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How to bypass GooglePlay Store and use your messenger of choice
Without a minimal google installation package (like GApps) it is no more possible to use the GooglePlay Store. This doesn't mean that you can't use its popular apps.
One of the most important apps for most of the users is the messenger of choice. We proposed the Open-Source based F-Droid App Store, but unfortunately there you can only directly download the Telegram messenger, although Signal is also FOSS (Free and open-source software) it is not yet available (more information) in the F-Droid store.
But there are many workarounds, e.g. if you want to use Signal you can just download the apk here (either install it directly on the smartphone or through your computer). Even if you still want to use WhatsApp you can go to the official WhatsApp page and the same will work there. The only disadvantage is that the backup functionality won't work because it's based on GoogleDrive.
Another easy way to install apps like Signal, Threema, DeltaChat and almost any other app from GooglePlay Store is to use the Aurora App Store. The Aurora Store is available in the F-Droid Store and you can easily download APKs from the PlayStore without a GooglePlay account, but nevertheless supports important security updates. Furthermore, Aurora gives you information about in-app trackers and many more.
Before you ungoogle your smartphone, it might be a good idea to backup your chats from your phone. Therefore you just have to store a backup file on your computer and after the installation you can copy this backup file back to your phone and restore your chats.