A MakeUseOf contributor recently ran an experiment to see what happens when you tear out six of the most entrenched default Google apps from Android and replace them with open-source alternatives. The replacements were not F-Droid curiosities you install, poke at for five minutes, and abandon; they were daily-driver-grade tools that the writer relied on for real productivity. The swaps covered the keyboard (Gboard → HeliBoard), the browser (Chrome → Firefox Mobile), the photo gallery (Google Photos → Aves Gallery), notes (Google Keep → Notally), the calendar (Google Calendar → Etar), and the file manager (Files by Google → Material Files). For Windows users who live in a mixed-device world, the moves carry lessons that extend well beyond a phone screen.

This article unpacks each substitution, explains why open source is gaining momentum in mobile productivity, and highlights the cross-platform threads that already connect these Android apps to Windows workflows—often without touching a Google or Microsoft cloud.

Why Replace Google Apps at All?

Google’s default Android suite is deeply integrated, polished, and free—at least in monetary terms. The cost is user data. Gboard records typing patterns unless you opt out. Chrome funnels browsing into an advertising profile. Google Photos nudges you toward cloud syncing that feeds machine-learning training. None of this is hidden; it’s the business model. For a growing segment of users, however, the trade-off no longer feels acceptable, especially as privacy regulations tighten and awareness of data harvesting grows.

Open-source alternatives invert the relationship. They typically request no network permission, run entirely on-device, and make their code auditable. They also tend to consume fewer resources—a godsend on older Android hardware that struggles under the weight of Google Play Services. The MakeUseOf experiment wasn’t about ideological purity; it was practical. The writer needed functional tools, and the open-source ecosystem delivered.

The Keyboard: HeliBoard Over Gboard

Gboard is fast, smart, and leaking data. HeliBoard is a keyboard app forked from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) keyboard with a modernized UI and extra features like gesture typing, number row, and clipboard history—all without internet permission. It never phones home. For Windows users, this is a reminder that even the most fundamental input method deserves privacy scrutiny. While HeliBoard has no Windows counterpart, the philosophy travels: tools like the built-in Windows touch keyboard or third-party options like PhraseExpress can be locked down similarly.

HeliBoard includes incognito mode, customizable themes, and support for multiple languages via downloadable dictionaries. Its word suggestions are generated locally, so there is a brief training period compared to Gboard’s server-powered predictions, but within a week accuracy becomes comparable. The writer noted that the biggest missing piece is voice typing, which HeliBoard doesn’t support natively. For that, you’d need a separate app like FUTO Voice Input, which also runs locally.

The Browser: Firefox Mobile Instead of Chrome

This swap is the most obvious for anyone who has already considered breaking up with Google. Firefox for Android offers a full desktop-class rendering engine, support for extensions like uBlock Origin, and sync that works across any Firefox instance—including Firefox on Windows. That means bookmarks, passwords, and open tabs travel seamlessly between an Android phone and a Windows PC without routing through Google’s servers.

Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks ads and trackers by default, and the browser’s “Collections” feature allows grouping tabs into project bundles, which the MakeUseOf writer found more useful than Chrome’s tab groups. Performance on resource-constrained phones was another win: Firefox’s GeckoView engine can be gentler on memory than Chrome’s Blink, especially with extensions keeping ad bloat in check.

For Windows users, Firefox on the desktop is already a compelling Chrome alternative, but using it on mobile closes the sync loop. Everything is encrypted end-to-end with a Firefox Account, and the open-source nature of both platforms means security researchers can—and do—audit the code regularly.

Google Photos is two products in one: a local gallery and a cloud backup service. Many users never bother with the backup, yet they still see Google’s AI organizing their pictures and extracting location data. Aves Gallery is an open-source gallery app that works purely locally. It handles metadata-rich browsing, maps integration for geotagged photos, and a tagging system that rivals Google’s face grouping—all without an internet connection.

The writer tested Aves Gallery alongside a Syncthing setup to push photos wirelessly to a Windows machine at home, effectively replacing Google Photos’ backup with a private, on-premises solution. Syncthing is itself an open-source file synchronization tool that runs on Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. With a few minutes of configuration, every photo taken on the phone lands in a shared folder on the PC, ready for backups to an external drive or cloud service of the user’s choosing—and Google never sees a pixel.

For Windows power users, this is a blueprint: Aves Gallery handles the on-device viewing, while Syncthing bridges the gap to the PC where you control the data.

Notes: Notally Instead of Google Keep

Google Keep is a sticky-note-style app with cloud sync. It’s simple, but notes live on Google’s servers unencrypted. Notally is a minimalist, open-source note-taker that stores everything locally and organizes notes with labels, color coding, and a clean rich-text editor. It does not sync by itself—the writer paired it with Syncthing again to keep a folder of plain-text and rich-text notes mirrored between the phone and a Windows computer, where they could be opened by any editor like Notepad++ or VS Code.

This approach avoids vendor lock-in entirely. If Notally disappears, the notes remain as standard files. In contrast, moving notes out of Keep often requires Google Takeout exports in an HTML format that is cumbersome to reconstruct. For Windows users who juggle multiple note apps, this local-first strategy is a proven way to keep data portable and disaster-proof.

