Wife wants to try Graphene OS, but still do everyday stuff? Is this OK?

spine

In the last few days I bought a cheap Pixel 7a and put Graphene on it, Im very happy and really impressed. Im very much in the camp of hating how much info these big corps feel entitled to and do as much as I can to limit my exposure.

My wife is not, she likes to do the normal stuff everybody else does with her phone.

But she is due for an upgrade and is keen on also trying Graphene on a 9 Pro XL. I'm very happy for her to do this as it will make her a little less visible to google etc, But she still wants to do her normal stuff, she really like to customize her phone with themes, wallpaper etc, she doesn't want to stop doing the things she likes, whatsapp, messaging, netflix, social media, amazon music and stuff.

I know this is not what graphene is about and that we don't need permission from anyone, but is it OK to do this. Can we put Graphene on her phone and let her ignore the majority of the reasons you would do that and just let her do what she likes. Will she still be able to use it how she wants.

I just feel its a step in the right direction, even if it is a very small step.

tango

spine

Yes absolutely! She will be able to control app permissions as strictly as she wants so thats an improvement straight away. She can just install sandboxed google play services and use it as normal.

vactorio

spine

Yes, totally. I don't use GrapheneOS with 5 apps and no google services, but in a "casual" way.

With GrapheneOS you have the choice over your data. And even if you decide to use your phone in this way, you still profit from better security and privacy, through the choices you're given and improvements to the OS itself.

LeslieFH

spine

GrapheneOS can be used perfectly well by "normal users", with really only one hiccup: no Google Wallet payments.

raccoondad

spine Can we put Graphene on her phone and let her ignore the majority of the reasons you would do that and just let her do what she likes. Will she still be able to use it how she wants.

I mean, sure. People use GOS for different reasons all the time.

I don't use it to 'avoid big tech', I use it for its more advanced permission set, better OS hardening, etc. because my device has access to data that is confidential and personal to others, not just myself, so I need an OS that can isolate and protect said data.

MineralWater

I use my phone like this, though I didn't change wallpaper etc. because I like a clean look.

I have Google Store and Play Services in the main owner profile and basically just installed the apps I wanted and use it like Stock Google.

I just revoked permissions individually for each app or better said didn't grant them in the first place, so basically none except Signal sees my contacts, many apps didn't even get network permission.

I don't have location enabled, unless I want to use an app that really needs it.

She can use it this way without problems I think. Only Google Pay and RCS messages don't work, but RCS might in the future.

iudnu

100%. There are a few extra steps to get it set up, like installing Play Services, but once that's in place then she can use it more or less like a regular Android smartphone.

Even for someone who uses it as a "normal' phone otherwise, just being able to control internet access for apps is worth it.

RCS in Google Messages did work fine for me, though recently it stopped working.

spine

LeslieFH Yeah, I already pre-warned her about this and shes fine with it, ty

lost_cause

I have helped setup multiple GOS phones where the users just want to have a regular phone. Any issues have been minimal at most.

spl4tt

That's exactly what grapheneos is. You don't have to sacrifice anything (other than google pay and some small banking exceptions). There really is almost no reason to not use it.

I've setup GOS for multiple "normal", non-tech savvy people and they didn't even notice anything different from a normal pixel, except that it's much cleaner, and without bloat.
GOS is literally peace of mind without really sacrificing anything

chinook

spine

You can have a few workarounds for this tbh.

You can pay with the paired watch using Garmin Watch / Pixel Watch / Samsung Watch
There are banking applications that support NFC-based payments (please search the Forum, I am quite sure I've seen several options mentioned), including of the banks that explicitly support GrapheneOS

TBH I'm the bog standard android user and I find it all simple and streamlined, I only find some issues irritating (eg: I can't enter payment card details on the User 1 Webpage, then switch to User 2 where I have all the banking/payment apps to approve the transaction in-app, because the request in the User 1 webpage kind of... dies? Backup situation is bad and will remain bad for the time being; DO NOT LET YOUR PHONE DISCHARGE to 0)

Good luck, it's really easy and refreshing.

spine

Incredibly encouraging from everyone, thank you

brookie229

spine

If she is design and esthetics oriented she may complain about the default app icons - Clock, SMS, Contacts, Camera etc. They are not built for looks! I guess since you have GOS on your device she has seen that.

brookie229

spine

One other recommendation I would make for a new user - if possible, don't create multiple profiles. Just stick to a main user profile only. IMO new users can get a bit overwhelmed by complicating a setup with multiple profiles.

Shadowshading

spine My wife and I went down the privacy rabbit hole little over a year ago. She got I guess fatigued with the learning curve as we were trying different things using different profiles. So she decided she wanted to go back to iPhone. I agreed as long as I kept her phone. So now I have an 8+ that I use as my "normie" phone. Google installed using only the owner profile. I use 3 different brokerage apps. I use youtube and maps and so forth. I'm using it like I used any other phone I've had before. The Pixel 8 that was mine was reset and google removed. I only install open source apps thru Obtanium and Accressant stores. I also have an EOA crypto wallet installed on that phone. There is no sim on that one. These phones work flawlessly for me. I would suggest your wife use hers like a normal phone. If you use Android Auto, I would put it in Private space. Good luck with it!

CrYpT999

For aesthetics the Lawnchair launcher works great to change the look of the icons and rename some apps.
Also it's not just banking apps that don't work, but anything that requires strong/device integrity checks.
See https://xdaforums.com/t/apps-games-need-pi-list.4677050/ for a list of apps that might not work.
I would personally hold off on a fresh GOS install until QPR1 is released or there is further information. If Google really clamps down on its source code, any forked projects would not be possible and it would be a pain to transfer everything to the stock OS if you need the latest updates.

CaptainPlanet

My wife is on Graphene but often complains that things feel off. It depends to what extent you try to deGoogle I guess. Getting used to the open source alternatives to Google's offerings might be too steep a learning curve. I have told her to just install whatever including the old Google apps as she still benefits from the extra privacy at the OS level. Introduce her slowly and let her continue using the old phone at the same time.

schweizer

I convinced my extended family to use GrapheneOS and that works fine. It will not work if there is no understanding or will to accept some restrictions. But to the average user the restrictions are not hurting. They won't even feel a difference.

Mustard28

spine I have the Google Pixel 9 Pro and have just installed GrapheneOS a few days ago. Best thing I have ever done. Definitely install Graphene when the phone is new because then you don't have to back up all of your pre-existing contacts, photos etc like I had to do. I won't lie, it can be overwhelming at first on how to download apps etc. Once I worked it out I love it. For me I have created 3 profile.

Owner - I use for phone and texts. This was done before I knew I could create other profiles. I am contemplating moving to the primary profile. Still doing my research on it to see if thats the best option. (If anyone would like to help clarify this for me, it would be appreciated.)
Primary - This profile has all of my apps that don't use google but I have allowed for my husband and kids calls to come through when I am in this profile.
Google - Android Auto. This is the only google app I use.

I installed F-Droid and Aurora Store and chose "anonymous" it gives you all the apps your wife uses. If you need to use Google apps I used the app store already installed in GrapheneOS.