Secondary user profile as a main one - advantages and disadvantages

Oggyo

I saw few people prefer to use a secondary user profile as a main daily driver over the Owner's one.
It might increase security and/or privacy but could you please point out any advantages/disadvantages of this approach?
I know that not all controls/settings are available on user profiles and in order to use SMS you need to stick with the default app, for example.
Thanks.

final

Oggyo could you please point out any advantages/disadvantages of this approach

Advantages:

Better privacy/security by compartmentalization and running in a less (from an already very low) privileged environment, possibility to contain exploits within the profile.
You can limit installation of new apps, turn off phone features if your threat model requires it.
Turning on the phone and unlocking won't immediately add risk of the user's files and apps if there is nothing in the Owner profile.
Better protection against theft or the phone being grabbed away from your hands as the party would not be able to access any profile other than the one you was using.
Greater anti-forensics, you can erase profiles with a touch of a button, which purges encryption keys and leaves minimal to no artefacts as all profiles are encrypted. To do similar on an Owner profile you must factory reset.
The owner profile can be set up as a template for all other additional profiles, such as having only apps that will be installed universally between all user profiles which can be more efficient.
A user profile can 'end session' from a touch of a button on the lock screen on GrapheneOS, and put back into a quasi-BFU state without having to turn the phone off which can make certain exploits more difficult, also an anti-forensic feature.

Disadvantages:

Can be slow and annoying to constantly turn the phone on and off and switch profiles especially with auto-reboot or if you have a long password
Having multiple profiles active can use more of your battery life, usually with a small amount you will be okay though
SMS app lock (you mentioned already)
Mobile network MUST be turned on and off on the owner profile, when I turn it off on the owner profile it wont reconnect even if on elsewhere

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Hb1hf

final Mobile network MUST be turned on and off on the owner profile, when I turn it off on the owner profile it wont reconnect even if on elsewhere

Ohhh that's a big one. I was turning airplane mode on/off on secondary profiles, but that's clearly suboptimal. That's an upstream AOSP limitation, right?
There's no logic in allowing to turn airplane mode on/off but not allowing to turn mobile data on/off on profiles.

Open_Source_Enjoyer

final Disadvantages:
Can be slow and annoying to constantly turn the phone on and off and switch profiles especially with auto-reboot or if you have a long password
Having multiple profiles active can use more of your battery life, usually with a small amount you will be okay though
SMS app lock (you mentioned already)
Mobile network MUST be turned on and off on the owner profile, when I turn it off on the owner profile it wont reconnect even if on elsewhere

I want to add that yo can't turn wifi hotspot on/off and you can't use USB-Tethering in another profile than the owner profile. Wifi can be turned on and then stay on, but USB-Tethering will turn off instant, if you leave the Owner profile.

sophia_st

final Can be slow and annoying to constantly turn the phone on and off

What does that mean? why would I need to turn the phone on and off?

final SMS app lock (you mentioned already)

So the SMS apps is available only in the owner profile? Can't I "move" it to another profile like the rest installed apps?

final

Hb1hf Yeah, I am unsure of the limitation, when I want to turn Mobile Data on and off I just use the airplane mode toggle anyhow, as I only use the cellular network when I want to use data anyway, plus texts/calls get sent over Wi-Fi on my carrier. I don't think it is much of a problem if you use it this way.

blicero

Termux won't work and the few owner connections that are global (check faq) need their own separate VPN connection in owner, as VPN is profile-specific.

argante

https://seprand.github.io/articles/best-user-profile-setup/

mmobder

argante

argante unfortunately the article lacks usability aspects apart from generic 9nes

Open_Source_Enjoyer

sophia_st So the SMS apps is available only in the owner profile? Can't I "move" it to another profile like the rest installed apps?

SMS is available in every profile with the phone permission, but it seems like you can't change the default SMS app in any other profile then the owner, so you are tied to the owner if you want to use a different SMS app.

final

sophia_st What does that mean? why would I need to turn the phone on and off?

