This post makes me want to check out graphene OS when I get my new phone.
You're gonna love it. I switched about 6 months ago, and it has been nothing but fantastic for me.
Alright fine, you've convinced me. I'll give LineageOS a try.
Install WhatsApp
That's when you lost me. Either teach your boomer relatives to use Signal, Matrix, or, at the very least, Telegram. Otherwise, let them reach to you via Facebook which you open only in web browser in containerized tab.
Otherwise, let them reach to you via Facebook which you open only in web browser in containerized tab.
I just hire a rando guy from a different country to become me on Facebook. Then I have them email screenshots to a different email. A separate person gets those emails and prints them out. They mail it to a PO box, which gets picked up by a whole different person. The handoff happens at 615pm at the subway on Broadway Ave.
I open the handoff. It's pictures of my niece celebrating her 6th birthday. I give the guy a thumbs up. He takes that thumbs up, translates it back to paper and reverses the whole process.
It takes 6 weeks for me to respond. But that's the price of security.
I think you understimate boomer relatives intelligence =) Some simply can't be taught.
If your friends and family are willing to use those apps over WhatsApp than they love you in a way I don't really believe is possible.
>reboot to bootloader -> unlock -> you will use your warranty -> yes
It's fucking outrageous that companies are allowed to blatantly lie like that (you will not, in fact, lose your warranty -- Federal law doesn't allow it). Every company that displays such a fraudulent message ought to be fined by the FTC, or worse.
ought to be fined by the FTC, or worse
Fines don't work, just start throwing people in jail already.
This is great if all you want is a dumb phone. Or you're perfectly ok without all the things that make your phone smart. Check the balance on your banking app? Nope. Venmo a buddy because your buddy is spotting you? Nope. Chat with your friends or family where they are, not forcing them to use another app they don't want? Nope.
I think everyone should be picky with what they are comfortable using on their smart phones.
Unless you're some kind of tin foil hat person or have a specific phone use case or a criminal or terrorist, there isn't many reasons to root your phone.
There are two kinds of people: criminals and really fucking stoopid, hypocrite, ignorant, criminals… Be the former. Only war is the class war. 🏴🏴🏴✊🏿
GrapheneOS. Easy, quick, reliable.
Yeah you have to buy a phone by Google but I don't mind giving them money to reward them for making a decent phone with an easily unlockable bootloader that lets you do what you want with it, even if it means denying them your data. This is extremely atypical from a company like Google so I want to encourage that kind of behavior.
What are the chances the phone is still spying on you at the "hardware" level so to speak?
For peeps who want a lower cost option, Motorola allows easy unlocking too. I have a moto g7 power that I got for under $100 running Lineageos with microG. Its a six year old phone but it runs Android 14 just fine. I work in construction and I don't even use a case because these Motorola phones are durable and inexpensive.
The easy unlocking isn't the killer feature with regards to bootloader.
Being able to lock the bootloader again after having installed GrapheneOS is though.
decent phone
-costs $800
-no SD slot
-no headphone jack
-no swappable battery
-camera juts off the back so it doesn't even sit flat
But hey, you can take your temperature by pointing the camera at your forehead!
All that trouble yet you still install whatsapp. Make them text you by sms
Signal
SMS is literally unencrypted and contents of messages stored on your cell provider’s servers. At least WhatsApp is E2E encrypted (even if the metadata isn’t- just use Signal).
SMS is arguably worse than WhatsApp, at least in terms of overall security
At this point, I find a rom I like then shop for a new phone in the supported section
Bought my Pixel just for GrapheneOS. It is not perfect, but better than all the Samsung etc. shit. And for the next couple years I am not forced to upgrade due to missing security updates, so there's that.
My banking app won't work if I'm rooted and before that when I had developer mode on it wouldn't work. Just gave me a error so I have the login to Firefox each time. I hate apps that block you because they can't track you anymore
Banks that do this are just ignorant and hypocritical. Those same banks will let you log in from a web browser on the phone that is just as (un)likely to be compromised or from a desktop computer where you also have admin rights.
Don't forget the part where the preinstalled OS forces you to accept the Google ToS. You just spent a few hundred bucks on a new phone and then it won't let you use it without also selling your soul.
And that's after you swim through a hundred forum posts to figure out how the fuck to do it and why the fuck it isn't working.
helps if you specifically get a phone model that isn't absolute bullshit, pixels generally don't actively fight you, which is extremely ironic since they're google's flagship.
This, except install LineageOS and don't bother with removing google/Samsung stuff. And skip whatsapp as my older contacts email me and younger ones have moved to Signal
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