Waze (Google owned, but has reliable live traffic), CoMaps or OsmAnd (great offline maps, not ideal for driving)
• Molly: a forked and security enhanced version of Signal
• Email: FairEmail (instant IMAP sync), Thunderbird (slow IMAP sync every 15 min), ProtonMail.
• Phone/SMS/Contacts: stock GOS apps
• Browser: Vanadium (stock GOS browser; super hardened), IronFox (hardened Firefox)
• Keyboard/Swype: FUTO keyboard

I went with the overall consensus on which app stores to use. I don't want to go down the de-googled phone path, so I'm happy with my setup. Your threat model might be different than mine and it might make sense to use Zapstore or go full blown de-google. In any case, please do share your recommendations and thoughts!