YSK: GrapheneOS - private & secure mobile operating system with Android app compatibility. Developed as a non-profit open source project.

Why YSK GrapheneOS is a step above the rest. I understand it’s ironic de-google phone/tablet with google hardware, but it just works better then anything else. Permission toggles, pin scrambling, auto-reboot, scopes, MAC randomization, isolated user profiles, longer passwords, sandboxed apps, open source firmware, no bloat & the battery life is incredible now.

I hope people understand how easy it is to move to Linux & GrapheneOS full time & remove Apple, Google, Microsoft etc. It exceeded expectations so much so that I want to share it with other people. I cannot recommend this enough to improve your life.

gunpachi,

I wish Graphene also supported other devices apart from Pixels.

AsimovsRobot,

Sadly, my Pixel 3A is not supported. The cutoff point is the next gen of the phones.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

can confirm! grapheneos is very easy to install. love it, the only problem is the limited hardware support, but that is the fault of manufacturers not the os

KindnessInfinity,

True true

cley_faye,

The main reason I keep a “real” smartphone around is for banking app, that requires Google Play Protect (or whatever it is called, the thing that supposedly check around if you’re on a rooted phone). Support for this doesn’t seem there yet, which defeat the purpose.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

banking should not be done on a phone

v81,

Why not?

Mdotaut801,

Because they said so. No reason, but just because.

FrankFrankson,

Shhhhhhh…the banks might hear us!

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

very insecure. especially if your 2fa method is on your phone as well (unfortunately many banks enforce this)

v81,

Sounds like scare mongering.

Why would that be any different than a PC with the 2FA app on the PC?

Banking on suitably patched and secured phone is NOT an inherently risky activity.

Spiracle,
@Spiracle@kbin.social avatar

It is also not recommended to use 2FA on PC to verify stuff on PC. (Personally, I still do that for some stuff due to laziness, though…)

Basically, hacking/stealing one device should not be enough to get your stuff. Smartphones are relatively often compared to PCs. As long as you still have a secure password you need to enter, I wouldn’t care too much, though.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

banks have old ahh security. not many support proper 2fa. but if u log in on your phone, and u do have your phone as the 2fa method, it makes no difference having 2fa. if someone gets your phone they get your banking log in and your 2fa method. its like putting totp 2fa on a computer to sign into something on the same computer. different devices for different purposes. remeber banking apps are always proprietry, so any zero day could be active right now, and we would not be the wiser. i suppose banking on a webpage on your phone is better, if you delete the cookie after.

KindnessInfinity,

If your phone is secure with screenlock, kept up to date and uses grapheneos than your banking should be safe. Using grapheneOS auto reboot feature would prevent anybody accessing private data stored in RAM , as it’s all at rest after reboot

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

i still dont trust it. theres no real reason to use it on phone. just becoming more dependant

KindnessInfinity,

Your first post, you claim that “so any zero day could be active right now” … This can happen with open source software too. Your phone is way more secure than the average PC running debian.

FutileRecipe,

I’d bet that a GrapheneOS phone is more secure than your average PC.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

not if u have linux and a hardened browser

FutileRecipe, (edited )

I said “average PC,” and you throw out Linux with a hardened browser. That’s not average. But how many people have Linux with a hardened browser? More importantly, how easy is that to set up compared to setting up GOS (I promise GOS is much, much easier to set up and use)?

But if we’re going with extremes like this: no one should use banks on Linux with hardened browsers. Just go in person.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

installing a just-works distro (say linux mint) is just/almost as easy as grapheneos. assuming not doing dual booting (the phone is dual booting is it).

librewolf (hardened fork of firefox) is like 2 commands on linux, or an installer wizard on windows.

unironically the last statement is based. less technology is always more secure. we managed without it back in the day didnt we.

im not going to say privacy and digital security is easy or one-size-fits-all or anything, we each have to make comprimises on convenience.

