privacy
Big tech and governments are monitoring and recording your eating activities. c/Privacy provides tips and tricks to protect your privacy against global surveillance.
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Well, yes and no.
/e/ is more de-Googled than LineageOS, and it also replaces some GApps with its own ecosystem (whereas LineageOS just gets rid of them). I would say that this makes it slightly more private.
However, /e/ also takes a lot longer to apply updates from upstream Android. LineageOS and GrapheneOS both take a few days up to a few weeks to do this; whereas /e/ sometimes takes months.
In the past, I would have recommended DivestOS and Calyx OS, but sadly DivestOS is unmaintained and Calyx OS have temporarily stopped releasing or updating their OS.
How is /e/ more de-googled than an OS with zero Google services?
I thought /e/ shipped with MicroG, while I know Lineage doesn't - you have to add it if you want it (I'm running Lineage).
LineageOS still uses Google for things like captive portal detection and DNS (at least, out-of-the-box). /e/ replaces these with their own services.
Hi. I too have found myself asking questions like this when I had phones that had custom ROMs.
tell me what Graphene has stronger?
When I looked into this, I found that Graphene is hardened and is more secure while other ROMs spec into the privacy aspect only.
I still keep my list even though my current device/chipset is not supported by these ROMs.
Alternative/Custom ROMS
In no particular order, these ROMs usually change the UX/UI and maybe add some security enhancements.
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BlissRoms: Close to stock with "some" added privacy
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Evolution X: Android 13 with the Pixel UI
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Paranoid Android: Android with custom enhancements
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~~PixelExperience~~
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~~OmniROM~~
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~~ArrowOS~~
Privacy|Hardened ROMS
Security-wise, LineageOS is a start but (correct me if I am wrong) you need to unlock the bootloader, which is not great. These ROMs purport heightened privacy or "hardened" security.
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iodéOS: "deGoogled" LineageOS fork, uses lots of blacklists for ad- and tracker-blocking. Sells pre-installed devices.
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/e/OS: A "deGoogled" Android experience. Uses microG, no telemetry sent to Google, modified NTP and DNS servers, modified GPS service. Uses the "App Lounge" which combines the Aurora Store with F-Droid and PWAs. Has a tracker blocker. Requires you to have an
@murena.ioaccount for some functionalities. -
GrapheneOS: Private, secure, hardened... has a long list of features. Updates are fast, exploitations are quickly mitigated, non-profit. But, Pixel-only.
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CalyxOS: PAUSED
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~~DivestOS~~
IMO best bet is to wait 2-3 months for Calyx to resume
Absolutely not.
Back when DivestOS was operational, they maintained a database of bugs, flaws, and security holes that the E Foundation and Murena refused to patch.
- MicroG isn't a secure front-end, it still phones home to Google.
- Their native IP scrambler is just an old fork of TOR
- Their webview (the core of every phone's ability to run a web application from Lemmy to Fruit Ninja) doesn't have hardened measures to prevent interference.
- The bootloader stays unlocked. This means that the most essential feature for your safety, the metaphorical lock on the front door of your house, is left broken and loose.
Hell no, do not use /e/os. Use Lineage. Use Grapheme. Use Linux Mobile. Use literally anything else.
The bootloader stays unlocked. This means that the most essential feature for your safety, the metaphorical lock on the front door of your house, is left broken and loose.
Your information is out of date. For example, the Fairphone's bootloader can be relocked and you can buy Fairphones with eOS pre-installed (and of course locked).
To find more phones that support relocking with eOS, filter this list by "verified boot".
Can someone point me at technical info about the risks of having an unlocked bootloader? From where I stand, the risks seem completely irrelevant (to take advantage of an unlocked bootloader, the attacker would need to have full access to your OS already). AFAIK, locking of bootloaders was never designed to protect the user, but only to let cell-phone providers restrict what phone users can do.
Damn, go look up PostmarketOS on the Graphene forums. Really disappointing.
Despite Graphene's clear limits, they claim to have a backup plan, and I like the way they communixate clearly.