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MicroG
MicroG (typically styled as microG) is a free and open-source implementation of proprietary Google libraries that serves as a replacement for Google Play Services on the Android operating system. It is maintained by the German developer Marvin Wißfeld. He describes microG as "the framework (libraries, services, patches) to create a fully-compatible Android distribution without any proprietary Google components".
Although Google initially released the Android operating system as open-source software in 2007, the company gradually replaced some of Android's open-source components with proprietary software as Android grew in popularity. Wißfeld created the NOGAPPS project in 2012 as a free and open-source drop-in replacement for Google Play Services, Google's closed-source system software that has been pre-installed on almost all Android devices. The NOGAPPS project became MicroG by 2016.
MicroG allows Android apps to access replica application programming interfaces (APIs) that are provided by Google Play Services, including the APIs associated with Google Play, Google Maps, and Google's geolocation and messaging features. Unlike Google Play Services, MicroG does not track user activity on the device, and users can selectively enable and disable specific API features. Depending what apps are installed by users, user activity may still be tracked by Google.[citation needed]
In 2017, microG released "LineageOS for microG", a fork of LineageOS – a free and open-source Android-based operating system – that includes both MicroG and the F-Droid app store as pre-installed software. LineageOS for MicroG was created after LineageOS developers declined to integrate MicroG into LineageOS; the developers cited MicroG's need to spoof code signatures as a security concern. To enable MicroG's functionality, LineageOS for MicroG includes limited support for signature spoofing.
MicroG developers claim that older smartphones consume less battery power using LineageOS for MicroG compared to operating systems that use Google Play Services. LineageOS for MicroG supported 39 device models in 2017, and as of 2025[update] states that it aims to make regular builds ROM builds for all devices supported officially by LineageOS. Devices receive newer versions of LineageOS for MicroG through over-the-air updates.
For a 2018 paper on Android app privacy, security researchers from Nagoya University used MicroG to bypass Google's SafetyNet security mechanism on an Android Marshmallow emulator. The researchers altered Android's package manager and implemented signature spoofing to enable MicroG on the emulator.
CalyxOS includes options for using MicroG as a privacy enhanced replacement for some of the functionality in Google Play Services.
DivestOS, a LineageOS soft fork, chose not to support MicroG or other ways of installing or running proprietary Google apps. Since July 2023, DivestOS allows installing MicroG after enabling it in system settings, but does not recommend doing so and still considers this feature unsupported.
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MicroG
MicroG (typically styled as microG) is a free and open-source implementation of proprietary Google libraries that serves as a replacement for Google Play Services on the Android operating system. It is maintained by the German developer Marvin Wißfeld. He describes microG as "the framework (libraries, services, patches) to create a fully-compatible Android distribution without any proprietary Google components".
Although Google initially released the Android operating system as open-source software in 2007, the company gradually replaced some of Android's open-source components with proprietary software as Android grew in popularity. Wißfeld created the NOGAPPS project in 2012 as a free and open-source drop-in replacement for Google Play Services, Google's closed-source system software that has been pre-installed on almost all Android devices. The NOGAPPS project became MicroG by 2016.
MicroG allows Android apps to access replica application programming interfaces (APIs) that are provided by Google Play Services, including the APIs associated with Google Play, Google Maps, and Google's geolocation and messaging features. Unlike Google Play Services, MicroG does not track user activity on the device, and users can selectively enable and disable specific API features. Depending what apps are installed by users, user activity may still be tracked by Google.[citation needed]
In 2017, microG released "LineageOS for microG", a fork of LineageOS – a free and open-source Android-based operating system – that includes both MicroG and the F-Droid app store as pre-installed software. LineageOS for MicroG was created after LineageOS developers declined to integrate MicroG into LineageOS; the developers cited MicroG's need to spoof code signatures as a security concern. To enable MicroG's functionality, LineageOS for MicroG includes limited support for signature spoofing.
MicroG developers claim that older smartphones consume less battery power using LineageOS for MicroG compared to operating systems that use Google Play Services. LineageOS for MicroG supported 39 device models in 2017, and as of 2025[update] states that it aims to make regular builds ROM builds for all devices supported officially by LineageOS. Devices receive newer versions of LineageOS for MicroG through over-the-air updates.
For a 2018 paper on Android app privacy, security researchers from Nagoya University used MicroG to bypass Google's SafetyNet security mechanism on an Android Marshmallow emulator. The researchers altered Android's package manager and implemented signature spoofing to enable MicroG on the emulator.
CalyxOS includes options for using MicroG as a privacy enhanced replacement for some of the functionality in Google Play Services.
DivestOS, a LineageOS soft fork, chose not to support MicroG or other ways of installing or running proprietary Google apps. Since July 2023, DivestOS allows installing MicroG after enabling it in system settings, but does not recommend doing so and still considers this feature unsupported.