My experience with GrapheneOS

raven

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share my experience with GrapheneOS so far. I use GrapheneOS since a few days now and I like it very much. It is minimalistic, has great defaults and offers very good security and privacy options from the beginning. It is worth a try for everyone who like to be independent from big tech.

I actually tried GrapheneOS 2 times before switching to it full time because I was a little bit unsure if it works as excepted, but as soon as you have a plan and everything is configured this feeling disappears.

As a long time Linux and open source software user, I'm happy to see that "openess" is also possible in today's mobile world (or Android to be specific, because there are also options like UBports or Plasma mobile)

I use Vanadium as my primary browser now because it has everything I want from a browser, but I also use Vivaldi because of some features that are missing with Vanadium like sync and customization options.

Thank you GrapheneOS devs for the great work :)

fid02

raven Always a pleasure to hear that people are having good experiences with switching to GrapheneOS. Although I'm not surprised, as I find that the OS has high usability from the get-go – even if the person that is using it decides to use or not use apps that are developed by massive corporations.

raven I actually tried GrapheneOS 2 times before switching to it full time because I was a little bit unsure if it works as excepted

Many people are hesitant about switching to GrapheneOS because they think they will have to sacrifice convenience for security. It seems that some people are watching YouTube videos of people doing weirdly complicated configurations to their GrapheneOS install, which deepens their hesitancy. Much better to do it the way you did, and try out the OS for yourself, if you have the chance.

raven UBports or Plasma mobile

These are notably not secure devices. "Open source" hardly means much if the device contains wide security holes.

Meph

Did you move from android or ios? Did you have any challenges de-googljng or de-apple'ing?

raven

Meph I moved from Android. I replaced many programs from Google in the past like Maps, Calendar and E-Mail so there was no challenge.

raven

fid02 Many people are hesitant about switching to GrapheneOS because they think they will have to sacrifice convenience for security.

Yes you're right. The funny thing is that you have the same convenience, but at the beginning you don't know that ;)

Speeduser7533

My own experience has been fantastic. I'm appreciative of the developers.

For me, eliminating a lot of apps that were competing for my time (and likely spying on me at the same time) has been liberating.

umbrin688

I'm also a Linux user and interestingly enough, installing GOS was even easier than Calyx OS. I do think that the average user will have a hard time switching to GOS, but anyone who has already put an effort into using alternative, data sensitive apps and app stores will find the transition easy. The pixel I'm using is running smoothly, GOS boots up really fast and the apps that are preinstalled are all in all great.

I lack the programming skills to get anywhere near contributing in a meaningful way, but I also want to say I appreciate the effort of the devs. It's a fantastic project and incredibly important for free speech and data protection rights worldwide.