6 ms·

For a lay person, can someone elaborate how does a custom ROM like Lineage OS fare compared to eOS? Can it de de-Googled to the same extent? Or never.

thrw42A8N 2y ago
With LineageOS it's not about degoogling, it's about not googling it - don't install the Google apps and services if you don't want them. You can use the same replacement as e/OS (MicroG).
- NewJazz 2y ago
  Isn't microG a hassle to get working on LineageOS? With CalyxOS I don't even have to think about it, it comes stock.
  - thrw42A8N 2y ago
    It's no big deal. If you managed to install the OS, installing MicroG is going to take few dozen minutes at most.
    - NewJazz 2y ago
      Nope, you have to apply signature spoofing and microg every time you update lineagos. I installed CalyxOS once and now OTA updates include microg. Trust me, I've done both. Having it in the ROM is far easier for users.
jqpabc123 2y ago
e/OS *is* LineageOS de-Googled. Nothing short of source code changes can achieve some of the de-Googling. The LineageOS developers made a specific and deliberate decision to *not* do this.
- Novosell 2y ago
  What do you mean exactly? Lineage OS doesn't come with google play services or the like. It is "de-googled".
  - SpecialistK 2y ago
    /e/ uses MicroG, which is a reverse-engineered re-implementation of some Google services. It requires spoofing the signature of the original Google apps, which official Lineage does not support for security reasons.
    - thrw42A8N 2y ago
      That is not true. MicroG works just fine on Lineage and there are no Google services on their AOSP distribution until you add them yourself. You have to manually Google the OS; not de-Google it.
      - jqpabc123 2y ago
        Google servers and services are hard coded into the AOSP distribution at various points. These could be used to facilitate identification and tracking. e/OS/ removes, replaces and/or anonymizes these. LineageOS does not. https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/deGoogling-scope-and-definition-within-the-context-of-eos https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/deGoogling-scope-and...
      - SpecialistK 2y ago
        Then someone here is lying: > Why do we need a custom build of LineageOS to have microG? Can't I install microG on the official LineageOS? > MicroG requires a patch called "signature spoofing", which allows the microG's apps to spoof themselves as Google Apps. LineageOS' developers refused (multiple times) to include the patch, forcing us to fork their project. > Wait, on their FAQ page I see that they don't want to include the patch for security reasons. Is this ROM unsafe? > No. LineageOS' developers decided not to include this patch for various reasons. The signature spoofing could be an unsafe feature only if the user blindly gives any permission to any app, as this permission can't be obtained automatically by the apps. Moreover, to further strengthen the security of our ROM, we modified the signature spoofing permission so that only system privileged apps can obtain it, and no security threat is posed to our users. https://lineage.microg.org/#faq https://lineage.microg.org/#faq

thrw42A8N 2y ago

With LineageOS it's not about degoogling, it's about not googling it - don't install the Google apps and services if you don't want them. You can use the same replacement as e/OS (MicroG).

NewJazz 2y ago
Isn't microG a hassle to get working on LineageOS? With CalyxOS I don't even have to think about it, it comes stock.
- thrw42A8N 2y ago
  It's no big deal. If you managed to install the OS, installing MicroG is going to take few dozen minutes at most.
  - NewJazz 2y ago
    Nope, you have to apply signature spoofing and microg every time you update lineagos. I installed CalyxOS once and now OTA updates include microg. Trust me, I've done both. Having it in the ROM is far easier for users.

jqpabc123 2y ago

e/OS *is* LineageOS de-Googled. Nothing short of source code changes can achieve some of the de-Googling. The LineageOS developers made a specific and deliberate decision to *not* do this.

Novosell 2y ago
What do you mean exactly? Lineage OS doesn't come with google play services or the like. It is "de-googled".
- SpecialistK 2y ago
  /e/ uses MicroG, which is a reverse-engineered re-implementation of some Google services. It requires spoofing the signature of the original Google apps, which official Lineage does not support for security reasons.
  - thrw42A8N 2y ago
    That is not true. MicroG works just fine on Lineage and there are no Google services on their AOSP distribution until you add them yourself. You have to manually Google the OS; not de-Google it.
    - jqpabc123 2y ago
      Google servers and services are hard coded into the AOSP distribution at various points. These could be used to facilitate identification and tracking. e/OS/ removes, replaces and/or anonymizes these. LineageOS does not. https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/deGoogling-scope-and-definition-within-the-context-of-eos https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/deGoogling-scope-and...
    - SpecialistK 2y ago
      Then someone here is lying: > Why do we need a custom build of LineageOS to have microG? Can't I install microG on the official LineageOS? > MicroG requires a patch called "signature spoofing", which allows the microG's apps to spoof themselves as Google Apps. LineageOS' developers refused (multiple times) to include the patch, forcing us to fork their project. > Wait, on their FAQ page I see that they don't want to include the patch for security reasons. Is this ROM unsafe? > No. LineageOS' developers decided not to include this patch for various reasons. The signature spoofing could be an unsafe feature only if the user blindly gives any permission to any app, as this permission can't be obtained automatically by the apps. Moreover, to further strengthen the security of our ROM, we modified the signature spoofing permission so that only system privileged apps can obtain it, and no security threat is posed to our users. https://lineage.microg.org/#faq https://lineage.microg.org/#faq