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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by blinfabian@feddit.nl to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

Hey there! i currently have a Samsung Galaxy A55 and i want to try one of the privacy focused phones. But idk which is the best i could try.

My findings:

  • Fairphone with /e/OS, but ive heard /e/OS is apparantly not that secure.
  • Google Pixel with GrapheneOS, but with this one I still need to buy from Google.
  • Linux phones, but I'm concerend they dont support all the apps i want to use.

that being said, can you use MicroG instead of Google Services for ALL apps? or does it only work for things like Revanced?

edit:

i also use a Samsung smartwatch with Google Wallet so would this still be possible with an alternate OS?

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[-] anonymous111@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

I wish there was a Pixel with an SD card slot. That is the main reason I'm still, grudgingly, on Samsung.

[-] helix@feddit.org 41 points 1 week ago

You don't need to buy from Google if you buy your pixel used.

[-] xxd@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 week ago

this is the way

[-] mikedd@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

That's what I did 😁

[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

ebay screwed me over when i tried to get my last fairphone and it's obvious why we should stay away from amazon.

where else can I buy?

[-] Neptr 4 points 1 week ago
[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

It's weird that I can't find cmf or nothing phones that are unlocked

[-] helix@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Your local craigslist, face2face

[-] eldavi@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

Is there a website for this? Google doesn't show anything related to buying phones

[-] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 26 points 1 week ago

Fairphone with /e/OS, but ive heard /e/OS is apparantly not that secure.

e/OS is privacy focused, not security focused


Google Pixel with GrapheneOS, but with this one I still need to buy from Google.

A simple solution here to avoid feeding the monster would be to buy a Pixel second hand


Linux phones, but I’m concerend they dont support all the apps i want to use.

I think you're right to be concerned, I wouldn't recommend using a Linux phone as a primary device just yet. By all means try it out on a secondary phone though!

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 week ago

If Google manages to win their recent developer registration, forking AOSP and making lineage and graphene, operating systems in their own right, or using Linux mobile, may be about the only options, either that or go back to desktop and declare mobile as a failure.

[-] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

Yeah, PostmarketOS still has some broken features when looking at FairPhone4 and SailfishOS doesn't fully support Sony Xperia 10 IV yet (both phones I own) but when either get's a bit better supported I will try them out.

Banking apps in Sweden and more specifically the Mobile "BankID" are big fans of Google Play Integrity services though and the BankID is used to identify yourself at a huge amount of services making it hard to live without so I've pretty much accepted I will have to use two phones in the future - one for Work+Banking and one for the rest.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 week ago

I bank on Monero

[-] that_leaflet@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Security is still important to maintain privacy. Especially when it comes to web browsers where you are running a lot of untrusted code decoding media.

[-] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

regarding your edit:
From what I know neither grapheneos or e/os support google wallet.
edit: https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/issues/2455

[-] mortalic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Running /e and Google wallet does not work

[-] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

That's what they said.

[-] Broken@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Confirming that Graphene does not have NFC, and as such cannot support any payment system.

Edit: I stand corrected. GOS does have NFC but it's the payment system hat needs to be compatible (and Google wallet is not)

[-] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 days ago

This is incorrect. GrapheneOS supports NFC, and works just fine with NFC-based payment systems. Google Pay is an exception, because Google specifically chose to disable it on any device that isn't whitelisted by them. Other apps, such as Curve Pay, PayPal or banking apps with a built-in NFC payment feature work without issues.

[-] Broken@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

Good call. I didn't know that any banking apps were working with it at all, so good to know there are some. I also don't know why I said that it didn't support NFC as I did know it has it, but somehow in my mind payment platforms became the use case, and therefore not supported.

[-] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

You can use the contactless payments supported tag when searching the GrapheneOS banking app compatibility list on GitHub. https://github.com/PrivSec-dev/banking-apps-compat-report/issues?q=is%3Aissue+label%3A%22contactless+payments+supported%22

[-] dontblink@feddit.it 12 points 1 week ago

Honestly, with Fdroid and many other open source projects at risk after Google's last madness, I wouldn't take anything Android anymore (nor Apple of course).

My next phone will either be a dumbphone or a Linux phone.

[-] sefra1@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago

As of things stand right now, android is realistically still the only game in town.

If you get an android with a custom ROM you will still be able to install apps, even if f-droid decides that it isn't worth maintaining the project for a much smaller userbase, someone will fork f-droid or you can still use Obtanium to obtain apps.