KindnessInfinity,

It’s harder for the average person. You have to know how to change device boot order in BIOS/UEFI, average person barely knows what an operating system is, let alone how to find their PC UEFI/BIOS setting menu to configure boot order. Grapheneos explains it clearly, how to install. You simply tap a few buttons on the browser and on the phone, when prompted.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

its like 10 key presses total. there are many tutorials (although none as good and official as grapheneos i assume). people can learn things, and digital literacy is very important

KindnessInfinity,

I agree 100% it’s upsetting how little people know about technology they use everyday. To many and you, installing a new OS is easy as breathing air, to the average person, it’s like learning to ride a bike for the first time. We have to slowly teach those, willing to listen and learn.

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

exactly. the only long term true solution to digital security is tech literacy. its not actually that hard to learn from nothing, some people just are lazy, or think its just for hackers (propaganda)

KindnessInfinity,

It’s overwhelming to a lot, if we want to teach, we shouldn’t call them “lazy”, they simply don’t see the value in understanding or learning tech.

zwekihoyy,

Linux is the least secure desktop os 😂

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

what r u smoking ? linux is the only widely used open source desktop operating system. it has heaps less viruses made for it. its unix-like permission system (like mac) is always better than uac of windows. you can say a lot of bad things about linux, sure, but security is most certainly not one of them. unless you compare it to a locked-down os like android, it is the most secure.

zwekihoyy,

source model is not indicative of security. besides that, though, Linux is much easier to gain privilege escalation and perform a data exfiltration.

in order of least to most secure is; ChromeOS, MacOS, Windows, Linux. (BSD derivatives arguably below Linux but that is a more complicated topic that I’m not educated enough on).

darcy,
@darcy@sh.itjust.works avatar

do you have a source for this claim by any chance ? windows is main target for viruses

zwekihoyy,

madaidans-insecurities.github.io/linux.html

KindnessInfinity,

That is correct they are

obinice,
@obinice@lemmy.world avatar

You didn’t mention which devices this is compatible with, which even on the Android side is very limited, unfortunately.

It’s a neat idea, I’m glad it exists, but I can’t be sure it has full support the way stock Android does, and it’s not necessarily compatible with my Android phone anyway, and I’d have to root my phone and void the warranty, so I think I’ll give it a miss for now.

Maybe in a few years I’ll try it on an old phone that I don’t mind killing if something goes wrong, just in case! :-D

nodsocket,

GrapheneOS only has support for OEM unlocked Google Pixel phones, and it runs pretty much perfectly on every device it supports. It is extremely easy to install, no rooting required. You just click buttons in a web browser while your phone is plugged in and there’s pretty much 0% chance of breaking anything.

grapheneos.org/install/

You’re supposed to buy a phone specifically to run GrapheneOS. This isn’t a ROM that you can swap onto any device, it’s native to a specific platform. Also, using GrapheneOS does NOT void the warranty, you can always switch back to stock Android with Google’s web installer.

Moonguide,

I’m a long time Android user but have rarely gone further than changing the launcher regarding costumization. Can anyone ELI5 the benefits I would have, as a regular consumer who uses his phone to just text and browse lemmy and the internet from time to time, and is just starting to learn about FOSS?

Not like I would be able to install this, I think. I’m on a Redmi 10 atm. I just want to learn.

BurnedDonutHole,

it’s like the Linux distros. Depending on the Custom ROM/OS you choose they offer many things. As for grapheneOS it doesn’t have anything related to the Google apps and services that run in the background so there is no google listening or spying on your stuff. Redmi 10 can install it iirc. There is a good community on xda-developers.com. You can start there with the subforum for your phone. They will have a lot of guides and different Custom ROM/OS options you can choose from.

Here is the subforum for your phone. https://forum.xda-developers.com/f/redmi-note-10.12197/

Moonguide,

Woah, way more info than I thought I would get. Thanks! I’ll look into it.

BurnedDonutHole,

You’re welcome. Enjoy.

Imotali,
@Imotali@lemmy.world avatar

Is it at all feasible to install on an iPhone 13? If it matters the most techy thing about me is that I have a Plex server that my fiancée built for us.

raistlin,

No, as it has very limited hardware support, mostly the google pixel line due to the pixels having unlockable bootloaders. The best you can do with an iPhone is jailbreak it.

BurnedDonutHole,

iPhone iOS and Android doesn’t mix. This is for Android based phones. I don’t think Apple will let people have that freedom ever with their phones and with their proprietary hardware and software it’s impossible.

