I have already a degoogled phone on /e/OS which works pretty fine but I have red an article which said /e/OS is not actually very safe because it has very old security patches compared to AOSP which has is up-to-date.
/e/OS is the product of Murena company which is promoting their own stuff for profit.
Of course GrafeneOS would be better for privacy but I have a fairphone so it is not an option.
What about CalyxOS ? It is more privacy oriented but now releases are paused. Do you think I should install existing build of CalyxOS for FP5 or install LineageOS and find a good DNS/VPN to block ads and trackers. This is a tool I like on e/OS/ to have a view on blocked trackers.
What alternative would you advice on AOSP ?
Do not use CalyxOS at the moment. It lacks importmant Android security updates. I would recommend LineageOS or IodéOS (which is slightly more secure due lockable bootloader, etc.). I feel difficult about /e/OS since they have done questionable things.
DivestOS is dead and won’t come back.
Sad for divestOS. IodéOS looks to be a good option.
Note: iode is often a month or more behind on Android security patches.
I spoke to one of their team members and they said: “Regarding our SPL (“Security Patch Level”), typically our builds are made mid-to-end-of-the-month to include the newest SPL updates that trickle in from upstream (sometimes our updates are delayed to make sure they are integrated before we build). You should see the newest update made just at Christmas time includes the December SPL patches which weren’t available when we made the earlier monthly builds.”
AXP.OS is kind of a soft continuation of what DivestOS was trying to do, but as of right now, it is not ready for daily use and it is unproven.
CalyxOS is dead. The project is stopped. Don’t install it.
It’s not exactly dead, it’s “on hiatus” until they’ve sorted things out. The founder and lead dev left the project without any message to the community, taking the signing keys with them. Which, obviously raised a lot of questions.
Your recommendation not to install it right now is perfectly valid. And even when the project comes back, I wouldn’t use it until the question of what exactly happened to Nick and who is running the project right now has been sufficiently answered.
It’s not exactly dead, it’s “on hiatus”
Nah… It’s restin’ 🙂
Wat kind of talk is that? This is an ex-Calyx!
I’d say go with LineageOS
Article written by GrapheneOS? They are hardly objective. Graphene’s social media account hates every android ROM that isn’t called GrapheneOS and will excessively shit on it. It’s to make you believe nothing but GrapheneOS is secure. It also helps that they are releasing a phone with Motorola soon that will come with GrapheneOS pre-installed on it.
My bet is that they will call it the most secure phone on the planet with quotes taken out of context from anywhere they can find.
“Unhackable” says the IDF
“Impossible to crack” - NYTimes
“A must have have for journalists” recommended by the FBI
I don’t know who wrote the article. I don’t really need GrapheneOS and I won’t buy a special phone to get it. Calyx Os looks to be a good project but it is paused. IodéOS is also up-to-date unlike /e/OS.
I also have a FP5. I run the official OS. Deegoogled and debloated in general with adb. There are great “Android Debloater” programms if you don’t feel too comfortable with manually uninstalling system apps with adb. But take them with a grain of salt, it’s always a bit biased by the views of the devs.
Deegoogled and debloated in general with adb
I did not know that is an option.
Why did you choose that option instead of a customROM like iodeOS?
This way one gets security updates the fastest, official OS releases tend to be the most stable and since the custom OS landscape either died out or because I got more picky, the choices don’t seem all too appealing. Debloating and -googling is also faster.
As to “Why not iodé?” It seems nice, if you have the time, give it a try! qol features like integrated ad-blocking seem really nice! I, for my part, would want to go all in. By that I mean when I flash a custom OS I’d go through the hassle of also rooting and installing XPosed Framework/LSposed whatever (if it’s not dead, yet) plus whatever packages I find intriguing. And even though this sounds quite fun, I just don’t have the time for all that.
/e/OS should be okay, LineageOS is great, afaik CalyxOS is paused right now.
I don’t trust any of them, and I don’t trust Motorola.
My next phone will be an Iphone, treated like an appliance; no more info given than necessary to order a pizza, call my boss, navigate this dystopian wasteland, and see how much fiat is in my wageslave account.
Time to kick it like it’s 2007 and rock a laptop 24/7.
You don’t trust any of them, and then you get an iPhone, that’s pretty funny
Not if you think about it longer than two minutes.
Apple has to protect their IP, brand, their own information and their reputation. My identity and professional information is safe behind an iPhone, because they have to be for themselves.
My actual friends, actual social media activity, anarchism, socialist views, contacts, lol, even any discussion had here will never see that screen, no xmpp client, no tor, no yggdrasil, so, who cares what I order pizza and reserve parking spots with?
That article is FUD to help graphene make bank with Motorola. Unless you’re trafficking drugs or are a pdf-file /e/OS should be safe and private enough without compromising usability for most people.
https://swappa.com/listings/google-pixel-7a?carrier=unlocked
https://swappa.com/listings/google-pixel-8a?carrier=unlocked
Pixel 7a and 8a with unlocked carriers seems to still be affordable from resellers in Good or Mint condition. I’d suggest buying one and loading GrapheneOS onto it.
i’m currently on the same boat, fp5 with murena’s OS. i believe we read the same article and i also read graphene OS’s posts on mastodon about murena and it’s founder.
im thinking about switching to Lineage sometime soon(?) and do heavy customization there. I don’t really use murena’s features (i hate the launcher but i knew i would before installing) and i’m not finding anything useful for me on /e/OS.
from september to january/february i was running ubuntu touch, which was fun, haven’t checked back on the project for quite some time (i had to do some scary stuff to come back to android tho)
didn’t the developer of calyx os harass people from the graphene os project?
i’m honestly thinking about getting a feature phone…
There might be also iodé OS and divestOS based on AOSP which would be interesting options waiting for CalyxOS to be back.
I already tried Ubuntu Touch bit it didn’t look nice, I would like to try PostMarketOS but it’s not yet completely functional…
And I definitely don’t want to buy another phone right now to install grapheneOS
Right now i am propably going from /e/ to iodéOS
sounds interesting, however it looks like there’s only one developer
Really? How do you know that? However: It seems to work better and is more privacy friendly than /e/OS.
commit history on a couple of their projects, haven’t checked all ofc
I think this is the good thing to do
Done. Wow that was chill.








