Privacy

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Alternatives to GrapheneOS (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 days ago by impudentmortal@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Wanted to get a new phone since my S20 is starting to show its age. And with all the enshitification of Android lately I thought it'd be good to try a different phone OS.

However, I don't really want to buy a Google Pixel so GrapheneOS is a no go. I was really interested in the Fold 7 but it seems that will not be possible to get without Android. Thought DivestOS was good but it looks like support ended in 2024.

What other phone OS are people using?

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[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

If you want a new phone consider /e/OS as you can directly buy a phone from Murena (who maintains /e/OS) and thus get something working from day 1, no tinkering.

To clarify, because there is constant FUD around /e/OS (I think the deGoogled Android crowd is VERY passionate and invests a lot of effort into picking the "right" ROM for them leading to a kind of "holy war" which tends to lose focus on what actually matters, namely leave Google!) so to clarify

/e/OS is not Murena
Murena is the French company that sells phones, including refurbished, running /e/OS
/e/OS is open source https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/
services from Murena are optional, including STT (which is a premium service) and anything cloud based requires Murena accounts
one can buy a phone from Murena and not using any of their service, it's as straightforward as NOT creating an account when booting the phone the first time, or not using an account, that's it.

Honestly I recommend this solution if you want a good compromise because IMHO

Linux phones, e.g. PinePhones (I have 2, cf post history for details) aren't daily drivers yet for most
it works, simple as that
it's quite affordable, you don't need a flagship to run /e/OS
it is actually deGoogled Android, which is IMHO the whole point
depending on your bank you might be able to use their banking app

Feel free to ask questions, happy to clarify.

[–] impudentmortal@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thanks for the detailed information. The Fairphone 6 is a strong contender to be sure and if I'm able to buy one with the OS installed all the better! Only problem is I'm in the US so I don't know how much more expensive it will be for me to buy.

And after doing a quick search of /e/OS it looks like an iOS clone, which I am not super fond of. Have you used it before?

Also, it seems my bank isn't supported. So that's another bummer

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You're welcome, briefly :

yeah... I'm not going to guess with tariff what's going on, they might not even ship anymore
I have been using it for half a year now and I like /e/OS , it's literally just Android without Google, that's it. If you find Android customizable enough to have the look&feel you need then you'll probably be OK
if you use mobile banking daily, it might even be enough to look for another solution. Be cautious though that if it's not working there, then most likely it won't work on other deGoogled solutions. Might have to consider changing banks. Before going through all that trouble though I'd try 1 week without the bank app and see how feasible that is. Maybe it's a big deal, maybe it's actually not that bad.

[–] impudentmortal@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks for clarifying. I guess I'll look more into /e/OS to see what it's really like.

My parents are going to France in October so if I decide on the Fairphone I may just ask them to pick it up for me. Not sure how that'd work though so I'll look more into it.

As for the banking, I use it about once a week or every other week to deposit checks. I will definitely still need that though since it's hard for me to physically go to the bank due to my limited mobility. Might be best to keep my old phone just for that purpose

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago

If they come to France still check that the US SIM would work there, or that eSIM is supported. Theoretically it's compatible but US carriers can be ... finicky.

For banking if depositing check can be done simply via the Web, then the app is not needed. Might have to ask your bank. Keeping the old phone would work indeed but not the most convenient.

[–] Fairgreen@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

This is a great explanation thanks