GrapheneOS Newbie Questions

awavydave

Hello everybody!
I'm new to the GOS community, but I take cybersecurity and online privacy super seriously (as of late) so the discovery of this forum and GOS in general has been amazing. I have a few questions though.
1: will Graphene make any more basic stock apps (like the camera app)? I was specifically thinking maps and weather apps. I ask this because idk if I really trust Aurora or F-Droid that much (idk, I might just be paranoid and/or naive).
2: is Proton a good app suite to invest in? I really want the security from Graphene but I'll say it (don't hate me please), the Google app and services suite is just SO convinient and easy.
3: any community tips for switching to/using Graphene? I currently have a Pixel 5 (running PixelUI Android, I haven't switched to GOS yet).

Thanks y'all, sorry if I am being super naive or you've had to answer my questions a billion times and I missed them. Hope y'all have a great week :)

c86

awavydave

The stock apps are all AOSP and the GOS team just maintains them. So they aren't really developing new ones. Some devs close to the project work on Accresscent and apps found in there, but the Accreaacent dev doesn't post what's currently being worked on since any developer can submit apps for review there.

There are great options for maps - Organic Maps, OsmAnd, CoMaps are all pretty good. Google Maps is still a good option if used via browser or in a separate profile. For weather, your governments national weather service is usually a decent option via progressive web app. This weather network can also work well as a PWA. You can search this forum and see what other options people have used for weather services as well. You're not wrong for wanting to avoid Aurora or FDroid, they can have a use case but you can read the debates in the forum if you want a multitude of opinions.

Many users subscribe to Proton. It's the most similar experience for people coming from Apple or Google that want a decently similar app suite. Benefits for Swiss privacy laws and privacy by design defaults. It is a good idea to not keep all your eggs in one basket though, so alternate use for one or some of the services is common.

For just getting into GOS, keep it simple is the best advice I can offer someone new. Take a moment to consider what you want to protect and how you're envisioning it - GOS is just a tool but it isn't a magic bullet if someone wants to use Meta services, right?

A single profile with sandboxed google play is a nice introduction while users decide they want to isolate into additional profiles. Users still get privacy benefits if they use a personal google account, but I like a pseudonymous or anonymous account just for the device I'm using. My first GOS device was straight forward and now I've adopted multiple profiles to isolate tasks while maintaining high usability. Don't try to accomplish everything at once, just take your time and improve as you go.

This forum has a lot of good info, all you have to do is search for it. Welcome to the GOS community and enjoy protecting your digital data privacy rights.

vlad

awavydave I currently have a Pixel 5

it’s no longer supported. i’m not sure if one still could even download a build.
and even if one could, it’s no longer considered secure by community.

Quantum

c86 That's half true. They've built some apps themselves, fully modern android apps. The app store, pdf viewer, auditor, info app. Messaging app has been partially updated in the backend. Not sure if the camera app is made by them or modified.

They do plan on remaking all the AOSP apps when they have time.

awavydave
Personally I'd go Tuta mail and Mullvad.

Maybe watch some of this guys vids; https://youtu.be/ZAZlmYKrwfk

awavydave

c86
Thank you so much! This really helps. I'll contimue browsing around the forums :)

Novalissoide

awavydave Welcome!
First of all, you really need a newer pixel to be your first GrapheneOS device. With a P5, you wont get the important updates, and they contain besides security upgrades, patching of vulnerabilities, also fixes for AOSP-issues.
Try get a Pixel9, or at the lowest, a P7a.

Novalissoide

awavydave https://grapheneos.org/faq#recommended-devices

Novalissoide

vlad they can, as per Legacy Extended Support, with the latest build being 2025021000. Users of Pixel5 should get a newer main device, it's long over due.

awavydave

Novalissoide vlad
Ahh okay. I'll look into getting a newer pixel lol
Thanks!

c86

Quantum

Right, totally forgot they have said they're going to rework some apps. I've just gotten used to the daily use ones since they get the job done and I don't need much from them.

Cheers

libertarian

Everyone has their own opinions, so take everything with a grain of salt. My opinions are:

Start out with using sandboxed Google Play services. You can always create other profiles later where you don't use it, but make your life easy. Don't create yourself headaches in the pursuit of perfect privacy. Unless your have a specific threat model, that is.
Use a good VPN, I recommend Mullvad. It is efficient and fairly priced. You want to either "Block connections outside of VPN" to force everything to go through it, or disable that and allow some apps to bypass it. For me, I had to configure it to bypass Netflix.
Use Proton, they are a good personal productivity suite.
Setup the remote Auditor if you can, enable security-preview-release channel to keep you safe from recent exploits.
Don't give apps internet permission unless they need it. For example, use the FUTO Keyboard. For the home screen, I use Kvaesito, which similarly does not have internet permissions.

As you use your device and learn about what works and what doesn't, you can explore more things. Maybe setup a secondary profile (different profile or private space) that you configure differently. Maybe without Google Play stuff, tighter VPN settings. You will notice what works and what doesn't. Without Google Play stuff, notifications for some apps do not work, or require more battery.

How you use GrapheneOS depends on what you want to achieve. If you just want a more secure phone, this should work for you. If you do have a specific threat model, it makes sense to think about what your possible exposure is. But for the vast majority of people using GrapheneOS, if you stick with the defaults you'll be just fine.

The nice thing about GrapheneOS is that you have a lot of control. You can get a burner SIM card, not use Google Play stuff and setup Signal with a burner number, all of which you have paid for with Monero, and you have a setup where you cannot be traced easily. But you can also use it like a regular phone that just happens to keep your data safe when it lands in the wrong hands. Everything is a tradeoff, not every tradeoff is worth it or useful.

A phone doesn't just have to be secure, it also has to be useful.

awavydave

libertarian
Okay, this helps a lot! Thank you!