My current phone is 7 years old, does not support recent android versions, and battery life is becoming atrocious. This feels like right time to change my phone.
Currently, I know of & am considering 3 options:
- Google Pixel
- iPhone
- Samsung Galaxy
I heard that Pixel is the best choice for privacy, despite it being Google^TM. Should I go with it, and install Graphene OS or similar options? The very fact that the name “Google” is attached makes me nervous. Also, I don’t think I can trust android, so I would have to install Graphene OS or the like. In the case, app support would be lacking, though.
I am considering iPhone as well, since it has “reputation” of being secure. Of course, Apple can access my data, but that might be a good enough compromise? Honestly, I don’t know. It’s the best supported option as well - lots of apps support iPhone.
Galaxy is just the one that I am the most familiar with (my current one is Galaxy S8). I don’t trust it, though. Do they even make good hardware nowadays?
EDIT: Turns out, Pixel phones are poorly supported by local telecomm companies. It is relatively cheap though. Still worth it?
EDIT2: I heard that data & message is fine, but the call quality is impacted by lack of VoLTE compatibility.
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- Pixel, and immediately install GrapheneOS.
- A Linux based phone, like the PinePhone or Purism 5, and run your Android apps (if desired) inside Waydroid.
I didn’t realize that Purism phones don’t have internationally compatible modems. As someone who travels a lot, that’s unfortunately a dealbreaker.
- Pixel, and immediately install GrapheneOS.
I am surprised Google still allows to open the bootloader, with all the bitching they have been doing towards sideloading apps, play integrity BS and making android more similar to iOS in general terms…
Googles devices have always been able to have custom ROMs, I even had a Nexus 2 long ago and that was moddable.
Yeah, but you need to concede that their efforts to block “unofficial” users have strengthened as of lately… That’s why I think they might do a Xiaomi move sooner or later.
Por que no los e/OS with a Morena phone?
e/OS is miles behind GrapheneOS and even CalyxOS. I see no reason to go that route if you’ll be much better served by any modestly modern Pixel phone and GrapheneOS.
Please note: You must buy the “Unlocked - Works with any carrier” version of the Pixel via Googles website (or from a reputable source that ensures it is/was not carrier locked). Anything else will have a permanently locked boot loader and no way to install Graphene.
Oh my, that sounds difficult. What does “permanently locked bootloader” mean? I was just going to buy at local phone shop…
EDIT: Turns out, local phone shop does not sell Google Pixel. Gotta buy from official google store…
Actually, if you buy a Pixel, you need to get the “google edition” version, which google sells directly. If you’re buying used, specifically search for the “google edition” version. I have a Pixel 6 Pro running Graphine OS and I love it. It’s not difficult to install.
I usually just buy them used.
You have to look for the unlocked version though. They usually sell for a little bit more but it’s worth paying the extra.
Where can the seller check if it is the unlocked one?
Setting --> About Phone --> Software information --> Tap Build Number 7 times, type pin if prompted. --> Back to Main Settings menu --> Developer Options --> Look for a “Allow Bootloader to be Unlocked” or similar wording. If you can check the box, it should be bootloader unlockable. (I’ve never tried it myself, I just dig around settings a lot through curiosity)
“Permanently locked bootloader” means you can’t unlock the bootloader so you can flash a different OS. If you can’t unlock the bootloader, you can’t flash. A lot of phones are like this, like Samsung’s galaxy series. I got really fucked by Samsung with the S10 because of this. You need to buy a specific type of phone and security patch if you want to flash. I went with the Pixel bought unlocked from Google so I could use GrapheneOS. It was very easy to unlock the bootloader and then relock it back. I noticed you said the pixel does not have good reception in your country, I would look more into this before going with it if this is the case.
I got my Pixel 7 from T-Mobile… The OEM unlocking toggle shows up in developer settings. An internet search implies I have a unicorn.
