Having To Support Google To Use GOS

Panda7878

I know I am not the first to think of this (and couldn't find a similar discussion), but I find it bizarre that in order to get away from Apple or Google spying on us from our cell phones, we have to buy a Google Pixel phone. I do find it tough to stomach to support Google in order to load GOS on a smart phone. Part of me is thinking that, if I don't connect my phone to a cell tower, keep my phone in airplane mode full-time, why not use VOIP apps for calls and other apps via wifi. I will save a ton of money buying a cheap smart phone for this purpose. True, it won't be nearly as safe and hardened as a GOS phone, but at least I won't be giving Google any of my money. What to do??? :(

EndoPlant

If it bothers you to give money directly to google, buy a used 8 or 9 series for cheap and you'll be golden.

blusterpilgrim

I justified my purchase by the fact that I'm showing to Google that I'm willing to pay for privacy; there's no doubt that Google is paying attention to the amount of GrapheneOS users. In fact I would pay extra for Google products if they offered their products free of advertisement, scanning and with E2EE.

Also GrapheneOS is a lot more than just about privacy. It's one of, if not the most, hardened mobile operating system the average consumer can use. That gives me a lot of peace of mind when using my phone.