google VS AuroraStore

yes, I practice this. however its quite difficult, as most package sites dont surface this information. so I end up comparing the go.sum of god knows how many packages:

https://github.com/3052/google/blob/main/go.sum

of course its a balancing game, because if you can add one import and save 1000 lines of code, it might be worth it. I am probably the outlier though. I would guess most people just find the module with the most stars, and turn off their brain after that, regardless if that module is a bloated piece of crap.

> But the only way to get apps from the Google Play Store without installing the entire set of Google Play Services is this

No, that's not true:

https://github.com/4cq2/googleplay

so, disable this bloat and replace it with, AuroraStore. or not.

Aurora Store (version 4.3.4): An unofficial FOSS client to Google Play with an elegant design and privacy

Aurora Store (version 4.2.5): An open-source alternative to Google Play Store with privacy and modern design

Good option, yes! Maybe something like Aurora Store could also be used to spoof a different (x86) device? https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore

AuroraStore

Android devices could push something like https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore or even F-Droid to get a preinstalled store that's not completely evil.

For Linux devices, if you have a powerful enough phone (Pine64, can we please have a really beefy PinePhone?), you could bundle Waydroid + Aurora/F-Droid.

Go to this link and download AuroraStore_4.2.3.apk, an open source client that fetches files directly from the Play Store servers. Here is an FAQ for the project if you're worried about safety or breaking Google ToS. This method is safe but you can choose to create a new Google account for the login if you're not comfortable using your main account.