Google offers some very convenient and highly advanced software—there's no doubt about that—but it comes at the cost of pervasive user tracking. Not everyone is comfortable with that, and some of those who have yet to ditch Google surely have a nagging sense of unease, knowing their private lives are logged, monitored, tracked, and profiled. You can do something about it, and learning about great alternatives is a start.

Yes, I know that Samsung Galaxy devices are basically the iPhones of the Android world, and there are other, less polished, but more interesting options out there. But Samsung has this market domination for a reason, and part of it comes from its genuinely useful bespoke features.

Are you looking for a private, alternative search engine? Google is king, but its rivals are quickly catching up. With the recent general shift toward privacy awareness, perhaps one of them is right for you.

Google just gave you a new account login option to help escape the maze of password resets and recovery contacts. The company has introduced a selfie video sign-in feature that can get you in even when you're locked out or using a different device.

Smart home assistants were supposed to get better over time. More natural, more reliable, better integrated with everything else you already use. Google had every reason to lead that charge.

There's no denying that Android 17 is light on new features, with the biggest one—the ability to create your own widgets—not even being present at launch. While I'm disappointed that I can't create custom widgets for the time being (the feature should arrive in a future update), there's another Android 17 feature that caught my eye.