In my opinion, the Google Pixel with GrapheneOS is considered the gold standard in terms of security and privacy. While I am not fully knowledgeable about its capabilities, it offers a comprehensive suite of security features.
The iPhone is also a viable option. You can easily swap between iCloud to a more secure encrypted provider for both cloud storage and photo backups. Additionally, any notes application can be replaced with a more secure alternative.
Samsung phones can support a range of operating system images that can be flashed, including LineageOS. However, I am not fully aware of all the available options.
The iPhone is also a viable option
🤭
iPhone 15 (the most recent model without AI) is perfectly adequate for most people.
lol idk what you find amusing about that but okay
Just to let you know, GrapheneOS uses AOSP (the base Android system) and sandboxed Google Play Services, making it compatible with 90% of all Android applications. From what I’ve heard (don’t take my word for it), the apps that have the least compatibility / more breakage are banking ones.
While this tends to be true, the vast majority of the banking app incompatibilities are overcome with a simple app-specific toggle.
Which toggle is that and does it work with cash app?
Exploit Protection Compatibility Mode. It’s a setting that relaxes this particular security enhancement for a given app.
It’s worth knowing that NFC payments do not work with Graphene currently.
Oh I didn’t know NFC payments were not working. No workaround?
Not currently. It will require Google to’allow’ tap-to-pay on Graphene. Other NFC functions work fine.
For my use, it’s not a big deal. Tapping my card is easy enough
Thanks for the explanation. Unfortunately this is a major feature for me. I just don’t carry cards anymore
That’s fair. Privacy and security generally come at some cost of convenience. Everyone has their own personal balance.
Oh shit, this is working.
Yeah, the problem is with the one banking app I frequent.
I’ve been rocking a Pixel 8 pro with Graphene OS for a year and change and it was a great experience after being an iPhone user for 8 years aproximately.
The install process is great, automatic and foolproof, you just need the phone, usb cable (probably came with your phone) and a computer with a Chromium-based browser.
App support hasn’t been a problem for me, you can reach for Aurora Store (anonymous Play Store client) if you really need something from there. Otherwise you have F-droid and the usual suspects and also Accrescent, which Graphene offers through its own app store, but barely has anything as of today.
I setup Shelter to have some apps more isolated and being able to just not see them if I want, namely some Microsoft apps I need for work and some that depend o Google’s services. Shelter is recommended by privacyguides.org, so you should be fine using it.
I think Pixel/Graphene is probably your best option for security if you need it. Privacy I guess you can achieve many other ways.
I owned 4 Samsungs: S8, S10e, S22 and S24 Ultra. Their products got worse. An example is the recent One Ui 7 update, it is just terrible: My notification area that works perfectly fine before, is now changed; my battery life got worse…etc.
Even if I ignore the update, Samsung products are just not great anymore. Remember when a Galaxy can take really great photos? Those days are gone. My S24 Ultra takes the worst pictures in comparison to a Xiaomi or Huawei. Heck, even the controversial Asus Zenfone 10 takes better picture. Sure the Galaxy has better Megapixels, but the AI bullshit makes it so the colors are all wrong.
With that said, you want to go for Pixel + GrapheneOS. Anything that is close to stock Android should be ok. Oh, and stay away from anything with a lot of AI.
If you swipe down on the notifs twice, you can edit them to be similar to the previous style.
On topic of your post, fuuuuck everything about their forcing AI, but my biggest gripe is how they moved the audio display (from, like, Spotify or audiobook readers/podcast apps) to the bottom of the lock screen as a tiny bar on the bottom instead of showing me all the info as it did before. It’s super annoying when I swipe to unlock and pause what I’m listening to.
yeh the other day I accidentally swiped down and touched the Media section. It automatically played my music, eventhough the music app was off lol. Luckily it didnt play any “videos”…
Lol, could’ve been bad. I hate the new UI.
best choice for privacy […] “reputation” of being secure
Disentangling privacy and security, and potentially other priorities, e.g. secrecy, anonymity, etc might be important before making suggestion.
