Currently use a dumbed-down Android without Google but I need payment apps and a few others. Will it be easy to install? Will installing bank apps be as safe as in a vanilla Android with Google Play? Is Pixel 5a from aliexpress a good choice?
Thanks.
HHansel
- Apr 16, 2023
- Joined Jun 11, 2022
Most apps have foss counterparts but some essential ones like bank apps are only on google play.
How can I tell in advance the apps I need from Google store will work on Graphene?flawedworld Not really when you consider the thousands of individuals targeted are probably only a small subset of actual cases.
flawedworld I'm not sure it's true anymore. Reading about the recent list of thousands of numbers from the famous leak even small activists could be targeted with such tools.
flawedworld Is there any evidence the cutting edge offensive tools such as Pegasus doesn't penetrate Graphene?
matchboxbananasynergy I'm not sure firmware updates are as important for desktops.
I'm leaning towards remaining with my Android 11 and minimizing my usage of apps, with disabled data when not in use. This seems like a sure way for false sense of security...- Edited
TommyTran732 OK, let's settle on hackable. If you follow the news you know there are confirmed cases for malware which can get root privileges on a completely new Android with no user action whatsoever. It's even hard to discover the phone was hacked at all, either because the malware deletes itself after it uploads the phone's contents or because it's hard to detect.
Even if it's not a backdoor, there's effectively no difference. E.g. the government may know about ti and doesn't report to Google on the vulnerability.TommyTran732 Thanks for your reply but I have no time to learn the technical side. I made a foolish mistake when following his guide, wasting many hors and money on new hardware on the way, instead of using a ready made solution. I know there are all sorts of phones aimed at privacy, but they cost twice for the same level of hardware, so you only pay extra for the "flavor".
strcat Well Reddit has had bad reputation with subs aimed at subversion and FUD for a long time now (it's far worse than Wikipedia), so I'm not surprised, but this is going to derail the thread so enough said (it's only a matter of time before Reddit will remove your sub for directing here...). So without having tech background, I already give Graphene a lot of credit for the simple fact it hosts its own forum!
I can't research this since I'm very busy, so let me ask it this way: will upgrading from Xiaomi with Android 11 to Pixel 4a with Graphene be a major improvement when using only a handful of closed source apps? I'm using the f-droid apps whenever possible, and otherwise only spotify and a bank app. For comm I use Signal and Telegram mostly. I read there is a lot of malware attacks now which require a user clicking a link, but that practically every Android is backdoored so there's no point trying to protect it from an uninvited big brother snooping other than use desktops.
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flawedworld
I followed a guide to degoogle my Xiaomi, so the remaining question is how much more privacy and security will I get from moving from a degoogled phone with very few closed sourced apps to a Graphene Pixel with the same very few closed sourced apps.
Pixel 6a isn't available used from China. It makes more sense to buy a cheap one and replace every 2 years.It's cheaper to import a used one from China than used from USA even when base cost is the same. I saw a 4a for $264 inc. shipping. That's just like normal support period for a Galaxy for that price.