Personally I’m rocking a Google Pixel with Grapheme OS.
Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS. It’s the first and only time I’ve ever felt I was in control of my own smartphone.
If GOS is ever no longer an option, I will likely stop using smartphones altogether until a proper community-based Linux OS with similar features is available.
How does that work with apps?
I put grapheneos on my old Pixel 6 as a “Yolo” phone for a Infosec conference this past year.
It’s very… okay for apps. You effectively have two options, install a third party app store (F-Droid), or setup a new profile with Google services enabled and use Play store over on that.
GApps alternatives are mixed quality - nothing really beats Maps (at least in the US), but other things like Chrome are easily replaced with DuckDuckGo browser or Firefox.
It was an interesting experiment to see if I could go Google apps free, and it worked okay for 4 days, but going full time to it would be rough.
For what it’s worth, I use F-Droid and the Play Store via the Aurora store frontend, all without a Google account.
I don’t install the Google Play Store bundle, as I feel it defeats the purpose. I do install Google Services Framework though as most apps rely on it and it doesn’t require network access.
I generally don’t use any apps that compromise user privacy, so apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, and Google Maps are all a no-go for me. If and when I need to access their services, I use an alternative front end or simply use a browser.
Even if you do need to use the above apps though, you’ll find GrapheneOS a much more secure and privacy-respecting way of doing so.
Hey thanks!
Yeah Google maps is really good and the alternatives are quite mediocre :-/
Otherwise if I can use lichess and my high sea sailing Spotify id probably be good :-)
That’s not true, I have Google Play Store with my regular gmail account logged in. I have all my usual apps installed without any issue.
Pixel 6 Pro with Graphene OS
How does GOS work with apps, or how would a proper Linux OS work with apps?
For the former, GOS works really well for what I want from a smartphone. Self-hosted contacts and calendaring, Signal for messaging, Firefox and Vanadium for browsing, markdown editor, file sync, etc. all work great.
For the latter, a proper Linux-oriented release would be something like a mature version of the GNOME Shell mobile project. I don’t need specific Android apps, but rather the ability to complete certain tasks (banking, appointments, email, etc.). With Linux, there’s already an app for most of those tasks. The only exception might be Signal, but I’m sure if GNOME Shell matures enough we’ll see a solution for mobile Linux activation too.
I recently read about https://murena.com/ which is a degoogled OS. Might be not enough for your needs, but others might find it useful.
I remember reading that GOS eventually wants to develop their own hardware, although I’m sure that is many years away.
Currently an iPhone 13 Pro with iOS (obviously :'D).
GrapheneOS. Everything works, except Google Pay NFC payments. Luckily, my bank has Google Pay alternative and can be used for NFC payments, so I am good.
I am happy so far. Stable as hell.
Hmm, the lack of no Google pay has been a concern/consideration as I think toward moving to an alternate ROM like graphene. I could give up pretty much anything on my pixel but I love and use the hell out of contactless payments.
Any idea why nfc payments wouldn’t work with Google pay but would with a bank app? Is a 3rd party privacy focused wallet technically feasible?
Android supports multiple payment providers. Some banks implement their own payment provider (e.g. Sparkasse in Germany), most just rely on Google Pay (now Google Wallet). Google Wallet has strict requirements for the Play Integrity API. Because of the modifications to Android that GrapheneOS is implementing, it is not eligible to receive the required integrity attestation and thus, Google Wallet is refusing to work. Google could at any point reconsider and certify/whitlelist GrapheneOS, which would allow Google Wallet to work using GrapheneOS. Likelihood close to 0.
Any banking app implementing their own payment provider is completely independent of this decision unless it also relies on Play Integrity API attestation (or a similar mechanism).
out of curiosity, are you aware what changes exactly make the Play Integrity API eligibility requirements not able to be met? with Google play installed, the compatibility layer should be able to facilitate the necessary communication, I would think.
or are they just arbitrarily saying anything that’s not stock isn’t eligible?
