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. #FOSS
Mobile phones are the part of my life that I’m so unlucky with, and just can’t get right as far as privacy is concerned.
I don’t like phones, or spending money on phones, so I always went with random cheap phone I found that lasted me for years. But every time I got a phone, I’ve always chosen one that can’t be flashed easily… Fort it was Zenphone, then Redmi, and now I’ve gotten a company issued Galaxy XCover.
I would love to switch to Lineage or something similar, and get rid of that Google and Samsung bullshit, but last time I checked, the device has a locked bootloader or something…
I’ve also just got PinePhone as my second phone, mostly out off curiosity, and it’s not really working as much as I’ve hoped, mostly due to battery life and the fact that my bank is dumb and haven’t yet discovered that physical MFA keys exists, and requires a bloated mobile app… But the PinePhone is fun, I can boot Kali Nethunter whenever, and if we are going to a internal pebtest engagement I can start while waiting in a lobby :D
That’s why I love Pixel phones. I’ve tried Xiaomi, LG, Sony, Samsung, but Google’s phones are much easier to use and offer more options. Plus, when it comes to longevity, a Pixel can last the longest
Just a warning, some vendors sell locked Pixel phones, apparently. I remember seeing a bunch of very dissatisfied posts when it was new.
I just recently got myself a Sony Xperia and while I haven’t delved into fully working on the privacy of it, Sony seems mostly hardware focused, so they just run vanilla Android on them, which I like. Degoogling has been super easy so far, though I havent switched out location services yet.
They are definitely a pretty penny though. I was lucky and got mine open box for half price, and even that could have gotten me 2 pine phones.
ETA: Unlocking the bootloader isn’t available on the US editions, apparently