tango I think someone you'd have a conversation with would probably care about privacy to some extent, but it also probably depends on what that person means by privacy, which is why threat modeling is important and the need to distinguish between what could happen and the probability of it happening, a phone operator is able to access all your data but the risk of them posting your private data online to harm your reputation is weak. Unencrypted messaging pass unreliably over mobile network is enough for me to avoid SMS and because SMS phising is way to easy.

Without an effective and widespread means of communication, it's pretty hard for developers to get the word out about their products, WhatsApp got a lot of publicity because Meta promoted it on Facebook, which has billions of users, and more people heard about Signal when Elon Musk talked about it on Twitter, not everyone likes to look for novelties on their own.

      Ok thanks all.

      Does the fact Whatsapp is sandboxed make it more difficult for remote intrusions that hitch on normal stock Whatsapp? For instance programs like pegas*s exploit vulnerabilities in WhatsApp to gain remote access to rest of phone system. Is this denied if it's sandboxed? Or at least significantly more protected?

        CodexAG One of the aims of GOS is to offer strong mitigation of remote exploitation, which is why verified booting is so important. All applications are strongly sandboxed and GOS offers much more granular control.

        You are talking about Pegasus, so I suggest you consult this link.

          Privately it is a type of thinking!?
          Example: You can make your device private when you install Ws (depending on how we configure it), but you can't make your data private, it's a completely different thing. There is no absolute privacy for either party and it's a bit analytical.

            FischS

            You can make your data "more private" by the apps and services you choose to use. For example, using Signal/Molly will make your data more private than using Telegram or Whatsapp, using Tuta instead of Gmail etc and the list goes on. Obviously there is no such thing as absolute privacy unless one finds a rock large enough to climb underneath.

              Xtreix

              I agree, probably didnt word that correctly! Most people i speak to do seem to care but it seems when it comes to putting words into action there is an apathy about them. Obviously some people are very busy with their lives and just dont have the time. I think most care a lot more about security and keeping their money safe (ignoring scam calls/not clicking on email links etc).

                  tango Most people i speak to do seem to care but it seems when it comes to putting words into action there is an apathy about them

                  Yes, my opinion on this subject is you don't see what's going on behind the scenes, unless you know some of the basics of how a network works like what is the TCP/IP model. Authorities offer a list of best practices like the passwords managment but it's not very useful if the person doesn't understand why they're doing it, so I see a number who have given up and are convinced that online privacy doesn't exist.

                  tango I think most care a lot more about security and keeping their money safe (ignoring scam calls/not clicking on email links etc).

                  I've been interested in security and privacy since 7 years and what I've seen is that a non-negligible number I see in the privacy communities overestimate the threat from governments and tech companies, and underestimate the threat from organized crime and malicious hackers, so I'd say worrying about protecting your money, phishing and scam calls is a good start.

                  • mmmm replied to this.

                        Xtreix overestimate the threat from governments and tech companies, and underestimate the threat from organized crime and malicious hackers.

                        I agree that hackers etc are under estimated, but by sayingb that, you yourself are underestimating the power of big tech/data collection and how it can shape the views of the populous primarily politically but really in many disciplines.

                        Look at just how much is collected. Look at scandals such the Cambridge Analytica Facebook link. The writing is on the wall, its already a problem and only going to get more so.

                        Its prudent to be aware, and almost no one seems to be particularly worried. Its frightening, just how much of this stuff is laid bare and still we let them take and manipulate.

                            WhatsApp can still read your phone's imei, unless grapheme has changed this

                              mmmm Better to define the threat as the service provider as a whole rather than "big tech", data leak scandals don't achieve much apart from sensationalist articles and ill-thought-out legislation, defining a clear threat model is the first step.

                              graphy00 WhatsApp can still read your phone's imei

                              This is no longer the case since Android 10 and GrapheneOS enhances it because Google Play is not privileged :

                              https://grapheneos.org/faq#hardware-identifiers
                              https://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#non-resettable-device-ids
                              https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57993401/no-imei-for-android-developers-in-android-10

                                    Xtreix Better to define the threat as the service provider as a whole rather than "big tech", data leak scandals don't achieve much apart from sensationalist articles

                                    It wasn't a data leak. It was 'acquired' by seemingly legitimate means. Anyway, thats missing the point. The point is not to brush off what can happen by underestimating seemingly non criminal organisations such as big tech and governments regarding using our data for whatever purpose.

