4 ms·

But GrapheneOS doesn't exist. It works only on a few devices created by Google, so their claim of being degoogled is a bit funny.

flexagoon 8mo ago
> their claim of being degoogled is a bit funny. I don't think they use this term anywhere. It also now works on Motorola devices, it's on my HN feed literally right above this post.
- szmarczak 8mo ago
  I have no idea where you got this information - the HN post is about partnership. It does not work on Motorola devices, at least not yet [1]. [1] https://grapheneos.org/releases https://grapheneos.org/releases
- krige 8mo ago
  It doesn't "now work"; it may work on a future Motorola device that doesn't exist yet.
- wolvoleo 8mo ago
  It doesn't yet work on Motorola devices. It is going to become available on selected Motorola devices at some point in the future.
- miroljub 8mo ago
  > It also now works on Motorola devices, it's on my HN feed literally right above this post. Did you read the article you mentioned? There's not yet a single non-Google device that can run GrapheneOS.
_ache_ 8mo ago
I must agree, you are right, GOS is only on Pixel phones. But we have to keep in mind that /e/ has a lot of problems, the only one solved is sending data to Google. The security aspect of the OS is problematic and some key elements of a privacy seem questioning (AI integration, commercial collaborations, ...). Fix: IA => AI typo and various English errors.
- soufron 8mo ago
  Like what problems? I am using /e/ daily for myself and my family, and it's working like a charm.
  - _ache_ 8mo ago
    The OS is working well, but have privacy and security concerns. Is it better than a stock OS? I don't know, maybe, maybe not, it depends on the stock OS.
  - microtonal 8mo ago
    Uploading speech-to-text to OpenAI? Regular communication with Google? Using Google for assisted GPS? Giving a bunch of Google apps privileged access (if you need them for e.g. Android Auto)? https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-nicht-zwangslaeufig-sicher-custom-roms-teil6/ https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-... https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/GmsCore/-/blob/a9e102567518ec77f447d66f558dcd24d7690264/play-services-base/core/src/main/kotlin/org/microg/gms/common/KnownGooglePackages.kt#L209 https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/GmsCore/-/blob/a9e102567518... https://forum.fairphone.com/t/e-os-betrays-users-privacy-openai-being-integrated-directly-into-core-os/119381 https://forum.fairphone.com/t/e-os-betrays-users-privacy-ope... https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm Well and besides that only shipping ASBs and no other security updates outside major Android releases (and both usually late). Using heavily outdated kernel trees (e.g. FP4 is using a Linux kernel patch level that hasn't been updated since 2020!), outdated vendor firmware blobs, etc. It might work, but it is not very secure, nor very private.
- chrisjj 8mo ago
  What IA?
  - microtonal 8mo ago
    /e/OS speech to text uploads your speech to OpenAI. (I think IA was a typo.)
dns_snek 8mo ago
GOS is degoogled in all the ways that I care about - it's about the data they can gather. Among all the smartphone options that I consider usable day to day (leaving only Android and iOS at the moment), GOS is the most private and secure.
izacus 8mo ago
/e/OS is Android, meaning it's still critically dependent on goodwill of Google to continue releasing their work as part of AOSP. So if you're trying to be a silly purist, then /e/OS doesn't fit either. If you're not, getting a Pixel will significantly enhance your safety since they're better supported for security patches and better designed in hardware when it comes to security.
- eloisant 8mo ago
  > /e/OS is Android So is GrapheneOS
  - subscribed 8mo ago
    At least GrapheneOS is releasing up to date OS versions and patches very quickly, quicker than all the vendors except Google. And in terms of the security, they release binary patches for the exploits under embargo until...... mid-2026. Remember November 2025 security bulletin? Multiple RCEs, media wrote articles about that.... Meanwhile GOS was long patched. Look at /e/OS releases now: https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/releases/-/releases https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/releases/-/releases What is the most recent version? 3.5. What Android revision is it based on? Lineage 22.2, which is Android 15. It also claims that it includes "all Android security patches available as of February, 2nd 2026" .....but not all patches get back ported, meaning they miss many fixes and improvements. And that's just the start. Tbh I'd rather run Lineage Os on the older phone that this.
- einpoklum 8mo ago
  Let's explore this a little further. I think it is legitimate to be a purist about smartphones, but I don't think the GP is. So, let's talk about the non-purist situation: Users like us want to de-google. But we are not willing to make all of the sacrifices that purists do. The question is then, what can we use (and - what projects can we support financially). Now, we can use GrapheneOS if we have Google Pixel's. But - most people don't have those phones, for any number of reasons. One of them is price, by the way: You can get a decent smartphone for under 100 USD and even a half-decent one for 70 USD. And most people in the world are not in an economic situation where you can tell them "shell out 300 USD and buy a Google Pixel". Moreover - suggesting we strengthen our ties to Google in order to de-Google is fundamentally problematic. Even if we're not going all the way, we are striving to distance ourselves from them. So, an imperfect software solution for a wider selection of phones does sound quite useful. Change my mind! :-)
Arch-TK 8mo ago
Google's hardware is just hardware. It is not locked down like the hardware of many other manufacturers. Moreover, it's the only such hardware which also allows you, the user, to lock it down for your own security. GrapheneOS is not just focused around avoiding Google, it's more accurately focused around security and user choice. The goal is to give you the option to avoid needing to rely on Google's spying or services while not having to compromise on security. None of these other solutions regularly get included in Celebrite's documentation as being an explicit benchmark of their software's ability to break into phones. And that's almost certainly due to the fact that unless you leverage hardware security features like what GrapheneOS (and stock Android on a Pixel, and iOS on an iPhone) utilises, you have no chance of going against any actual adversaries. And I'm not just talking about state actors here, even drive-by opportunistic attacks are likelier on a random other phone running some other Android build. So yeah, you are running Google hardware, that doesn't make you "googled". It's just a sad reflection on the reality of the hardware landscape. If you want the same security as what GrapheneOS offers, you will currently need to use a Pixel. I'd be curious to see what comes out of their Motorola partnership though.
- dminik 8mo ago
  A large part of "degoogling" to me means "stop giving google money" and "cut off Google entirely from my life". If I have to give Google a lot of money every 4-6 years to remain "de-googled" then I never was.
  - hexfish 8mo ago
    Thats a very binary way of looking at this.
    - jaggs 8mo ago
      But true.
    - miramba 8mo ago
      I think it’s very valid. I want to be hardware-independent, not only OS independent. I need graphene to work on a fairphone, jolla phone or whatever other alternatives there are. E/os can do that (to an extent), Graphene can’t for probably very good reason, but still: It‘s not an alternative then.
fragmede 8mo ago
The post about Graphene partnering with Motorola is right about this one, currently, (Lenovo bought Motorola from Google in 2014.), so that point will no longer be valid as soon as they ship something. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214645 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214645
ementally 8mo ago
Literally announced today partnership with Motorola to bring it to their devices.

