Can I Install Only The Google Account rather than the entire stack?

Question

I am currently running an Aosp-based custom rom on Android 4.4.2 with zero bloatware, yeah, I detest bloatware. After going through struggles with the amount of resources Google's play services do to my phone and my phone's data usage.

I had to get rid of the entire gapps package for good by re-flashing the rom without flashing the gapps package. I've also had to do offline install of Android packages, and all apps requiring I've got an Active google account have had to suffer an unpremeditated uninstall.

Now, I have so far survived without a google account on this phone, I miss Chrome's Sync with my PC though, but I was just thinking if the gapps package could be extracted from the Android OS, is there an alternative/mod for those of us who only want explicitly a google account in Settings > Account without Play Store, Gmail....etc

Custom ROM... So your phone is rooted. Have you tried to just remove the apps with titanium Backup? That way you can log in and only have the account — freddiev4, Aug 09 '14 at 15:43
Erm, I've never had any luck using titanium backup, the app just seems too complicated to use. — Feyisayo Sonubi, Aug 09 '14 at 15:45
You should try it. You should be able remove the g apps that way. — freddiev4, Aug 09 '14 at 15:45
But will I need a paid version of Titanium Backup to get this done? — Feyisayo Sonubi, Aug 09 '14 at 15:56

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:18

You might wish to check with Are there any solutions other than flashing Gapps, to have Google accounts on CyanogenMod? – where I named an alternative:

On XDA, you can find the NOGAPPS project, which basically is an OpenSource replacement of most Google apps (including Playstore), often mapping to free alternatives (e.g. OpenStreetMap for maps). The "elements" come as separate packages to install, so you can pick the ones you want – and simply skip the others. Status is different for each of the services: some are actively developed, some are "not yet usable", some seem even to be "abandoned" (like the Playstore replacement BlankStore, which is discontinued since 2012 – but luckily seems to have a successor named Blank Store).

I've not (yet) used it, so I cannot tell which parts are essential or how well those replacements work. But head over and check out for yourself. Marvin seems to still actively be on it (last update of the "lead post" was just a few days ago).

As for "zero bloatware" and "Android without Google", you might also wish to check my answer here ;)

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:18

If you have a routed phone/android, log into the system as root and use the program manager "PM" to systematically remove each app/gapp you don't want. If that breaks a feature you need, use pm to put it back and move on to other "bloatware" you want to remove.

To use the shell install the Android SDK package.

I would suggest that you backup a package before removing it: Is it possible to backup apk from an installed application?

So, having your clean custom built rom, you should be able to use the same feature to individual install which particular gapp you want from your backup.

Installing an app is simple from the cli:

$ adb install -s example.apk

By the way, this is a good reference for the Android Debug Bridge (adb) commands.

Look at the install section:

install [options] <PATH>

-l: Install the package with forward lock. 
-r: Reinstall an exisiting app, keeping its data. 
-t: Allow test APKs to be installed. 
-i <INSTALLER_PACKAGE_NAME>: Specify the installer package name. 
-s: Install package on the shared mass storage (such as sdcard). 
-f: Install package on the internal system memory. 
-d: Allow version code downgrade.

Can I Install Only The Google Account rather than the entire stack?

2 Answers2