I was thinking about using graphene OS, but I've read some lemmy users dislike this OS due to perceived misleading advertising and the pixel 7a you're supposed to install graphene on because it's from google (an advertising company).
Another option would be lineage OS, but there is so much false information about this OS, namely compatible phones that simply don't work with this OS and no support.
what works for you? I want a phone with no google, that doesn't force me to use the manufacturer's ecosystem and that won't show the apps I don't want or need (on an asus I own you cannot neither get rid nor hide bloatware)
As you said, it's only for Pixels currently, because
They are more secure than most other phones. They have some kind of chip built in that makes them superior. I don't know the specifics, but other commentators might add some information if needed. Something with encryption if I remember correctly. The GrapheneOS team is a bit ...picky... when it comes to security, and most other phones don't reach their requirements for a secure device.
Google is one major contributor to Android, and their phones are fine tuned to work perfectly with it. Other manufacturers' phones feel less polished.
It's easier to maintain one line of devices that are very similar, instead of keeping hundred phones up to date and secure.
Pixels are similar to iPhones, they get updated almost simultaneously and are similar. If you now add a phone from a different line, e.g. a Fairphone or Nothing Phone, things get more complicated.
If you look at Calyx (more onto that later), the FP4 caused quite some headaches for the dev team.
Pixels are cheap(ish) for what you get, and I believe Google makes them so cheap because 99% of users don't care which ROM/OS is installed. Those are the advertisment-cows that will get milked. If you buy a Pixel and install a custom ROM on it, they will loose money.
My experience with GrapheneOS has been great. My Pixel 5 hit EOL a while ago and still gets maintenance updates almost weekly.
Many security additions are overkill for me, but quite some make a lot of sense.
I used CalyxOS for a year too, but now that I don't get full updates anymore, I don't feel safe anymore with it.
I think GrapheneOS is technically superior to Calyx, especially due to the sandboxing they do. MicroG has full root privileges and can do with your phone what it wants, while also breaking some apps due to missing dependencies. If you choose to enable Play Services on GrapheneOS, they are user level and heavily restricted, and only you decide how much access you want to give them.
Regarding Calyx, since they don't limit themselves as much in terms of security, they also offer a ROM for the Fairphone. Maybe check that out too.
DivestOS also seems to be a good option. AFAIK it's based on LineageOS and supports a lot of devices, while being more secure than LOS.
Regarding Linux phones, I don't have any experience with them. I tried Phosh (Mobile Gnome) on an exhibition a while ago, and it felt great and interesting, but from what I've heard, they are nowhere as good as Android.
My personal ranking:
GrapheneOS on a Pixel. Get an used/ refurbished device if you don't want to support Google. Best price-performance ratio, great OS, and very good hardware (battery life, camera, etc.)
CalyxOS on a Fairphobe. Modular device with good repairability. Nowhere near as good in terms of what you'll get for your money. Better security than 95% of other phone ROMs, oh, and you can just swap your battery in seconds if you want that :D
DivestOS on a random supported phone, e.g. a China device. Nowhere near as sustainable (short lived update support, no spare parts, etc.)
Linux phone. Only a good option for a tinkering device right now imo.
I use LineageOS because my phone is not a Pixel and it works fine for me. If you don't want to pay Google for a Pixel, buy a used one. Other than that LOS is fine. It doesn't have anonymization features like /e/OS or something like that but it doesn't force nor promote any apps or ecosystems (except for Seedvault but it's not a big deal) and it is FOSS
I'm using /e/ os for more than 3 years on different devices (with some customizations) and it works like a charm. An important aspect is that you can install e on any phone that has the bootloader unlock and supports GSIs - theoreticaly any device that runs Android > 9
GrapheneOS is perfect.
Pixel phones are Google hardware yes, but works like a dream once GOS is installed.
NO MORE GOOGLE !!!