Imotali,
@Imotali@lemmy.world avatar

I just knew that you could swap OS on Mac to have a Windows system, wasn’t sure if it worked the same for the iOS.

c0mbatbag3l,
@c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks for the links!

BurnedDonutHole,

You’re welcome.

TheKarion,

What launcher do you use?

Moonguide,

Atm, Niagara. Like it much better than the default one.

peetabix,
@peetabix@lemmy.world avatar

Isn’t this for Pixel only devices? Or does this work on non-pixels too?

Builtin,

Pixel only I believe

KindnessInfinity,

Pixel only for now, yeah.

Here’s the list of officially supported pixels: grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices

Pumpkinbot,

Sounds great, especially since it’s Android-compatible. I’d have to jailbreak my phone, though, right? Always been worried to do that, myself, because I don’t want to break my phone or get cut off by my service provider.

I might look into it on my Retroid Pocket 2+, though!

FutileRecipe,

Not sure what you mean by “jailbreak” as that’s rarely a term applied to Androids. On the phone side, you have to have a Pixel (6 and up are recommended due to increase security and longer support) and enable OEM unlocking, which requires no hacking/jailbreaking/rooting. It’s super easy to install.

grapheneos.org/install/web

Pumpkinbot,

Ah, hm. Well, I don’t have a Pixel, soooo…shit, lmao.

SoleInvictus,
@SoleInvictus@lemmy.world avatar

Same, I have a Samsung s21. I’m sad.

nodsocket,

Yeah the biggest downside is that you have to buy a device specifically to use GrapheneOS. It’s definitely worth it though.

Alice,
@Alice@lemmy.world avatar

i’ve been looking to try it out! I love my android but it’s constantly losing space and getting slower and slower. I’m only at 2 - 6 gigs all the time, and maybe GrapheneOS will fix that.

shapis,
@shapis@lemmy.ml avatar

Do banking apps work in this ?

naeap,
@naeap@sopuli.xyz avatar

At least mine does. But can’t speak for all of them

Only Android Auto doesn’t work, because it needs to be integrated in the OS and can’t be run just as an app

Fleecer74,

Calyxos is better for compatibility because of its inclusion of microg

MantisWaffle,

GrapheneOS has had better compatibility with sanboxed google services for a while now. Microg is worse.

Octagon9561,

That’s factually incorrect ever since GrapheneOS started offering sandboxed play services. This makes it more secure on top of that. Both Calyx and MicroG have security issues that aren’t present in GrapheneOS.

RichardLonghorn,

Unfortunate google hasn’t made a phone I actually like yet. Still rocking the S10 which needs a new battery. The Zenfone 10 sounds like it could fit the bill perfectly as a replacement but I doubt that will ever get supported by graphene

muaveri,

now that Fairphone is available in US they might give a shot at making GrapheneOS running on it

FutileRecipe,

Per GrapheneOS, they do not and will not support Fairphone 4. No clue if Fairphone 5 has fixed these issues.

www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/…/j67pbny/

person,
@person@fenbushi.site avatar

Agreed. I have actually spent a lot of time reading through their code and I find what they do amazing. It’s a solid OS and is actually secure where the phone owner actually has control over their own phone.

AncientMariner,

You are such a nerd…

… and so wonderful! Thanks for looking over source code so busy folk like me don’t have to! :)

Mdotaut801,

So you’re saying they aren’t busy and less important? :P

AncientMariner,

Who said anything about less important?

We’re all busy, and we use our time how we choose. They choose to use it in this way and I thanked them. Maybe consider how you spend your time. Arguing on the internet gives you very little.

MajorHavoc,

Agreed with many others here. GrapheneOS it’s fantastic.

A few points that haven’t been highlighted:

  • The GrapheneOS camera is fast and responsive. I haven’t had a responsive camera in several generations of Android until I installed GrapheneOS.
  • Everything is faster and more responsive on GrapheneOS. A $300.00 phone from last year running GrapheneOS responds to input like a $1000.00 phone, while keeping the longer battery life of a $300.00 phone.
  • Defense-in-depth privacy and security controls. A lot of good privacy and security defaults add up to a lot more peace of mind. Thiis phone feels like my property, not just a portal to deliver ads and collect data about me.
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