I Don't Have a Smartphone

by Ploum connected 2026-09-02

…or, astatine least, I wish I didn’t.

"I don’t person a smartphone," is what I show group and professionals nowadays. This allows maine to trim the crap astir companies insisting that I instal their app aliases restaurants wishing that I scan a QR codification to entree their paper connected a mini screen.

"I don’t person a smartphone" is, according to my experience, the easiest explanation, the shortest measurement to unit group to get their crap together and return the required actions to let maine to unrecorded without being glued to a mini surface limited connected a immense American megacorporation.

When I bargain something, from a mini room appliance to a car, I’m now forced to get general confirmation by the seller that I will beryllium capable to usage it without installing one, 2 aliases 3 different apps. I kept the count: successful the past twelvemonth alone, I had to reason against the installation of 18 smartphone apps. Just successful my toilet, I’m expected to person an app for the seat, an app for the flush and 1 for the ventilation.

It is rather fascinating because if you presume utilizing each app for only 3 minutes per time (which fundamentally intends opening, closing and does not see doing the upgrade each different time aliases debugging immoderate problems), that’s astir 1 hr of your day! 22 afloat days of your twelvemonth (assuming 16 waking hours per day).

What installing your app means

When you inquire personification to instal your app aliases to scan your QR code, you make the pursuing assumptions:

1. That personification owns a smartphone (which is astatine slightest a mates 100 dollars).
2. That personification has the smartphone connected them correct now.
3. The smartphone is successful moving condition.
4. It has capable artillery to instal your app, usage it past decorativeness the day.
5. It has capable retention near for your app.
6. It has capable web coverage.
7. That personification has capable information near connected their information plan.
8. They person a valid and connected Google relationship (or, an Apple one).
9. They are comfortable pinch taking retired the telephone and dedicating immoderate clip and attraction to the surface correct now while not paying attraction to each those notifications that the telephone surely gathered since its past use.
10. They are consenting to judge each the conditions of your apps, including sending you individual data, registering an account, etc.

When you deliberation astir it, this is an atrocious batch of assumptions.

Just regarding constituent 8: your Google relationship could beryllium terminated correct now, without reason. It happens each day. It could hap to you. Or an American president could determine your state should not person that work anymore.

• Et si vos comptes disparaissaient demain ? (ploum.net)

If only 1 of those 10 assumptions is false, for immoderate reason, the personification will not beryllium capable to usage your app. You will person to woody pinch it.

People ever show maine I’m weird for not installing the app but, looking astatine this list, I find it weird that you moreover find group to instal it successful the first place!

But present we are… Those 10 assumptions person go the caller commandments everyone should obey.

Why I will show you I don’t person a smartphone

Ten assumptions that are a spot excessively agelong to explicate to a vendor aliases a worker. So, alternatively of arguing astir the clip mislaid and my quest to beryllium Google free, I took the stance of answering, "I don’t person a smartphone."

Reactions vary. Pure salesmen effort to person maine that you can’t unrecorded without the app, that I request to do the mandatory "update" Why? If it’s connected, it tin do its update alone. If it is offline and it works, it doesn’t request immoderate update and updates person a higher probablility to worsen my business than to beryllium helpful. If it is offline and it doesn’t activity well, why should I bargain it successful the first place?

On the different hand, existent workers, those pinch soiled hands, often grin astatine maine and show maine I’m correct aliases that they wish they could not person a smartphone. On 1 occasion, a worker installing an appliance told me: "Oh, we will get on well!"

Which tells you thing important: cipher wants the app. People instal the app because they judge it is mandatory successful immoderate benignant of way. Because they are acrophobic of missing retired connected something. Because they are told truthful by the salesman. But they conscionable don’t want it. In fact, erstwhile pressed, astir salesmen moreover person a difficult clip justifying why I should instal the app.

So "I don’t person a smartphone."

But it is not true.

Mudita Kompakt, my not-so-dumb-phone

My main driver is simply a Mudita Kompakt, a mini minimalist smartphone pinch an e-ink device. I’ve spoken astatine magnitude astir it successful the pursuing piece:

• Une vie sans notifications (ploum.net)

The main constituent is that, contempt being an e-ink instrumentality and being wholly Google-free, the Mudita is an Android smartphone. I tin instal apps and, yes, I emotion the smartphone conception for the devices I choose. I person Signal (well, I usage Molly to link to Signal). I besides person the app of my motorcycle GPS. I don’t usage it often but erstwhile I’m mislaid acold from everything and it starts raining, I motorboat the Komoot app, inquire for the shortest measurement location and upload it to my motorcycle computer.

That’s very useful innovation!

I besides usage Comaps, an online almanac and the section train schedule app.

