Hey everyone, I was entertaining the thought of going away from owning a smart phone.
I already have a modded ipod classic that I use as my main music player.
I also know how to use a paper map.
I also have the Microsoft authentication app for work (I could just use my phone on wifi mode for this)
The last issue I have is WhatsApp where I communicate with friends and family around the world.
Is there a way to use WhatsApp on a non-smart phone? Or should I just buy a pixel and install a secure rom?
What is your goal in not owning a smartphone?
You have to ask yourself: what can you actually get away with.
If you’re techy, get a Linux phone. I assume there’s a WhatsApp client, but if not you could bridge to Matrix.
Then you’ll have the option to use a phone, without the addictive qualities of Android/iOS.
Your next best will be GrapheneOS. By default, no Google, so no notifications at all. But that can be turned on and enabled if needed.
I had the exact same Problem.
You need an Android Emulator for your PC, since Whatsapp for desktop always needs to be paired with a phone, then install Whatsapp Business. The Business Version lets you sign up with a landline number. Youll geht a call with the code read to you and youre done.
If you already have a number and are planing to keep it, you can just use that and read the code from your phone.
If you decide to use a desktop app or the web version instead, you will have to open Whatsapp on your phone once every two weeks or it will unpair.
What are you looking to get out of your dumb phone experience?
It sounds like you want/need the smart phone part, but not the doom scroll and spyware part.
For that I offer the following advice;
Step 1 is to delete all unnecessary apps. Keep 1 or 2 time killers, preferably puzzle games or something not related to endless scrolling, that you can start/stop anytime.
If you have one, make an old phone your “entertainment” device. This is for things like Lemmy and whatever else you do fun/pass time. Leave it the bathroom or at your spot to relax. This way you can get your internet fix, but it doesn’t follow you throughout the day.
Step 2 is to make sure you set your notifications right, only communication from actual people (text/call) and important stuff like work/bank emails should make noise. Everything else can shove off.
On the spyware front, Pixel+Graphine OS is a good option, it does works with MS authenticator.
You must not have been born in the 70s or 80s. It’s really easy. Step 1, replace your smart phone with a flip phone. This concludes all your steps.
I’m born in that era, and where I live, I must authorize bank transactions via app, pay parking tickets through an app, use an app for public transport, and need to scan a QR code that’s changing every 90 seconds to access my gym.
There is no workaround for the parking app, other than inconveniencing myself and staying at malls exclusively. The gym doesn’t have an alternative either. I could surely switch, but that’s the only option.
For banking, sure, I could do stuff over the counter like some octogenarian, wasting time getting there and waiting in line. That changes a 20 second procedure into a minimum 1h long one, provided whatever I’m trying to pay happens during service hours of my bank. No thanks.
Public transport would be the easiest, though that only applies for subways and trains where counters and vending machines exist. At bus stops we don’t have those, and drivers aren’t selling tickets anymore. You must board with a valid ticket, which usually only works through an app, unless you have a monthly ticket that can still be bought as a paper pass.
Not so easy for someone who was born and raised in a time and place where key services all rely on smartphones (especially the WhatsApp for family communications)