I don’t know why people would even attempt that, let alone see that as an issue, pretty weird for a privacy advocate to want to use Google pay. Google Pay clearly knows it’s on a modified device, hence it not working.
That said the NFC radio isn’t restricted, so other banking apps just see that you’re not rooted, and verified boot is good, so they work.
It’s one of the most secure ways to pay at retail. Payment card data is only shared with one party, payment methods are tokenized so retailers cannot swipe your payment information and use it again. I’ve had a couple of cards stolen by retailers like a coffee shop, that I had to close. It was a hassle. Also for online payments I much prefer GPay or PayPal, everything is clear, unauthorized payments are obvious and easy to fix.
I use GrapheneOS and like it a lot.
Is the option to toggle network access for applications available in other OSs? Maybe I just didn’t notice it until now but it’s an option I’ve really been enjoying
Pixel 6 with their skin of android 14, I cannot disable network access, but there are other permissions that I am able to control.
It’s in your permissions per app
Fairphone 4 with CalyxOS
Fairphone 4 with CalyxOS too here
I’m on a Fairphone 4 with CalyxOS
Recently my Fairphone 5 arrived. Now I’m waiting on Calyx…
Same boat. Stuck with my Pixel 5 for now.
Same.
PinePhone with postmarketOS and Mobian as a backup OS. It’s good enough for my needs, but I do wish Linux phones had more options. For one, I’d like a smaller phone than the PP.
So you’re saying you do not have a small pp?
My pp is plenty small. Thank you for your concern!
Second the need for a smaller option. I use it on postmarketOS but it’s buggy as hell. Is scrolling through the SMS app broken for you as well?
Broken how? It’s buggy but usable for me.
When scrolling through calls and chats it will jump around like it would with a damaged touchscreen. However the top slider with the quick toggles scrolls fine. So the touchscreen is not damaged but some apps behave like it is. I think I’m due for another reinstall.
Do you follow the rolling updates or reimage each major version?
I continue to use the Pinephone because I bawk at the price vs longevity of hardware build quailty and software shovelware. Also the loss of features on mainstream smartphones such as the oooooh sd card and headphone jack. It’s asine that these are considered “hard to find” and “features”. The icing on the cake is parts availability. I break the screen, I install a new one in like a minute if I’m speed running it and all without any parts serialization.
I bought in right as the pro had launched but software was still in it’s infancy. So I look forward to the Pro when I can afford it.
Not sure what is going on there. With me, scrolling jumps around but it’s usually related to opening and closing the virtual keyboard. For some reason opening the keyboard messes with the screen position. Annoying, but not unusable. A reinstall may be in order, but pmOS recently had broken installer images, so try to make sure that’s fixed before doing that.
I’m following the stable branch and upgrading when a new version drops. pmOS has been pretty good, but every now and then a full reinstall has been necessary. I’ve been using PP since the Mobian community edition.
Yeah, PinePhone is currently one of the few acceptable options available. Affordable, fixable, private. Even with it’s flaws, it’s pretty good. Unfortunately mobile linux needs to mature a lot before other companies will jump in, but lack of hardware and attention seems to be still hampering the development. A conundrum. Still, all’s not lost yet.
Fairphone 3+ & /e/OS
Found my people!
How well do banking apps work on /e/ os?
the problem with my case was finding the bank apps in the first place, because my country has it’s own niche ones which aren’t in the default app lounge and aurora wasn’t working properly at the time, but once I found an apk or something no trouble except for notifications
Same here. Surprisingly stable, I have only had one issue couple of years back!
A OnePlus 6 with Linux (postmarketOS - GNOME Shell) and a Samsung A34 with only open source software.
Pixel 6 Pro, GrapheneOS.
Nice try, glowies :)
Haha was thinking the same
Xperia 10 with Sailfish
Pixel 6a
Graphene gang
