My current phone is starting to annoy me after 7 years of usage (Xiaomi Note 8 Pro) and I’m thinking of finally getting a new one. With that in mind, I’m considering setting up a De-Googled OS as well, but there are a few things that I cannot compromise on:

  • Google Maps (I need the live traffic data when in a hurry, otherwise CoMaps is very nice)
  • Banking Apps (I’ve checked them in the GrapheneOS list and they do seem to work)
  • Instagram (it sucks I know, but I like not being a hermit)
  • Company Portal & Teams (absolute garbage, but I need it for work)

If any one of these aren’t guaranteed to work, then it’s not an option for me right now.

If they do work, which De-Googled OS should I go for? GrapheneOS does seem like the most private one and maybe the most likely to remain worked on and supported for a long time, but it means that I’m going to have to buy a Pixel, probably a refurbished one.

Lastly, if I install another OS and regret it, is it possible to install the stock OS again?

Edit: Also, what happens after Google’s “Unverified App” decision has passed, will this affect these alternative OS?

  • kyub@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    181·
    1 day ago

    GrapheneOS is the best mobile OS. Even though the Graphene team has weird habits of communication which might be off-putting for some, the OS technically still is the most secure AND most private mobile OS distribution you can have on any phone. It’s literally at the top, according to many technical and data protection experts. It’s so good that Cellebrite can’t crack it even with physical access, and some police in some country (I think it was Portugal) will assume you’re a criminal for using it, because it’s so secure and private and they can’t stand the thought of someone fully utilizing their personal rights. Plus, it has great documentation and is easy to install. Despite it being so secure and private by default, it still allows you to shoot yourself in the foot by installing the sandboxed Google services and so on, if you really want to. So it can also be used like an off-the-shelf Android, just with some additional hardening and extra protections on top which you benefit from, but the benefit will be much smaller of course when you install and use spyware apps.

    • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
      151·
      1 day ago

      Even though the Graphene team has weird habits of communication which might be off-putting for some,

      I like my secure OS developers to be on the paranoid side of sane.

      It’s probably not a stretch to think that there are a lot of people out to compromise that specific team of developers, that’d make me paranoid too.