Next smartphone I buy, which one do you recommend? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Things that make me angry about my current smartphone Samsung Galaxy S21Ultra on a Verizon plan is the mandatory software updates in which they install WITHOUT MY PERMISSION stupid apps like Netflix and addictive gambling games and stacking block games and Candy crush. God knows what else they install without my permission. I don't want any of it!

Next phone I buy I want to start with a clean slate, I'm not going to affiliate with any conglomerate like Verizon or AT&T or Sprint or T-Mobile etc, I prefer to go rogue somehow,

which smartphone do you recommend that has no bloatware and it's customizable?

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[-] trevor@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 year ago

You can root on GrapheneOS. You do it exactly the same way you'd do it for the stock Google ROM:

Have an unlocked bootloader. Yes, this means that it """defeats the purpose of GrapheneOS""", if the purpose of GrapheneOS isn't for you to avoid Google's privacy nightmare. I use GrapheneOS for privacy moreso than security, and not being able to block ads properly is irritating.
Install the Magisk app.
Extract the boot.img from the GrapheneOS image and patch within Magisk.
Flash the patched boot image in the bootloader.

The main annoyance with this is that you'll have to do that dance every month when a security patch gets released, but for me, it's better than vomiting from exposure to ads on mobile.

[-] iamak@infosec.pub 1 points 1 year ago

Oh okay. Thanks! Does it pass the integrity checks?

[-] xep@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What is the patching process when running with Majisk, without OTA? It looked like quite a PITA to me, but I'm using Graphene for the same reason you are.

Edit: I found this

https://grapheneos.org/usage#updates-sideloading

After sideloading an update I'd probably have to do what Trevor posted.

this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2023

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