Frequent OS updates, love it
I use Calyx on a Fairphone 4. It's not totally degooglified, since it comes with MicroG which is used to connect to Google services. I use Aurora Store and a couple of original Google Apps like Gboard too (none of my Google apps can access the internet, since they're behind the built-in firewall). It works well except call functionality which can be wonky and there's the issue that a lot of apps from Play don't work well with MicroG. I only use a small selection of Play apps though, so it doesn't bother me too much.
I've read some lemmy users dislike this OS due to perceived misleading advertising and the pixel 7a you're supposed to install graphene on because it's from google
There is no misleading advertisement. Go with Graphene if you own a Pixel (from Pixel 5 up) or you can find a cheap second-hand one.
there is so much false information about this OS, namely compatible phones that simply don't work
Care to share which devices are you talking about? If a device is officially supported by the latest LineageOS version, it works.
Calyxos user here. I like it so far. Half a year into it. I can live with microg instead of gms. And it also works on moto g32, 42 and 52 so you don't need Google hardware.
Using GrapheneOS on a pixel 8 pro bought for this. Never used the stock OS. Coming from iOS it is a breeze of fresh air to feel "private". I tried lineage some times ago but it isn't as polished as graphene, and it feels like a classic android OS, I didn't feel " private".
I've used Lineage on multiple devices, Calyx, and Graphene. Graphene by far has the least issues (basically none), and the best compatibility in my experiences. Being able to relock the boot loader is perfect for a mobile device too.
Calyx. It just works. I've honestly just used it like stock Android, using as many private apps as possible. It's so fun seeing all the cool little projects not on iOS! I just recently discovered Petals, which helps with measuring THC intake.
As for google devices - yes, there's irony in the notion that the most de-googleable phones are theirs, sure. They're often sold at a loss around the holiday season, though.
Not in my ideal spot but tolerating Android via LineageOS for microG on a Sony Xperia 5 III as their ROMs make microG painless & hardware-wise I get a fast-enough CPU, OLED, a headphone jack, & microSD.
No OS is perfect, as you likely do have to use a proprietary modem and some proprietary apps, but CalyxOS works well for me on my Fairphone 4. I like the base install being as free as realistically possible on a modern Android phone, especially replacing Google apps with microG. Just don't enable SafetyNet if you don't want it to run (sandboxed) Google blobs. That API is deprecated anyways.
The experience is smooth, free and I get a repairable phone without having generative """AI""" shoved down my throat. A win on all fronts in my opinion.
just so everyone is aware grapheneos only support's pixels because it is specifically designed for taking advantage of the hardware security features found in google's tensor and titan chips. and thus installing it on another phone would kinda miss the point (and vastly increase the scope of the project)
google is also basically the best company when it comes to phones for custom roms, as they provide stock images, a simple bootloader unlocking process (that doesn't void your warranty as far as i can tell), and generally the aosp and software support that comes from being the phone of the developer of android.
PostmarketOS, pinephone, using phosh (sxmo is good too, but no support for dvorak keyboard :( :( :( ). Very jank, but I would never go back to Google/Android (or derivatives) after tasting what could be. Might try to switch to Void Linux or base Alpine since PostmarketOS is shipping systemd by default next release ("optionally, with openrc still being supported", but we all know openrc is being pushed to the side, especially since it needs recompilation to switch back). Hope to boot OpenBSD on it some day.
I run LineageOS for microG, on LOS for more than 5 years now. I am not willing to pay for Pixel phones, even the used devices are to expensive for me. I do not really care about an unlocked bootloader, so that's alright.
GrapheneOS is nearly the worst custom ROM you could use to achieve privacy, and Google Pixels the worst phones you could use to get away from Google.
GrapheneOS officially supports and encourages the use of Google Play Services and a Google account for “security” purposes. Their “unofficial” members also spread propaganda advocating for the same.
They are also an embargo partner with Google for security patches, and add features that may threaten the lives of privacy users, or end up in jail or death in certain circumstances.
For me LineageOS is a good baseline. I don't have anything against "privacy" OS's but they're not really for me. I just use F-Droid to get apps and don't care about compatibility with proprietary stuff so neither microG nor the GrapheneOS sandboxed Play services are of interest to me. I don't use GrapheneOS because I don't have or want a Pixel phone.