Calendar: Etar Takes Over from Google Calendar

Google Calendar is the backbone of many schedules, syncing across devices through Google’s servers. Etar is an open-source calendar app that supports CalDAV, an open standard for calendar synchronization. The MakeUseOf writer connected Etar to a Nextcloud instance running on a home server, but a simpler option is to use a CalDAV provider like fruux or a self-hosted solution on Windows via XAMPP or Docker.

Etar’s interface is clean and similar to Google Calendar’s month and week views. It handles recurring events, invites, and multiple calendars. The only friction is that you need a separate CalDAV sync adapter (like DAVx⁵) on Android to bridge Etar and the server. Once configured, the calendar becomes accessible on Windows via Thunderbird, Outlook with a CalDAV plugin, or the Nextcloud web interface. Task integration with apps like Tasks.org adds to-do lists that sync via the same CalDAV/WebDAV pipeline.

This stack completely removes Google from the loop, yet delivers the same real-time sync that makes a digital calendar useful. Windows users who run a small business or manage a household schedule find this especially appealing—no recurring subscription, total data ownership.

File Manager: Material Files Over Files by Google

Files by Google is a competent manager but pushes Google Drive integration and collects usage analytics. Material Files is an open-source file manager inspired by the Material Design guidelines, with a clean look and no ads or telemetry. It supports root access, SMB network shares, and FTP servers, meaning it can directly browse files shared from a Windows PC over the local network.

The writer appreciated the ability to long-press a file and transfer it to a Windows share without any intermediate cloud step. Material Files also offers a built-in USB OTG file transfer tool, archive extraction, and a storage analyzer that breaks down what’s eating space. For anyone who regularly moves documents between Android and Windows, these features eliminate the need for cloud intermediaries like OneDrive or Google Drive—you stay fully local and fully in control.

What This Means for Windows Users

The thread connecting these six Android apps to a Windows workflow is stronger than it first appears. Firefox syncs directly with its Windows counterpart. Notally and Aves Gallery pair with Syncthing, which has a mature Windows client that runs as a service. Etar talks to CalDAV servers that can be accessed from Windows via Thunderbird or Outlook. Material Files browses SMB shares that Windows has natively supported for decades. In each case, the phone and the PC become peers rather than clients tethered to a corporate cloud.

There is a learning curve. Setting up Syncthing requires understanding folder paths and device permissions. Configuring CalDAV sync with DAVx⁵ means obtaining a server URL. But the trade-off is a privacy-respecting, subscription-free personal infrastructure that never stops working when a provider changes terms or shuts down. For the privacy-first Windows user who already uses Firefox and avoids Edge’s data collection, these Android picks complete the picture.

The Hidden Benefit: Performance and Longevity

Open-source apps are often leaner than their Google counterparts. The MakeUseOf writer noticed that after replacing the six apps, the phone’s background data usage dropped noticeably, and the device felt snappier. HeliBoard loads faster than Gboard because it doesn’t initialize network libraries. Material Files uses fewer CPU cycles than Files by Google’s recommendation engine. On a mid-range phone, every saved cycle extends battery life and staves off the urge to upgrade.

For Windows users, this is analogous to swapping out resource-hungry electron apps for native alternatives—a performance-conscious philosophy that applies across ecosystems.

Challenges to Consider

No transition is seamless. HeliBoard lacks voice typing; users must install a supplementary app. Notally doesn’t have collaboration features like Keep’s shared notes. Etar’s invite system sometimes misses updates unless the CalDAV server is properly configured. Aves Gallery cannot upload to social media directly—you need to open the image in a different app. These are trade-offs that may not matter to the average user but demand patience from power users.

Additionally, open-source apps rarely have corporate-funded customer support. The community forums and GitHub issue trackers become the help desk, which can be intimidating for newcomers.

How to Get Started

The MakeUseOf writer recommends a staggered approach. Start with Firefox on both Windows and Android, because the value is immediate and the transition painless. Next, tackle the file manager—Material Files connects to Windows shares in minutes. Then experiment with a Syncthing-backed notes or photo workflow. By the time you reach the keyboard and calendar, you’ll have built confidence and learned the open-source ecosystem’s rhythms.

F-Droid, the open-source app store for Android, is the default source for all these apps. It’s worth installing alongside the Google Play Store, though you’ll miss automatic updates unless you grant it the appropriate permissions. Download the F-Droid APK from its official site, not a third-party mirror, and verify the signature if you’re security-minded.

A Glimpse at the Bigger Picture

De-Googling is often framed as a privac y crusade, but it is increasingly a versatility play. The MakeUseOf experiment shows that open-source tools are no longer lagging behind in functionality; they are competitive, polished, and integrate beautifully with a Windows-powered home lab or office setup. As Microsoft continues to blur the line between local and cloud with Windows 11’s Copilot and OneDrive integration, many users are rediscovering the appeal of software that works entirely for them, not for a data-hungry platform.

Whether you adopt all six replacements or just one, the underlying message is clear: the default apps on your phone are choices, not obligations. Windows users who have already customized their desktop with open-source stalwarts like 7-Zip, VLC, and LibreOffice will find themselves right at home bringing that same ethos to the small screen.