[-] thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Whatever it is, it has to be able to connect to 4g networks.

[-] Mynameisallen@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This is maybe a dumbass idea but god I wish a blackberry was still possible in the USA

Waiting for sailfish OS ports to get VOLTE working, I’d love to use a oneplus 6t with sailfish in the US

[-] LeTak@feddit.org 8 points 1 week ago

Jolla Phone and Sony Xperia with Sailfish OS Pixel with GrapheneOS Fairphone with (multiple options) PinePhone (not recommended, old tech)

[-] blinfabian@feddit.nl 3 points 1 week ago

this Jolla phone seems pretty cool. do u think it would support a samsung smart watch?

[-] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago

The newest info I found was from march but back then the answer was no.
https://forum.sailfishos.org/t/bluetooth-connection-to-smart-watch/22668/2

[-] sonalder@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

I'm pretty sure you're stuck with Garmin (or AsteroidOS but this isn't really an option) when it comes to smartwatch on degoogled Android phones.

[-] LeTak@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

Don’t know sorry. I think someone wrote an app for the old pebble time watch back then (2019). Just look in the SailfishOS app stores if there is an app for your watch. You can access them via web browser https://openrepos.net/

[-] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

Jolla Phone and Sony Xperia with Sailfish OS

According to the Supported Devices list Sony Xperia 10 IV doesn't have AppSupport (running Android apps) yet but when it arrives I'm curious to try it.
The Jolla Phone C2 is way too large for my taste (I consider the 10 IV to be slightly too large tbh) and I can find no info on the max screen brightness and I don't want to end up with another device I can't use properly when the sun shines (FairPhone 4 is barely usable outside in the sun).
Have you tried Sailfish OS yourself and if so what's your thoughts?

[-] LeTak@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago

I have used sailfishOS back in 2019 on my XA2. I used it without license (demo basically) without knowing it. Was familiar enough with Linux to update and manage apps by myself. But all in all. It was a nice year with that phone. Many problems are fixed by now. I wanted to use it with a pebble back then but I could not get one at that time. I switched later to GrapheneOS and bought a Pixel 3. Why? More Privacy/Security Features. But I miss my handy Linux terminal…. Also leaned a little Qt to Programm or fix simple apps on Sailfish. My XA2 got now a license for SailfishOS and lies in my drawer since I sometimes want to test apps

[-] folaht@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 week ago

One that isn't controlled to bleat out Netanyahu's diatribe.

[-] timhayes1991@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I got a used Pixel 8 Pro at the beginning of the summer and have been running Graphene OS ever since. Graphene OS is by far the most secure and private OS available. Saved my stupid ass from a data harvesting malware.

[-] monovergent@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

If you have $150 to spare (depending on country), a secondhand Pixel 7a is a great starting point to try out GrapheneOS without directly contributing to Google. Just make sure it's carrier unlocked so it allows bootloader unlocking. For $100 more, a Pixel 8a will get you several more years of software support. Practically everything just works with GrapheneOS.

Fairphone with /e/OS is leagues better than Googled Android, but little to no additional security hardening has been done over plain AOSP (which itself is quite secure against non-state-sponsored attacks to be fair). Also, some pings to Google have yet to be patched out, see https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

Linux phones are much better than they were a few years ago, but unless your workflow tolerates the occasional disruption due to a bug or missing feature, they aren't exactly production-ready for most users. But a good sneak peek into the future of privacy phones given the way Android is headed now.

MicroG works for many things, but not everything. Google's own apps don't play well and some of my work apps don't send notifications when using MicroG. But GrapheneOS supports a sandboxed, proper instance of Google Play Services should you need it.

Google Wallet and anything requiring the Play Integrity API will not work with third-party OSes, not even GrapheneOS (perhaps until they release their own phone).

[-] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 week ago

imo tbh anything with lineageos is good enough. no gapps, microg if needed, and afwall/adaway(if that's impossible, rethinkdns).

[-] ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

Non smart phones

[-] Fairgreen@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

I'm a big fan of /e/OS, use it daily and love it. As I understand it, it is as secure as Google Android, just tons more private. So security wise it seems fine to me, my risk profile is just regular mainstream

[-] Fairgreen@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

The Fairphone 6 is also great!

[-] pineapple@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

For linux phones can't you use waydroid which gets you support for all android apps? Pls don't quote me on this though.

I guess apps that require Google play services won't work.

this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2025
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