                                      6 days later

                                      Xtreix we have unlimited call and text packages starting at 1p per month, so it will be a long time before the UK steps away from that technology

                                        CodexAG
                                        Sandboxing doesn't mean “blocking WA sending your whole address book and all meta data to the devil on earth Meta company”.

                                        BTW: GrapheneOS cannot render the backdoor in WA harmless either.

                                            Eagle_Owl Sandboxing doesn't mean “blocking WA sending your whole address book and all meta data to the devil on earth Meta company”.

                                            Contact scopes may allow sharing only specific contacts.

                                                p338k
                                                Yes, but that's still no reason for me to use such a bad product from such an antisocial company.

                                                  Eagle_Owl thanks, so downloading WA, meta, Uber even from grapheneos sandbox still leaves one open to backdoors? I assume this also applies to Telegram and Twitter?

                                                  I thought the whole point of sandboxing was to let people still use normal apps while being protected...

                                                  • de0u replied to this.

                                                      CodexAG So downloading WA, meta, Uber even from grapheneos sandbox still leaves one open to backdoors?

                                                      The GrapheneOS sandbox applies some limits to apps as they are running. The GrapheneOS sandbox doesn't download anything.

                                                      If an application is designed to contain a back door GrapheneOS can't in general solve that (no OS can). If, hypothetically, WhatsApp is designed to use a weak encryption key whenever a message contains the words "Meta" and "privacy", no OS (including no sandbox) can fix that.

                                                      Fundamentally, if one provides an app with data about one, and the app is designed to leak the data, there is a fair chance it will be able to do so.

                                                      CodexAG I thought the whole point of sandboxing was to let people still use normal apps while being protected...

                                                      It would be nice if there were a magic spell that could enable nice people to use nasty apps with nice results. That is not the case now and not likely to become true any time soon.

                                                      In some cases it is possible to track/limit some unwanted behavior. But typing something into an app with network access pretty much means the app can transmit the data to machines on the network, along with other things that were not typed.

                                                            de0u so

                                                            de0u It would be nice if there were a magic spell that could enable nice people to use nasty apps with nice results. That is not the case now and not likely to become true any time soon.

                                                            Ha. Well...so all my effort to get a Grapheneos phone will be for naught if I download normal apps like uber, twitter, tgram, Whatsapp and meta? I want to be able to use these while still having at least some layers of protection from these apps themselves... [removed question answered in reply]

                                                            • de0u replied to this.

                                                                  @CodexAG Using a bunch of mainstream apps with sandboxed Google Play doesn't at all defeat the purpose of GrapheneOS and in fact you'll get more benefits out of the privacy features. Using a far less private OS that's substantially rolling back security rather than improving it is not going to make you better off. That doesn't make any sense. Why would you be better off using a non-hardened OS without the hardening and privacy features like Contact Scopes, Storage Scopes, Sensors toggle and much more? You've been here for quite a while now asking lots of questions and should know better by now.

                                                                  GrapheneOS and CalyxOS are very different. GrapheneOS is a hardened OS with substantial privacy/security improvements:

                                                                  https://grapheneos.org/features

                                                                  CalyxOS is not a hardened OS. It greatly reduces security vs. AOSP via added attack surface, rolled back security and slow patches.

                                                                  Compatibility with Android apps is also much different. GrapheneOS provides our sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer:

                                                                  https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play

                                                                  Can run the vast majority of Play Store apps on GrapheneOS, but not CalyxOS with the much more limited microG approach.

                                                                  https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm is a third party comparison between different alternate mobile operating systems. It could include many more privacy/security features but it's a good starting point.

                                                                  https://privsec.dev/posts/android/choosing-your-android-based-operating-system/ is an article with more long form comparisons between OSes.

                                                                    GrapheneOS thank you, that's what I was hoping. Is there a certain way you recommend downloading these apps to ensure they are installed in Grapheneos in the most maximized privacy way possible?