'Normal' people when they get a new phone:
- install whatsapp
- install Facebook (or other social media)
- install regular email app

Me:
- Root phone
- Install app ops
- Install Signal
- Install encrypted email services' app
- Install firewall
- Install devRant

Anyone else like me here?

First step, unlock bootloader lol

@dewguzzler I would but I mostly but Chinese smartphones for which there are no custom ROMs so I don't see the point in that for me :)

@linuxxx oh that makes sense then, I always do unlock first because it wipes data, so I do it when there is no data to lose lol

It's a bit different but almost same + xposed + customize the keys ->long press back kill, long press menu previous app switcher and long press home camera

Me:
Buys windows phone
???
Installs telegram i guess?
Teaches cortana my name

Disable bloatware
Install custom Launcher
Install social apps
Install 1-2 games that I'll never play
Done!

1. Install Bing app for Android

@VenomCLC Nova launcher? I've been using nova since it came out lol

@RazorSh4rk windows phone... ewwww

@dewguzzler Apex Launcher, I heard they are pretty similar but I just haven't had any reason to switch from Apex so far :)

@DataWrecker having to spend days on firmwares to have a semi-usable phone ewwww

Microsoft Arrow Launcher FTW!

@DataWrecker What? Windows Phone is nice! It has an awesome OS (Windows 10), look, I just had to (again) debug my processes to see which one was killing my HDD (100% usage but only 2 mb/sec I/O), and guess what? It was a windows internal process! hehe, go die Microsoft! (in pain)

This is the first time I fall into 'normal' category. 😯
Thank you. 😅

@VenomCLC Hahahaha I still have my 640 in my top draw. I definitely don't miss it haha

Am I the only one who thinks people in here get cocky and elitist lately? Only because youre a Frontend dev doesnt mean youre a better human being..

I used to do all this with my previous phones. Mostly because I hated the user interface and apps OEM's would bloat their phones with. I would flash CyanogenMod.
Then I bought a phone running almost vanilla Android and didn't find the need for a custom ROM or any customization.

What is a good firewall for Android phones?

@W1ckeD AFWall+ is still my fav

Just Use Phones With Linux..! That's just badass

Yeaps am one of them

Me:
Buy a Samsung phone.
Lock it in an air tight safe in case it explodes.

I rooted and installed a costum ROM on my previous phone, but on my new phone I didn't do that. To much work, and your phone will probably not work as good as the original ROM. So I didn't root my new phone.

I also remove anything Google now, which means no google play services, which means no devrant app. I'm sick of them stalking my every move! CyanogenMod Privacy Guard is a lovely step in that direction.

@OMGtechy I would but signal won't work with Google services so ye

@papierbouwer Literally the first thing I did on my new one was rooting it haha

Get phone:
Unlock bootloader
Flash recovery
Root
Flash new rom
Flash gapps
Flash new kernel
Xposed (currently on nougat so no xposed)
Restore titanium back up

I'm a lazy person, so it goes like this:

Does provider still update this model?

Yes:
>Just root it

No:
>Pay stackoverflow a visit to find a good stock rom of a recent model
>Scream internally because the OS is stuffed with bloat ware that has to be uninstalled
>Does it perform good? (Performance, battery life, no annoying bugs)
>Yes:
>>Keep it

>No:
>>Despair, because I'm to lazy to download another rom for the next 2-3 months

I bought a fairphone 2 recently, no bloatware, fully customizable, you can install your custom roms without rooting first, modular hardware and also a purchase to last! And, to top it off, it is a 'fair trade' phone! Reason why i have a deep hatred for apple and the likes is they produce their hardware in factories where they employ little kids (foxconn anyone?)
And other dehumanizing practices.

Proud promotion of a proudly purchased smartphone:

Https://fairphone.com

I can totally relate. I used to root my phone, tweak kernel settings and all the nerdy stuff and then had to check if Candy Crush is running fine because my girlfriend loves to play it on my phone. That was the least technical thing.

@dewguzzler Step before 1st step... Go XDA to see if the phone is hack-able... XD

@logickee lol I don't buy a phone before I know it's hackable lol

What about Orbot/Orfox?

@redstonetehnik For some reason it always blocks all traffic when it gets disconnected so that's why I quit using it too badly :/

@linuxxx yeah... well, i turn it on only when i have to do some... umm... things. Otherwise, yeah, its off.

@redstonetehnik I think I won't ask about the.. things... 😜

1 unlock bootloader
2 install latest cyanogenmod or resurrection remix with gapps
3 restore old apps. Enable mods.
When new release comes out, DIRTY FLASH THAT THING.