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  • Multiple Users - Could I Get Some Clarification?

nosferatu you're trying to install an older version of F-Droid than the one you have in other profiles.

F-Droid notoriously puts an outdated APK on its homepage for whatever reason. Side of Burritos on YouTube made a video about this exact thing:

https://youtu.be/E3erRhXPPNY

Keep in mind it's not specific to F-Droid. It just happens a lot with it because of what I mentioned with them listing an outdated version of the app on their homepage.

    Installing apps in different profiles relies on enabling app installation to that user profile, which can only be toggled from your owner user.

    A good approach, if you're likely to have several profiles, is to leave your owner profile for app installs only. Install all apps there, disable them, and don't use it for anything else besides app updates.

    Think of it as the most efficient springboard to spawn other users from without having to repeat app downloads.

    Any photographs you take in one user profile will only exist in that user profile. You can't log out of the user where you took the photograph and then load it up in another without transferring the files by means outside of GOS like USB transfer, email, cloud storage, SFTP.

      Toomanyuserprofiles Thank you for pointing that out. It really makes sense that the devs would make it that way. So I will just have to take a pic I want to run through Google Lens with the secondary profile.

      matchboxbananasynergy I'm sorry about that. You have given me the time of your day by responding to my concern and I didn't even watch the video you linked before asking further. I apologize for my inappropriate behavior.

        Hi guys,
        great question from @"nosferatu", great answers!

        I can only add my experience with a few tips for beginners, who will read this thread later:
        I am also a fan of Josh/Side of Burritos and have learned much about GrapheneOS from this smart guy!
        But the GUI/menus of GrapheneOS and the way to install sandboxed Google Play Services has changed a little since the beginning and it looks completely different now if you compare it with Josh's great YT videos (1–2 years old).
        That can confuse beginners a little bit, but it's no real problem.

        – I use my owner profile clean (without Google Play Services).
        – For banking apps and few other apps which need GSF I have a second profile named Google.
        This profile I use not every day and for minutes only – check my bank account, use DHL app when waiting for delivery of a parcel, using “My o2” provider app by Telefónica sometimes to check for a better tariff plan etc.
        Make a photo with Google Camera and watch/edit it thereafter with Google Photos, maybe use the eraser or crop the image. For GCam and Photos apps I have set the storage scope to camera path only: Main storage/DCM/Camera.

        Two advantages of my setting:
        – My owner profile is clean – no Google Play Services.
        – I can save much energy (battery lasts longer) …
        … because of having rarely used apps separated to a “Google-profile” I don't switch to owner profile after using it!
        Instead I log off, so “sandboxed Google Play” does not have to run permanently in background, consuming energy…
        Logging off makes the profile inactive so that none of the applications installed in it can be run. It also deletes the disk encryption keys from memory and hardware registers, returning the user profile to sleep mode.

        In another thread of this great forum I read about no need for Google Play Services, when using GCam.
        This needs a GrapheneOS update from April 2023.
        I have tested it by installing GCam w/o permission for internet on my owner profile.
        And because GCam needs Photos app as preview (!), have also installed Photos app w/o permission for internet.

        Conclusion: works fine! GCam and Photos on owner profile with storage scope path: Main storage/DCM/Camera.

          Eagle_Owl Thank you for your input. Could you please explain "the storage scope"? What is it and how exactly do I go about setting it up the way you did?

            • [deleted]

            Eagle_Owl just a control question, do both your profiles use the same internet access points or different and do you use location services in any of them?

              nosferatu

              I recommend to study the website grapheneos.org, especially the menu Features. ;-)

              Quote:
              GrapheneOS provides Storage Scopes as a fully compatible alternative to the standard Android storage permissions. Instead of granting storage permissions, users can enable Storage Scopes to make the app assume that it has all storage permissions that it asked for. On Android, an app that doesn't have any storage permissions is still allowed to create files and directories, and is allowed to access the files that it created. Users can optionally add files and directories as storage scopes to permit the app to access files created by other apps.

              For more details, see the usage guide section on storage access.

              Long story short: Don't give apps permission to any directory. Give them Storage Scopes, instead.
              Advantage: apps can only read & write their own written data, no others! Spying at other app's data is impossible!
              For the most apps it needs only to activate Storage Scopes w/o giving them a special directory.
              I recommend also to watch Josh's YT video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjrANjvrSzw for this. ;-)

              [deleted]

              Thanks for asking. Good question!
              Yes, every profile can use the same internet connection.
              I prefer mobile telephony connection because I don't have landline. And it's more secure as a foreign WiFi.
              For this, I have a tariff with unlimited data volume.
              Location services: I have them off as default, but give permission for three apps which needs them:
              My banking app, Organic Maps, WiFiAnalyzer.
              Why Location services for a Banking app: it's a security function: if someone from another country were to log in with my (stolen) data and order a transfer, it would trigger an alarm. Or using my credit card from another location as I use it on regular basis.

              9 months later

              Eagle_Owl In another thread of this great forum I read about no need for Google Play Services, when using GCam.
              This needs a GrapheneOS update from April 2023.
              I have tested it by installing GCam w/o permission for internet on my owner profile.
              And because GCam needs Photos app as preview (!), have also installed Photos app w/o permission for internet.

              Conclusion: works fine! GCam and Photos on owner profile with storage scope path: Main storage/DCM/Camera.

              I just tried to sideload Google Photos but it complains :

              "Operation completed with errors

              Google Photos_6.68.0.600535764.xapk

              1 INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS:

              INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS:

              Failed to extract native libraries, res=-113

              2 App not installed"

              (latest build feb 2024 android14)

              May I ask from where you installed it ? Aurora ? May I ask app version that works with which build release?

              • de0u replied to this.

                graphenediscoverer4 Failed to extract native libraries, res=-113

                This sounds like maybe the APK was built for a different architecture than the device -- for example, it's a 32-bit ARM binary being installed on a 64-bit device.

                Specifying the URL of the APK that didn't install and the model of the device that the install failed on would be good.

                Also it would be good to specify the GrapheneOS build string from Settings, About phone, Build number.

                gOS 20240126

                g Photos v6.70 worked

                now I'm stuck finding a version of pixel camera that would work on p4a5g

                • [deleted]

                Each profile has a separate VPN slot, so you can even use different providers in different profiles.

                Thanks for the info on something I didn't even know about.