While it is true that Android is an open source operating system, it is also true that its development is managed and maintained by Google, who owns it. For this reason, while leaving the possibility for everyone to be able to make their own version of Android, Google has made the presence of some proprietary applications that are present in almost every Android smartphone and tablet practically mandatory.
It might be interesting therefore to know if it is possible to disable Google apps or, if it were not possible to renounce them, at least limit the data that they transfer in the background by consuming energy and battery.
The point is that Google uses its applications, always rigorously all free, to collect data that can be used both for advertising purposes and as a basis for the functioning of the artificial intelligence it has been working on for some time.
It is therefore almost an exchange or a barter what Google wants, which provides powerful and useful applications for free, asking only in exchange for allowing the collection of anonymous data on their use.
So if Google makes it impossible to disable all their services on Android, there are ways, at least, to limit some of them without affecting the functioning of the phone and, indeed, looking for benefits from the point of view of battery life as well as on the privacy side by limiting shared data.
READ FIRST: How to disable Android applications
1) Google Play Services (and Google Play Store )
As already explained, Google Play Services is the app that Google integrates into the Android system to manage some basic functions, without giving the user any possibility of being able to control it.
Google Play Services is used by Google to update some functions of the phones without going through a system update and also serves to coordinate the work of all Google apps.
There are no configuration settings within Play Services that limit data sharing, the only way to make it consume less traffic and less battery power is to completely disable the synchronization of the Google account (in Settings> Accounts ) .
Disabling Google Play Services (going to Settings -> Applications), would be possible only in a few phones and would however lead to the complete renunciation of all Google apps, including the Store.
In reality, the Google Play store cannot be said to be indispensable, because as seen there are alternatives to the Google store to download Android apps, but it is not possible to remove it, just as you cannot remove Google Play Services (unless you unlock it) root the phone and install a special custom ROM).
To deactivate the Google Store, all you need to do is log in with your Google account or reset it and never open it again.
To reset the Google store, go to Settings> Applications, find the Google Play Store and use the button that clears all data and cache.
2) Google Now or the Google App
The main Google app is still essential for almost every Android smartphone because it now includes some basic security functions as well as device management to locate the phone if it is lost or stolen.
In addition, the Google app brings the search bar on the screen, the Google Now function, which is the intelligent assistant to receive personalized information and also the voice assistant that is called via OK Google.
If these functions are never used, it is worth removing or deactivating them.
On this I had already written a specific guide, to disable Ok Google, Now tabs and search bar on Android.
Even the Google app cannot be removed on almost any phone, although in some it can be disabled in the settings> applications
3) Google Maps
Google Maps is a fantastic and indispensable app, which in any case tracks the movements of all users even when not using the application.
If you don't want this to happen, you can turn off Google Maps location history.
If you don't want to use it anymore, the Google Maps app, which if pre-installed cannot be removed, it should be possible to at least disable it on almost every smartphone by always going to Settings> Applications
4) Google Calendar
Google Calendar is an app pre-installed on almost all smartphones that knows exactly what we are doing and when.
On most phones you can't uninstall Google Calendar, but you can always disable it by going to Settings> Applications .
From the Settings> Accounts> Google menu, you can disable the synchronization of Calendar data, if it is not used to receive alarms and notifications.
5) Google Photos
Google Photos is a phone saver app for everyone, because it allows you to back up all your images online and then delete them from memory.
If not desired, you can disable this backup function in the application settings and have some energy savings (even if the synchronization of the photos can be configured only when the phone is charging which is the best option).
6) Google Hangouts
Google Hangout, unless specific business or work needs, is always an app to be disabled on Android smartphones, because there are better alternatives.
In particular, Whatsapp or Facebook for messages (just to give a couple of examples), Skype or Whatsapp for phone calls, Google SMS Android for SMS.
8) Google+
Google+, which is pre-installed on some smartphones, can also be deactivated safely if not used, by going to Settings> Applications.
9) Google Chrome
The default web browser on most Android devices is Chrome which is very advantageous if you also use Chrome on a PC, to synchronize favorite sites and access passwords.
Chrome is however a rather large and heavy browser, invasive for the data collected.
Those who care about it, can open the Chrome main menu, go to the Settings> Privacy section and disable all options, including suggestions for errors and sending data on crashes and crashes.
You can also activate the "Do not track" option, so that some sites cannot track the user's navigation.
Chrome is definitely a browser that consumes energy, so if you wanted more battery savings, perhaps you would have to give it up and install one of the alternative browsers for Android.
10) Google Drive
Drive is another super useful app for Android, sometimes even pre-installed on phones.
Drive is not only a space to save files online, but also an automatic backup tool to synchronize application data.
Automatic backup is active by default, but can be deactivated from the Drive settings (accessible from the main menu that appears by pressing the button at the top left).
In addition to data backup, you can also disable automatic file synchronization so that it is only in wifi.
READ ALSO: All Google apps for Android
