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  • Thinking of switching to graphene os from iPhone but some concern's

Hello, I am someone who values privacy but I also value quality of life features just as much. I have been thinking about switching to android but know there’s a drop in privacy over iOS since google is in the business of selling data so was thinking about going graphene os. My concerns are I don’t want to give up things like finding my phone if I lose it, being able to use AI features, voice assistants, phone pay, call screening, etc. Will I still be able to use all those features with something like graphene os or am I just doomed to stay on iOS for better privacy?

    Kilsnacks if your budget allows I keep a separate iPhone for instances where I need to use a wallet or other things i don't want on my main device. Helps the transition as well.

      UndercoverBozo I more so meant better privacy than android without a rom since apple isn't in the business of selling data like google is. Regardless that is a huge bummer not having payment functionality. Would something like a galaxy or pixel watch work for payment? I plan on getting a smart watch for fitness tracking anyways.

          Kilsnacks I think you are in for a rude awakening with apple my friend. You should look more into that subject. I do agree its a bummer but I've gotten used to it. One less company tracking your purchases and selling that data.

            @UndercoverBozo You are spreading inaccuracies about Apple's privacy practices. It is widely known that Apple collects significant amount of usage data from iOS users, but you are wrong about them selling it to third-parties for profit. This is one of the selling points of Apple products, that their data collection stays within their app ecosystem. Please provide solid evidence for your statement.

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              • Post #8

              fid02 you are forgetting one little detail about Google, Meta and the like tracking on iPhone when web browsing and operating apps using webview. iPhone users succumb the feeling they only trust one entity while the truth is somewhere else. GrapheneOS or even stock Android in some instances is better any day.

                fid02

                Perhaps the point is that you must trust what they will do with all the data they collected in the past, are collecting, and will collect in the future. Hopefully they keep it all private, but who knows

                  Kilsnacks

                  finding my phone

                  That's coming with Android 15. I do not know if it will fully work on GrapheneOS, so you should probably wait until it is confirmed.

                  AI features, voice assistants

                  Should work as per this thread if Google Assistant does what you want. I have never used any phone assistant so don't know. You will of course be giving up some privacy, but don't let perfect be the enemy of better.

                  phone pay

                  Yes and no. It depends on your bank and the contactless payment service. See this thread for why.

                  call screening

                  Unsure, but this thread seems to indicate that maybe?

                  For further answers I recommend you make a list of the features and functions you need/want and then search the forum to see if there are answers for them.

                    Kilsnacks you value privacy as much as quality of life features? BYE FELICIA!

                      fid02 if you want to relate "better privacy" with iOS thats your right. I will not be doing so.

                        Let's not derail this into an Apple vs Google battle regarding privacy. I think we can all agree that they are both horrible in their own terms and GrapheneOS is much better in both security and privacy. The project homepage will give a lot of information about it.

                        Kilsnacks welcome to the community, nice to have you around! Unfortunately iOS is indeed bad for privacy, and so is Google. I recommend you watch this fantastic video by TheHatedOne to understand why that's the case.

                        Now the bad news are that most of your desired features are inherently compromising privacy for convenience and there is not much you can do about it. For example: For a find my phone feature to work, some service needs to be able to track your phone 24/7. Even if you find an open source, self hosted service for this, it would require either privileged access to your device or for you to constantly keep GPS and mobile data on in the background. Both are bad for privacy and security. At least that's my understanding of the dilemma.

                        The good news are that you might find some workarounds or solutions with acceptable convenience tradeoffs (like the Pixel Watch for payments). If it works for your budget, I'd recommend getting a cheap current Pixel phone (probably a Pixel 6a), flash GrapheneOS on it and see if you can get used to it. Once you can leave your iPhone at home, you'll have a much more secure and private solution. And if you figure it doesn't work without the iPhone, you probably want to choose one of the two next best things regarding security (as privacy is not available and only worse on other devices): iPhone with iOS or Pixel with Pixel OS. The first one is better integrated, the second one gives you added flexibility (as shown in the video above).

                        I also recommend you take some time to make a more detailed threat model for yourself, as only you can assess what's important to you. It will help you find the right answer much faster.