As of right now, it's looking like GrapheneOS will be unaffected, and Google has yet to lock down the bootloader. So this should remain a valid option for at least 2 years.

Other than that:

• Any smartphones with an unlocked bootloader + any ROMs without gapps
• Chinese smartphones with non-Google Android builds
• Linux smartphones
• Bonus: Huawei is about to release their own non-Android OS, but I wouldn't expect it to be privacy-friendly

Honestly there probably isn't any good, long-term solution. Personally I'm somewhat shocked we've gone this many years with reasonably open smartphones. Next step is probably closing bootloaders in new laptops, as part of the switch to ARM (which is already undergoing).

Plain burner flip phone and a wifi only Linux device that connects to a hotspot. F google and Apple.

Related: Has anyone here used Pretty Good Phone Privacy (PGPP)?

https://invisv.com/pgpp/

https://www.usenix.org/system/files/sec21-schmitt.pdf

Until substantially more people join the fight for privacy or something else fundamentally changes, I think there is a very real possibility of Google completely clamping down on Android while governments and workplaces mandate apps that only run on phones with all of Google or Apple's bells and whistles.

But the folks at GrapheneOS, Calyx, and Murena seem to be a devoted and resourceful bunch, so I am hopeful that they can give something for us to work with, even if Google pulls the plug, whether it's a fork of Android or rebasing to mobile Linux.

If that all falls through, I'll look for whichever phone supports Linux best and eventually move everything over. The vast majority of the apps I use regularly on my GrapheneOS phone aren't very demanding and have a decent alternative on Linux. And whatever apps are forced on me by other people will reside on a dedicated Android phone, ideally with a removable battery.

For this year, I'd still recommend a secondhand or reseller Pixel with GrapheneOS. Everything just works on it.

Fuck it, I'm going back to Landline

Yes, absolutely there is hope.

Phones that don't support Google play services (AKA any hardcore privacy phone) will not be directly effected by Google restricting sideloading. The restriction is only for phones that use the Google suite. (source: https://9to5google.com/2025/08/25/android-apps-developer-verification/ "This requirement applies to 'certified Android devices' that have Play Protect and are preloaded with Google apps.") Graphene OS isn't going anywhere, AOSP is open source, even if Google tried to make that change in the OS, the community would hard-fork AOSP instantly and continue like nothing ever happened.

Realistically this is going to squeeze people "in the middle" towards fully-google controlled Android (one exteme) and towards fully-de-googled Android (the other extreme). Its just elminating the middle. Which is bad for people trying to gradually de-google their life, but not as dire as it might seem.

On the bright side, this is an opportunity for play-services spoofing to become commonplace and easy, and could cause more apps to avoid google play services. The EU also has a shot at forcing google to allow sideloading, since they've recently been forcing Apple to move in that direction.

So, while not a bright future, its far from hopeless for privacy respecting Android phones.

There's no hope for privacy at all as long as American and the 5 eyes exist.

Said this in another thread

So how long until celluar providers also say you have to have a trusted device to activate your SIM? Apple, Google, Samsung, automotive and Windows would be fine and they’d probably allow their branded or limited hotspots.

This would basically eliminate any Linux option (pc or phone), and DIY devices. I could see other OOB vendors getting on board to be certified to have a certificate issued to them.

I've always wanted to try one of these.

What do you think will happen next?

Development of Linux on mobile will ramp up.
EU or similar wrecking Google over being monopolistic would be nice but unlikely.
Same but targeting phone manufacturers.

Yes. As long as GrapheneOS still exists there is at least some hope. The sad thing is even before this outside of GrapheneOS there really isn't any other "ROM" actually focused on privacy.

I've heard that there's phones that use Linux, so I imagine once modifying Android isn't an option focus will probably go into making that more viable.

"Linux phones will skyrocketed" by who? Nerds, the comum user doesn't care if Android is proprietary or opensource, they don't even know.

There's already other mobile OS but have the same issue, no apps or developers interested on making apps for it.

FirefoxOS, Ubuntu touch, something else Linux based, it's for some nerds play on a secondary phone.

Comum people don't stop using Windows or macOS because it's proprietary or a privacy nightmare. EU didn't stop selling iPhones because it's proprietary.

It's the device vendors that decide which OS would ship, and people will use it

The EU. That's where my hope lies.

https://www.ianbrown.tech/2024/04/03/my-evidence-to-the-european-parliament-on-the-dmas-third-party-app-app-store-provisions/

I'm not gonna go looking for it or share it, but I am here using my Librem 5 and kinda feeling like that kid in the meme hitting a bong in the background while people in the foreground fight.