LineageOS significantly increases the lifespan of devices it supports and that's important to me. Planned obsolescence is cancer.
My ideal mobile OS would be something like Mobian (or even better, a GNU Guix based distribution) but it should be noted that AOSP is also a Linux based operating system and thus anything derived from that is a Linux mobile OS.
I'm currently running GrapheneOS on a Pixel 8 Pro. I use the provided sandboxed google services because of some apps (banking, etc). I use F-Droid for most of my needs. I don't understand what you mean by misleading advertising.
but there is so much false information about this OS, namely compatible phones that simply don’t work with this OS and no support.
I think you're overreacting a bit calling it "false information". LOS is a FLOSS project that many individuals have ported to their device — and either at some point they buy a new phone and drop that development, or they realise what a massive project it is to maintain it. That's just a general bummer with open source, especially when people volunteer their free time.
Btw, is there a stripped down from AOSP custom rom around? I only want to use my old phone as alarm clock but standby holds only a week, despite the battery being rather big. My old Galaxy S3 with custom rom and BBS optimized held a month at least.
Graphene OS users, what options are available for backing up your phone?
I tried looking for an answer but wasn't able to find anything recent on this topic.
I want to try it but this is the one thing holding me back.
Crdroid with microg is what I use
Getting rid of google services altogether is a huge mess. Its hard for me tbh.
Lineages for microg (lineageos4microg) is also something that I wanna checkout.
Grapheneos is fine only if you want to pay for it.
grapheneos on a secondhand pixel 5 which was about 280$AUD. though i probably should have gotten a newer model considering the 5 is nearing end of life for GOS
I put lineageos on my old OnePlus, which had started to lag so much that even the password prompt would take a minute to register my key presses. The moment I put lineage on it, it started working as if it was new and finally had security updates for the first time in 2 or so years. I now use it as a backup device, and also as a webcam for my pc using scrcpy.
Been using /e/OS on a OnePlus 6T for the last ~2 years and love it. The built-in ad tracker blocker works well. GoS works for the best part and if it doesnt, heading over to the website usually works.
It really depends on what you want from your phone and what matters to you.
I recently got a refurbished OnePlus 9 and put lineage on it. I would have gone with a pixel and graphene, but pixels with more storage are hard to come by and expensive.
Find which roms are available for your phone and choose from there, or if you want to change the Asus phone, look at your target specs and which phone ROM combination you can find
I am very happy with my moto g42 and Calix OS. The phone is reasonably priced (around 120.- euros).
Only downside is you have to register online to get full root access and I also had to wait like three days till everything unlocked. Otherwise I found the process very easy even for a caveman like me.
I’m looking at getting a new phone this Christmas. I’ve been fucking with fedora on my main and Garuda on a cheap mini pc in the garage. So I’d like to swap my phone over too. What is a good model to look into or a good model to await?
dislike this OS due to perceived misleading advertising
It's a non-profit, there is no advertising.
and the pixel 7a you're supposed to install graphene on because it's from google (an advertising company).
Yeah I dunno what that's supposed to mean. You can't install it on an iPhone or most other Android devices because they all have locked bootloader's (among other reasons). They only develop for Pixel because it streamlines the development process, along with having the highest level of security in the SoC.
Another option would be lineage OS
Lineage is a great project, and fairly private, but as the name implies, it's intended for older phones to increase their life. Not necessarily to be private.
I use CRDroid /CRAndroid, because it was the only de-Googled ROM for my specific model of phone (S20 FE Exynos), also (I think) it's a fork of LineageOS.
Ran LineageOS on a OnePlus 6T for a couple months. Overall, it was perfectly usable, but also lacked some of the polish of my daily (Galaxy S23), which was totally to be expected.
I've used LineageOS in the past, and have nothing to complain about it, but realistically I only root and change the OS of my phones after warranty is over and I could potentially lose it without being a problem.