GrapheneOS: the private and secure mobile OS
grapheneos.org
GrapheneOS is a security and privacy focused mobile OS with Android app compatibility.

After using LineageOS for long time, I have finally moved to GrapheneOS. I use a lot of banking and financial apps which I never felt comfortable using on LineageOS due to lack of proper sandboxing, unlocked bootloader etc.

GrapheneOS works flawlessly just like Android. You don’t even notice there’s hardening underneath. Also it protects from Google’s evil location tracking using WiFi/Bluetooth or even when the Location is turned off. I don’t understand how people in general are comfortable with Google tracking all the time. You can use Google Play and Play Services in a sandbox that works just like regular installation, but without deep tracking.

If you haven’t tried GrapheneOS, try it. You won’t go back to regular Android.

  • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    124·
    3 months ago

    People contemplating moving to graphene, do be aware that banking etc. absolutely can be a major PITA on graphene as well. Several official apps used where i live cannot work in graphene, even with sandboxed play services installed, making day-to-day life functionally impossible with graphene. Luckily reverting to stock android is easy, although I probably wouldn’t have bought a pixel phone if I was planning on using stock OS.

    • cmhe@lemmy.world
      12·
      3 months ago

      Well, I never really missed being able to pay via NFC on a phone, but I also never done it. My NFC chip in my card works fine.

      When my baking app started detecting my rooted phone, I just switched to using their web-app via Firefox, which allows you to create a direct link to it as an “App”. Which is probably better anyway, than installing random proprietary apps on a phone. And logging into it every time is also easy with a password manager.

      So I guess, as long as the banks still offer a website, I am good.

    • PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de
      5·
      3 months ago

      Isn’t it only Google Wallet that doesn’t work? I actually cancelled a bank account I had because their app only worked with Google Wallet. Some banks roll their own NFC payment thing.

      I’m on CalyxOS btw, not Graphene.

      • oscardejarjayes [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        4·
        3 months ago

        Some banking apps won’t run without SafetyNet (technically now Play Integrity). Pure AOSP doesn’t have it, and AOSP distributions with sandboxed play services or whatever usually fail the hardware attestation requirements. There are some other reasons banking apps won’t work, but a lot of it is similar stuff.

      • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        3·
        3 months ago

        No that doesn’t work either, but we use a 2FA app to enable mobile banking access, SS access, school communications/message board etc., basically anything that requires you to prove your identity. That app doesn’t work in graphene at all, it flat out refuses and states the OS isn’t secure or the app isn’t installed from a valid source, so all things dependant on this doesn’t work on graphene.

        Edit: a lot of other things also fail because graphene apparently doesn’t pass the google play safety check either.