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Turning off all of Google’s tracking services basically renders your Android useless

This should surprise me, but sadly, it doesn’t.

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We live in a time where our data is precious and, sadly, it is being thrown around by almost all the big tech companies. While Tim Cook has spoken out against the practice, the simple matter is that many of our devices rely on sending and receiving data.

There are ways around that, sure, but as this post from OneZero details, users should definitely think twice before removing many of the Google features on their Android phones. If any users think they can outsmart Google by removing permissions and location services, the phone’s primary features won’t work.

Removing Google account and services information on your phone is not good – Here’s why

The writer of the post, Eric Ravenscraft, uses an old Google Pixel 2 XL for this experiment. While conducting it, he found that removing his Google account essentially removes the capability to access emails, his calendar, and the app store.

If users are interested in doing this, they can go into the Settings app and look for the Privacy tab:

  • The Google Camera app requires the use of the microphone for video. Only until a user gives permission to Google will the camera app be usable.
  • Removing location services from maps won’t let users bring up old locations since Google would no longer be tracking them.
  • Most importantly, there are a ton of apps that are deemed “System Required” which include a few physical activity apps. Permitting those to run can result in a flurry of error messages when just trying to answer calls.

What is the moral or lesson behind all of this? Well, according to Ravenscraft it proves to be more difficult to NOT have Google track you than to find ways of preventing it. He says, in conclusion of his experiment, “The further you stray away from Google’s prying eyes, the more features on your phone you can expect to start breaking.”

What do you think? Can you say you’re surprised by these results? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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