this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2024
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Privacy

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After using LineageOS for long time, I have finally moved to GrapheneOS. I use a lot of banking and financial apps which I never felt comfortable using on LineageOS due to lack of proper sandboxing, unlocked bootloader etc.

GrapheneOS works flawlessly just like Android. You don't even notice there's hardening underneath. Also it protects from Google's evil location tracking using WiFi/Bluetooth or even when the Location is turned off. I don't understand how people in general are comfortable with Google tracking all the time. You can use Google Play and Play Services in a sandbox that works just like regular installation, but without deep tracking.

If you haven't tried GrapheneOS, try it. You won't go back to regular Android.

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[โ€“] lunar_dust_222@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago

Just beware that their community is a bit... unfriendly. So if you'd like to hang out maybe ask anywhere except their community.. like here ๐Ÿ˜

[โ€“] ivn@jlai.lu 1 points 11 months ago

My next phone is definitely going to be a Pixel for this reason. But my current one is not even 6 years old so I'll wait a bit.

[โ€“] atro_city@fedia.io 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I just looked it up and GrapheneOS only works on google hardware? So you had to give google some money first or did you get it to work on something else?

[โ€“] DavidGarcia@feddit.nl 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah the fact that Pixel Phones are the defacto standard for privacy phones is absurd. It's guaranteed chock full of hardware surveillance tools you can't remove with custom roms or kernels.

Outside of the Pixel lineup, custom rom support is almost non-existant in 2024. it's wild, you can get the same or better hardware for half the price.

[โ€“] Persen@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Xiaomis and some other chinease brands have decent custom rom support, but no grapheneos and no bootloader relocking (except some oneplus phones)

[โ€“] DavidGarcia@feddit.nl 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have a Xiaomi, I love their hardware and the fact that it's bugged by a foreign nation rather than my own. But Xiaomi software is garbage and flashing is an absolute pain. I looked at what rom support modern Xiaomi devices have and I am not impressed. It's almost all half baked or not privacy oriented. I've been struggling with one of said ROMs for years.

I am sick of flashing one-off ROMs without proper support or OTA, and constant system level bugs.

I'd love to have a manufacturer with open-source/open hardware focused cheap high performance repairable hardware and with privacy ROMs as a first-class citizen. Like a Fairphone if it was good.

But sadly all of these devices end up with bad support too in the end.

I think the main issue is that most ROM developers today only buy the most high end flagship devices, since those are the only ones that get any decent support. I'm guessing that's because they all got high paying tech jobs now.

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[โ€“] Recant@beehaw.org 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If you buy one used that is how you can get around giving Google money.

From a security standpoint it might give you a temporary benefit since all of Google's tracking IDs will be associated with the original owner. On a new phone I figure it's associated with you immediately.

[โ€“] Undertaker@feddit.org 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Not really. You carry arround a Google devices and people notice the brand and devices are more valuable when also desired second hand.

All of this supports Google

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[โ€“] bappity@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

honestly the only thing that is stopping me moving rn is Google Pay contactless for my bank cards and my bank app having ridiculous requirements with safetycheck.

[โ€“] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Definitely go ahead and tell your bank that you are annoyed by their mobile app only working on the stock OS. Call them, send them an email, whatever. If enough people complain or even threaten to switch banks over this, they might add better support using actual secure hardware-based attestation, which also works on GrapheneOS.

I even switched banks because of their ridiculous requirements for the mobile app, just so I could continue using GrapheneOS. I know that Graphene is much more secure than any other Android-based OS, and running my banking app on it is much safer than on another device. Banks should finally realize this too, which is why we need to complain.

[โ€“] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip -1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Graphene uses the same sandboxing as AOSP. If you are talking about Google services framework then that makes a little sense but by itself the apps are about the same in terms of security.

[โ€“] ReakDuck@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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