> do not have removable storage so you're forced to use a cloud service
Photos are probably non-issue. There are many options - I basically feel that almost every single app that has anything to do with sync or storage offers to upload photos. That is, including many self-hosted options or cloud storage that promises client-side encryption with keys not known to the service.
What I haven't found is alternative backup transport. There is Google's default one (com.google.android.backup) that sends everything to Google Drive (no encryption!), local debug transport (com.android.internal.backup) that just dumps data locally and... as far as I know, nothing else.
Photos are probably non-issue. There are many options - I basically feel that almost every single app that has anything to do with sync or storage offers to upload photos. That is, including many self-hosted options or cloud storage that promises client-side encryption with keys not known to the service.
What I haven't found is alternative backup transport. There is Google's default one (com.google.android.backup) that sends everything to Google Drive (no encryption!), local debug transport (com.android.internal.backup) that just dumps data locally and... as far as I know, nothing else.