I have a similar feeling, but with modern smartphones.

Owning my computer is still relatively possible. I can build a computer from parts which I can choose, and have a choice in which operating system to install on them. Laptops are slightly more closed, but even on those I can choose the OS myself.

Modern smartphones however, seem like walled gardens in which I have no control at all. I cannot choose any of the parts, and even doing simple reparation tasks like replacing a battery is a nightmare these days. I am locked into a single OS on my smartphone, which either spies on you or is locked down even more. Every iteration a bit more control is taken away from the user. And its increasingly hard to step away from them, since a lot of normal interactions such as banking almost requires you to have such a phone.

Both Android and iOS suck. I've made my own Android phone tolerable with F-Droid and trying to ungoogle it as much as possible. But unfortunately I find myself locked into using google play services since solutions like MicroG just don't cut it. They lock me out of slightly too much of my daily smartphone usage (note that this is definitely not the MicroG's developers fault, they have done amazing work).

Buy a PinePhone. It might very well be more open and trustworthy than some laptops or desktops.

I love the PinePhone. It is an amazing project, and I'm definitely considering buying one. However, it does not solve my main problem. For most scenarios I still need a "normal" smartphone with either iOS or Android. Apps like WhatsApp and banking apps are unfortunately needed for a large part of my daily life. At risk of either socially isolating myself or bringing major inconveniences without having them. All unavailable outside of the walled gardens.

I really want the PinePhone to be a solution here, but unfortunately I know it isn't.

The (not cost effective) solution is to carry both.

Shut off the 'normal' smart phone when you don't need it (for banking or what have you).

Use the web version of Whatsapp (https://web.whatsapp.com/) if you must use it. You could even consider having a WhatsApp specific phone if you have an older model that you've upgraded from that contains no other data.

That was my solution anyway.

Check out Beeper (beeperhq.com). They have an all-in-one service that'll get you Whatsapp without hilariously dubious security promises from Facebook.

Basically what they do is build and maintain a bunch of Matrix bridges for you. Whatsapp, Imessage, Telegram, Facebook, Slack, Twitter, Skype...

Does anyone have experience running the open version on their machine? (self-hosted)