So, because a purchased app from Google Play Store requires the user to be authenticated with the google account used for purchase, and /e/ is ungoogled, there is an obvious obstacle here.
I’d like to know if there is a “safe” way (read it as “minimum data leaking”) to use purchased apps from google play store.
…I managed to contact some developpers of apps that I purchased, asking them for another method of validation than through playstore…
Some gave me access to an non google-obstrusive method, generally via e-mail, with a lickable link for confirmation. Some others replied “sorry, only by google-means”…
Not too much of an obstacle. You use your Google account only within Aurora Store (not system-wide) to download purchased apps. /e/OS remains ungoogled. All good.
Very few devs/publishers offer alternatives. With the loss of XDA Labs the alternatives got smaller.
By the way, one can also use Aurora Store, and Yalp Store before it, to save the apks for archiving and installing at a later date if need be.
Keep in mind, some apps do license checking. These will never work without the Play Store present to handle the checks. Less common are apps that technically will run fine but they will check to see if they were installed via the Play Store first. Sort of a piracy check. Those are dealt with by using Aurora Store in root mode (where it utilizes the included FakeStore that has the same package name as Play Store - com.android.vending). FakeStore is present in /e/OS and most microG-based installations that don’t include the patched Play Store (NanoDroid and MinMicroG-Standard f.i.). It does nothing and can’t be launched. It just sits there providing the Play Store package name.
The system keeps track of how an app was installed. “App installed from FakeStore” means Play Store as far as an app being launched is concerned.
