What are the most privacy respecting smartphones to buy, I am also looking for the one which respects your privacy the most. So far going to privacy communities esp on reddit, I often see Google Pixel + GrapheneOS being recommended.
But the thing is I don’t really trust Google with privacy, as we have seen they are last one to respect privacy. What if Google has some backdoor in the hardware that cannot be changed? And the problem with the more privacy respecting OSes for mobiles like GrapheneOS, CalyxOS etc are that they are only supported for Google pixel phones.
So I am really confused here.
I purchased a used Pixel 3a for ~$150 last week and it works well with GrapheneOS. Since your budget is a bit higher than mine was, you could go for a newer Pixel.
GrapheneOS places more emphasis on security than LineageOS, but the privacy provided is comparable, or so I have heard from several sources.