It's talking about when using secondary profiles, turning the phone off or rebooting it means you have to both unlock the Owner and the secondary profile to use it again once you turn it on. This can be a hassle for some people if they're using long, secure passphrases.

sophia_st So the SMS apps is available only in the owner profile? Can't I "move" it to another profile like the rest installed apps?

It's available in all by default, you can just disable those apps being used in a profile itself through the settings.

sophia_st

Also, can the SMS notifications be resend to other profiles similarly as we can set to resend notifications for current user(I don't remember the name of the setting right now)?

sophia_st

Open_Source_Enjoyer SMS is available in every profile with the phone permission, but it seems like you can't change the default SMS app in any other profile then the owner, so you are tied to the owner if you want to use a different SMS app.

final It's available in all by default, you can just disable those apps being used in a profile itself through the settings.

Thanks, got it!

final It's talking about when using secondary profiles, turning the phone off or rebooting it means you have to both unlock the Owner and the secondary profile to use it again once you turn it on. This can be a hassle for some people if they're using long, secure passphrases.

So mostly for updates that need reboot or something like that, got it, thanks!

sophia_st

BTW there's one more disadvantage that is not mentioned here, but I don't remember where I got it from, but it was here on the forum: the clipboard is shared with space and contact scopes afaik. I never used any yet, so I'm not sure how it even works yet

Oggyo

sophia_st
I think you are talking about the Private space. This feature (Private Space, part of Android15) did not exist when initially the discussion was open.

sophia_st

I found it, but I can't edit now the prev message so I'll drop it here:

Also, the clipboard is shared between the owner profile and the Private Space, which is a significant vector for data to leak if not operated carefully.

https://seprand.github.io/articles/best-user-profile-setup/#no-secondary-user-profiles

Open_Source_Enjoyer

sophia_st Also, the clipboard is shared between the owner profile and the Private Space, which is a significant vector for data to leak if not operated carefully.

If you have some rough app that randomly scans your clipboard?
If you have such an app you will notice quickly because you get a small notification (not sure if this term is right) on the bottom of your screen every times a app access your clipboard.

sophia_st

I'm wondering now what is the

not operated carefully.

mean exactly... How would I be able to operate carefully with my clipboard?

de0u

sophia_st How would I be able to operate carefully with my clipboard?

I think an 85% solution might be: after copying something sensitive between two apps in the same space, copy some junk before switching spaces. But maybe not 100% if an app in the other space is running, see Open_Source_Enjoyer .

de0u

Also, the clipboard is shared between the owner profile and the Private Space, which is a significant vector for data to leak if not operated carefully.

sophia_st How would I be able to operate carefully with my clipboard?

de0u I think an 85% solution might be: after copying something sensitive between two apps in the same space, copy some junk before switching spaces. But maybe not 100% if an app in the other space is running, see Open_Source_Enjoyer .

sophia_st What do you mean by switching spaces?

If copying text from an app not in the Private Space and pasting it into an app also not in the Private Space, it would be prudent to then copy some junk text before switching to an app in the Private Space.

If copying text from an app in the Private Space and pasting it into an app also in the Private Space, it would be prudent to then copy some junk text before switching to an app not in the Private Space.

But because the clipboard is shared between the Private Space and the owner profile, it was also suggested to be on the lookout for "toast" messages about apps accessing the clipboard.

sophia_st There's a limitation for one space per profile.

I believe I've read, though I haven't verified, that only the owner profile can have a Private Space at present.

n3t_admin

Open_Source_Enjoyer off topic, but the word you're looking for is "toast".

sophia_st

Open_Source_Enjoyer If you have such an app you will notice quickly because you get a small notification (not sure if this term is right) on the bottom of your screen every times a app access your clipboard.

That's kinda useful, thanks!

de0u I think an 85% solution might be: after copying something sensitive between two apps in the same space, copy some junk before switching spaces. But maybe not 100% if an app in the other space is running, see

What do you mean by switching spaces? There's a limitation for one space per profile.

Oggyo I think you are talking about the Private space. This feature (Private Space, part of Android15) did not exist when initially the discussion was open.

Yes, I am talking about Private space. Thanks for clarifying that as I was under impression it wasn't something new.