this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2024
4 points (83.3% liked)
Privacy
31182 readers
1812 users here now
A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
Some Rules
- Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
- Don't promote proprietary software
- Try to keep things on topic
- If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
- Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
- Be nice :)
Related communities
Chat rooms
-
[Matrix/Element]Dead
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Ooo a privacy phone… that requires buying a google phone. Fuck that, I’m not shelling out money to the very company causing most of these concerns.
As if Google will go bankrupt without my money, while I waste my life trying to get a non-GrapheneOS private phone.
I’m not delusional, I don’t think I’m going to single handedly bankrupt google, but I would really prefer to not support them in any way.
Some people are suggesting second hand Pixels so Google doesn’t get my money, but that’s still free advertising for them when I’m seen using it. It’s sort of like I don’t want to wear a google shirt when I’m completely against them.
Really? That's your concern? People seeing you use a Google phone? Just put a case on it ffs, no one cares that much about the phone you use. With a case, basically all modern smartphones look the exact same.
Every excuse in the world to keep using products brought to us by the enemy of privacy. This is why there are so few options.
And yes, that’s part of my concern. Even if others don’t notice, I still know. I still would be a hypocrite, railing on google for their bullshit, and then still using their products.
I’m not really judging anyone for buying a Pixel and taking the easy way out. Trying to maintain privacy with tech is a major pain in the ass, it gets tiresome quickly. But holy shit, people in this privacy community sure are quick to rail on me for trying to avoid the largest offender in privacy invasion.
Hardware isn't privacy invasive, it's neutral. It's Google's proprietary software that collects all of your data, which is the reason I don't use it. I don't use any Google services, and completely blocked their servers on my network (both in my firewall and DNS). A Pixel with GrapheneOS is the best way to protect your privacy and security simultaneously, and it's the only device that can compete with iPhone hardware security. I'll happily buy Pixels from Google for their great features like the Titan M2 secure element, but I will never use their software and services.
I get that - and that’s a fine choice. I suppose my point is that I view Google the company, the entire entity, as the enemy of privacy. Therefore, I want nothing to do with them if at all possible, on any level.
I will admit it’s depressingly difficult, the whole reason I’m looking at this is because my old iPhone is nearly dead and I’ve been wanting to get away from them for awhile too. It feels like I’m looking at American politics. Both major parties suck for different reasons but anyone else looks like roadkill by comparison.
¯\(ツ)/¯
I wouldn't compare a Pixel to an iPhone in that context. The Google Pixel has been designed to run Android, a fundamentally open platform, which for example allows for sideloading, something that iOS only added recently because of pressure from lawmakers. The Pixel also allows you to install any OS you like while preserving all security features, including Verified boot, whereas the iPhone has always been locked down and only supports a single operating system that's entirely controlled by one corporation. Hardware-wise, the choice between a Pixel and an iPhone should be pretty clear. The Pixel is open and supports alternative operating systems, as well as custom verified boot signing keys. Software-wise, I'd take the iPhone over a Pixel with the Stock OS any time of the day, even though it's not as open, simply because I don't want any invasive Google bullshit running as a privileged system app on my device.
Where's your private phone?
I’m literally in the process of trying to find one.
you can still buy second hand so Google doesn't get your money
Why not?
I say, vote with your wallet.
Cause fuck Google, that’s why. I will likely indeed vote with my wallet, right now eyeing a fairphone with /e/OS but have not decided yet. It might not be the latest and greatest but I’m finding I don’t really use all the bells and whistles anyway. Give me email, web browsing, a basic camera, and maps, and that’s 90% of what I do on my phone so it looks like a suitable candidate. If I already had a google device then maybe Graphene is a great option, but I’m not further rewarding google by buying their spyware and having to mod it.
Fuck apple fuck google fuck nestle fuck Raytheon fuck Lockheed fuck Boeing fuck Samsung fuck foxconn fuck dell fuck Intel fuck AMD fuck Chiquita fuck gm fuck ford fuck KIA fuck Cargill fuck monstanto fuck me fuck you fuck the world
THEY ALL SUCK
yes
I like you.
The problem with that is that pretty much only Graphene can offer a secure (locked boot loader) phone that is also private. Edit: Some Phones like the Fairphone or Shift can still be locked.
CalyxOS also allows to relock bootloader on some devices (not sure if only Pixels though).
How does Calyx compare to Graphene privacy/security wise.
I like Calyx quite a bit. It's considerably more private than any stock Android out there. However, from my perspective, GrapheneOS is the best mobile os out there for security and privacy too, hands down.
I run GrapheneOS on my Pixel 8 Pro, tried Calyx back when I had the 6 Pro, and it pretty good and everything basically works, but GrapheneOS from the beginning is so vanilla, only has a couple of apps installed (phone, sms, Calc, files and such), everything else you need to choose to install.