So, seriously, I do really for illustration the smartphone idea. It’s conscionable that I don’t person immoderate browser aliases "social" app connected it. And I don’t want thing other than what I have.

I wish I could opportunity it is each I have, that I’m a existent minimalist.

But it is not true.

The secondary table phone

Somewhere connected my desk, I support an aged FairPhone 3 that I repaired aft it took a heavy plunge into the ocean. It runs the Google-free /e/OS operating system.

But why? The logic is simple: sometimes, you are forced to usage an app. Those apps whitethorn moreover cheque if your telephone genuinely uses Google. So /e/OS has a solution to clone it (microG). The main usage lawsuit is banking apps.

I highly for illustration to do banking connected my computer. But, having been brainwashed capable by Google, banks deliberation I cannot beryllium trusted to do banking connected a machine I ain while doing it connected a mini portion of solid that I support successful my pouch is "safe." Logging successful connected banking websites requires maine to authenticate connected a smartphone that checks for Google services.

It is not only banking: this secondary telephone is very useful to trial apps without cluttering my main phone. I’ve learned, acknowledgment to my teenagers, that Strava will not motorboat without Google services. But it will besides garbage to login pinch the clone microG. The solution is frankincense to motorboat Strava pinch microG enabled, to disable microG while keeping Strava running, to log into the app past to re-enable microG. A akin problem happens erstwhile utilizing filters connected Snap. Living without Google is not ever painless.

At least, I tin opportunity I’m Google-free.

But this is not true.

The third, existent android phone

I still support successful a drawer an aged OnePlus 5 I bought successful 2017 pinch a pristine Android system. The surface is cracked, the USB connector is wobbling but it works. It is still connected to a Gmail relationship I created successful 2001 (invitations were still required!) and that I didn’t moreover unfastened for the past 10 years.

This telephone is sometimes necessary. Like erstwhile a known bug successful /e/OS prevented my banking app from moving for respective months. Anecdotally, this telephone is besides the thinnest, the lightest, the champion surface I’ve ever seen. Il besides takes the champion pictures (without immoderate AI). It demonstrates that existent smartphones are worst successful each facet compared pinch those of 10 years ago. The only objection being the CPU: that telephone has a very difficult clip loading Anubis-protected webpages. Everything other is fine. It is difficult to person this telephone successful your manus and not see we are heavy scammed erstwhile we bargain a modern phone.

In my country, businesses and governments are pushing difficult to instruction the usage of "Itsme", a proprietary authentication app developed by a commercialized associated task pinch the definitive intent to extract individual information and waste them commercially (yes, that was definitive successful their conditions erstwhile they launched the service). I’ve ever refused to registry and usage that work but it is becoming incredibly difficult to find alternatives.

New EU regulations whitethorn besides push much apps to cheque for the "Google Play Integrity" to guarantee that they are moving connected a existent Google owned Android.

I’m fighting difficult but I foresee a infinitesimal erstwhile we will each beryllium officially forced to person a Google account. If you person children, you are besides forced to person a Meta relationship arsenic everything schoolhouse related now happens done Whatsapp.

So I’m surviving Meta-free because my woman volunteered to grip the Whatsapp groups. I’m surviving Google free because, heavy successful a drawer, there’s still a solution for the time erstwhile I could not activity it retired without Google.

Who could person predicted

I’m European. The full continent is assumed to person a Google and a Meta account. To ever person successful their pouch a Google aliases Apple certified and remotely controlled portion of hardware. It is moreover sometimes assumed to person a Microsoft relationship (like that clip erstwhile the level to beryllium reimbursed from a cancelled summons assumed a Sharepoint login).

This is frightening. We are putting each our eggs successful the aforesaid basket. And our milk, our water, our house, our furnishings and our loved ones. In an electrical-auto-closing handbasket remotely controlled by a overseas entity that openly spies connected america and wants to extract arsenic overmuch money arsenic they can. For immoderate reason, it is considered weird not to for illustration the basket.

At least, immoderate are trying to build alternatives

• Why there’s nary European Google? (ploum.net)
• The Privacy Respecting European Phone (jolla.com)
• Delta Chat, decentralized unafraid messenger (delta.chat)

At the aforesaid time, European politicians are focusing connected "not seeing" this elephant successful the room while dedicating immense money and effort to beforehand "European AI" aliases "European Blockchain." Seriously. They are truthful unsighted to easy, innovative and existing solutions (Peertube, Mastodon, European message hosting,…) that I’m starting to fishy that being dumb doesn’t explicate it all, that they are genuinely corrupted.

In the meantime, I do my mini part. I take sides my mini hill. I’m an Offpunk.

• Offpunk Manifesto (blog.ayom.media)

And erstwhile requested thing astir an online work aliases a smartphone, I answer:

I don’t person a smartphone!

• Picture of a surgery telephone by Ashwin Kumar