Hey there! i currently have a Samsung Galaxy A55 and i want to try one of the privacy focused phones. But idk which is the best i could try.
My findings:
- Fairphone with /e/OS, but ive heard /e/OS is apparantly not that secure.
- Google Pixel with GrapheneOS, but with this one I still need to buy from Google.
- Linux phones, but I’m concerend they dont support all the apps i want to use.
that being said, can you use MicroG instead of Google Services for ALL apps? or does it only work for things like Revanced?
edit:
i also use a Samsung smartwatch with Google Wallet so would this still be possible with an alternate OS?
I wish there was a Pixel with an SD card slot. That is the main reason I’m still, grudgingly, on Samsung.
Fairphone with /e/OS, but ive heard /e/OS is apparantly not that secure.
e/OS is privacy focused, not security focused
Google Pixel with GrapheneOS, but with this one I still need to buy from Google.
A simple solution here to avoid feeding the monster would be to buy a Pixel second hand
Linux phones, but I’m concerend they dont support all the apps i want to use.
I think you’re right to be concerned, I wouldn’t recommend using a Linux phone as a primary device just yet. By all means try it out on a secondary phone though!
If Google manages to win their recent developer registration, forking AOSP and making lineage and graphene, operating systems in their own right, or using Linux mobile, may be about the only options, either that or go back to desktop and declare mobile as a failure.
Yeah, PostmarketOS still has some broken features when looking at FairPhone4 and SailfishOS doesn’t fully support Sony Xperia 10 IV yet (both phones I own) but when either get’s a bit better supported I will try them out.
Banking apps in Sweden and more specifically the Mobile “BankID” are big fans of Google Play Integrity services though and the BankID is used to identify yourself at a huge amount of services making it hard to live without so I’ve pretty much accepted I will have to use two phones in the future - one for Work+Banking and one for the rest.
I bank on Monero
Security is still important to maintain privacy. Especially when it comes to web browsers where you are running a lot of untrusted code decoding media.
Honestly, with Fdroid and many other open source projects at risk after Google’s last madness, I wouldn’t take anything Android anymore (nor Apple of course).
My next phone will either be a dumbphone or a Linux phone.
As of things stand right now, android is realistically still the only game in town.
If you get an android with a custom ROM you will still be able to install apps, even if f-droid decides that it isn’t worth maintaining the project for a much smaller userbase, someone will fork f-droid or you can still use Obtanium to obtain apps.
Whatever it is, it has to be able to connect to 4g networks.
This is maybe a dumbass idea but god I wish a blackberry was still possible in the USA
Waiting for sailfish OS ports to get VOLTE working, I’d love to use a oneplus 6t with sailfish in the US
regarding your edit:
From what I know neither grapheneos or e/os support google wallet.
edit: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/2455Running /e and Google wallet does not work
That’s what they said.
They said “from what I know” which implies uncertainty, while the response made clear, no it doesn’t work.
Confirming that Graphene does not have NFC, and as such cannot support any payment system.
I got a used Pixel 8 Pro at the beginning of the summer and have been running Graphene OS ever since. Graphene OS is by far the most secure and private OS available. Saved my stupid ass from a data harvesting malware.
One that isn’t controlled to bleat out Netanyahu’s diatribe.
imo tbh anything with lineageos is good enough. no gapps, microg if needed, and afwall/adaway(if that’s impossible, rethinkdns).
I’m a big fan of /e/OS, use it daily and love it. As I understand it, it is as secure as Google Android, just tons more private. So security wise it seems fine to me, my risk profile is just regular mainstream
The Fairphone 6 is also great!
I plan to use a Pixel 9 with Graphene, but plan to buy one used from a private party. You’re still inadvertently supporting Google but at least less directly. I’d never buy something new from them.
If you have $150 to spare (depending on country), a secondhand Pixel 7a is a great starting point to try out GrapheneOS without directly contributing to Google. Just make sure it’s carrier unlocked so it allows bootloader unlocking. For $100 more, a Pixel 8a will get you several more years of software support. Practically everything just works with GrapheneOS.
Fairphone with /e/OS is leagues better than Googled Android, but little to no additional security hardening has been done over plain AOSP (which itself is quite secure against non-state-sponsored attacks to be fair). Also, some pings to Google have yet to be patched out, see https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm
Linux phones are much better than they were a few years ago, but unless your workflow tolerates the occasional disruption due to a bug or missing feature, they aren’t exactly production-ready for most users. But a good sneak peek into the future of privacy phones given the way Android is headed now.
MicroG works for many things, but not everything. Google’s own apps don’t play well and some of my work apps don’t send notifications when using MicroG. But GrapheneOS supports a sandboxed, proper instance of Google Play Services should you need it.
Google Wallet and anything requiring the Play Integrity API will not work with third-party OSes, not even GrapheneOS (perhaps until they release their own phone).
Non smart phones
For linux phones can’t you use waydroid which gets you support for all android apps? Pls don’t quote me on this though.
I guess apps that require Google play services won’t work.