Another way to help deciding what is the best choice for you, not necessarily anybody else, is what is your threat model?
An analogy I thought recently is “Are you putting a very tough lock on your door but leaving the windows opened?” or “Are you locking your car but walking outside naked?”. The point here is not to imply that people do obvious mistakes but rather that, truly there are people who go to parades naked AND lock their cars. The concerns can be orthogonal and thus must be considered individually. For that I believe thinking about “who the enemy is” as a way to discover your threat model is interesting, namely :
Are you worried by :
- government getting your private data without your consent?
- government doing so automatically and cheaply through intermediaries e.g. platforms?
- government doing so via extremely costly individual security attacks e.g. 0-days, with a “legit” hacker manually doing it?
- small private companies?
- platforms?
- your actual neighbor?
The answer to those questions will then provide you a more limited set of options. Basically I would argue only the 3rd option ties tightly with security but that’s up to a certain extent and companies like Pegasus shows that it can also be done at scale, for profit. Still, AFAICT it wasn’t done for a random person BUT that was few years ago.
Anyway one you go through options, e.g. iPhone vs Android vs deGoogled Android vs Linux phone vs dumb phone you will see your usage itself will have to change. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it is not something most people will think about initially.
I suggest then to… try. I know it’s not the answer you want but what you are asking for, I believe, is genuine change. It is about the technology, yes, but it also is about your habits. Consequently it is a process with some success, failures, cascading changes and thus IMHO must be iterated on.
It is worth it though.
Using a Pixel 6 with Graphene here with google services in their sandbox. It’s pretty neat, especially with apps like Firefox+uBlock and GrayJay, which let me also block 99% of ads, which was very important to me. I have not had trouble with any banking apps either.
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I think you’re mixing privacy with security, iPhone is secure but it’s not private, it’s slighty more private than Google Android but not what would you call private.
Samsung can soft brick your phone so basically backdoor.
Google Pixel with custom ROM like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS is considered to be best in terms of privacy.
Another cheaper alternative if you don’t want to give money to Google or spend too much is Motorola G32, G42, G52 with CalyxOS but to unlock bootloader you have to make account on their website.
Nokia 3310
I bought a Fairphone 3 and put LineageOS on it a few years back and can recommend it. LineageOS is less secure than GrapheneOS as far as I can tell but the privacy aspect is there, as you have a completely degoogled phone. I have some friends that have the same setup on the newer Fairphones and they are also very happy and have a smoother experience than me, because it is a newer phone.
Fairphone is an European country that has a move to open source (https://www.fairphone.com/en/open-source/).
To the compatibility and functionality:
- SMS and Calling is no problem, VoLTE works and as SMS app I recommend QUICK.
- AppStore I recommend F-Droid and Aurora Store. With Aurora Store you can download and install all apps that are on the Google Store. Just check, that your Banking Apps and so on support non-Google-Android OSs as some people I know had to switch back because some banks and services only work with Google Services (and that is a shame in my opinion, a Bank should NEVER be dependent on other companies for transactions and authentication. I for my part switched bank because of such a thing.)
- microG can be used to use apps that need Google services, I do not use it but friends use it and are happy
In general you will find an replacement for every app you now use that is from a big company. Open Source came a long way and most alternatives are even better in my opinion.
My old phone is on its last leg, but I’m holding out for a Huawei or VIVO with HarmonyNextOS. I so want to end everything Google.
Use Galaxy with debloater (you can also remove Google Play Services) + AdGuard DNS + TrackerControl (you can get with droidify)
You can also dual boot Linux desktop distro on it also.
This way you get best performance and all the choices.
Fixed URL to universal-android-debloater
Somehow Lemmy in the browser was able to deal with the URL formatting, but the app I use wasn’t.
Thanks, edited, hopefully it’s fixed for everyone
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