Phone Setup, privacy vs usability - explain like I am 5 year old

aop

I setup Graphene on an old phone to see if it can work for me. I am positively surprised and really like it. However, switching profiles seems to become a chore and is the thing bugging me the most. I might have entered the privacy rabbit hole.

My current setup looks like the following:

Owner profile: Daily usage. Most of my apps, no Play Services, source Aurora/FDroid, also using Google Photos and Pixel Camera without network access
Work profile: With google play services, as I need Google Apps (Calendar, Mail) for work.
Finance profile: Google Play Services in order for my finance and insurance apps to run
On the road profile: Google Play Services and Location enabled, Android Auto installed, in order for Google Maps to work while navigating in the car (with a throwaway google account)

My threat model is just wanting to avoid tracking as much as possible. I am not using my work apps often on my phone. They could easily stay separate.

I feel this setup gets a bit uncomfortable in the long run. However, what I don't understand really (also after reading) what the actual drawbacks are if I'd merge into one profile (with GPS, Android Auto, Google Apps). Respectively, what still would be my Privacy (not security!) advantage over using a normal iPhone, given that I trust Apple slightly more than Google with my data.

Can anyone explain like I am 5 years old?

DeletedUser10

I only have one question for you... Do you trust GrapheneOS more than Apple?
Reading your post I believe this is your dilemma.

If I choose to install G##gle on my GrapheneOS phone I can control how G##gle behaves.
If I use an iPhone, Apple controls how it behaves,
If I use stock G##gle android, then who the hell knows who controls anything...

aop

DeletedUser10 hm, I might have given the wrong impression here. It's about the lack of convenience that comes with several profiles, and I wonder what google still will know about me. It's not about trust in GrapheneOS.
So basically little bit of data with Google (through play services) or some more with apple (if i use an iPhone). My question is what Google will know if i go for a one profile setup.

AlphaElwedritsch

a 5-year-old again I simply say: you won't be able to keep it up for long and you'll fall back into old habits

aop

AlphaElwedritsch That's exactly why I am here to make sure I get a setup that I can keep up for long ;-)

matchboxbananasynergy

My advice would be to just use the main owner profile, maybe coupled with the private space which gives you separation without a UX hurdle to jump through.

Don't overwhelm yourself and give up on GrapheneOS because you've set self-imposed hurdles.

aop

matchboxbananasynergy I do get the point about the "self-imposed hurdles". While I was getting into Graphene I was under the impression that one only gets benefits when having separate profiles. That is why i'd like to make it more user friendly.

My question basically is, in what ways is a "fully UX friendly GrapheneOS" (including gps, location feature and android auto, incl. google maps) any better than having an iPhone with rather restrictive privacy settings? Or in other words, how far can I go in making my GrapheneOS very user-friendly while still keeping it more privacy friendly than a simple iOS setup.

GrouchyGrape

aop separate profiles are not unique to GrapheneOS. They are built into AOSP and therefore available on I believe most if not all "flavors" of android. From your threat model, the biggest benefit to GrapheneOS is likely sandboxed Google.

On most android phones, Google practically gets full reign over your phone and the data stored on it and there's nothing you can do to stop it. On GrapheneOS, it's limited just like any other app. So, it can only do/see what you say it can do/see. (This is not including inter-process communication, which is a different conversation)

Michiel

I went back and forth a few times from single and multiple user profiles. Indeed convenience versus privacy is the main trade-off. What works for me is a main profile that I use >90% of the time. The other profiles I only use while driving (which I rarely do) or for apps that require Google Play Services (which I rarely use).