flexagoon 8mo ago

> their claim of being degoogled is a bit funny. I don't think they use this term anywhere. It also now works on Motorola devices, it's on my HN feed literally right above this post.

szmarczak 8mo ago
I have no idea where you got this information - the HN post is about partnership. It does not work on Motorola devices, at least not yet [1]. [1] https://grapheneos.org/releases https://grapheneos.org/releases
krige 8mo ago
It doesn't "now work"; it may work on a future Motorola device that doesn't exist yet.
wolvoleo 8mo ago
It doesn't yet work on Motorola devices. It is going to become available on selected Motorola devices at some point in the future.
miroljub 8mo ago
> It also now works on Motorola devices, it's on my HN feed literally right above this post. Did you read the article you mentioned? There's not yet a single non-Google device that can run GrapheneOS.

_ache_ 8mo ago

I must agree, you are right, GOS is only on Pixel phones. But we have to keep in mind that /e/ has a lot of problems, the only one solved is sending data to Google. The security aspect of the OS is problematic and some key elements of a privacy seem questioning (AI integration, commercial collaborations, ...). Fix: IA => AI typo and various English errors.

soufron 8mo ago
Like what problems? I am using /e/ daily for myself and my family, and it's working like a charm.
- _ache_ 8mo ago
  The OS is working well, but have privacy and security concerns. Is it better than a stock OS? I don't know, maybe, maybe not, it depends on the stock OS.
- microtonal 8mo ago
  Uploading speech-to-text to OpenAI? Regular communication with Google? Using Google for assisted GPS? Giving a bunch of Google apps privileged access (if you need them for e.g. Android Auto)? https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-nicht-zwangslaeufig-sicher-custom-roms-teil6/ https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-... https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/GmsCore/-/blob/a9e102567518ec77f447d66f558dcd24d7690264/play-services-base/core/src/main/kotlin/org/microg/gms/common/KnownGooglePackages.kt#L209 https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/GmsCore/-/blob/a9e102567518... https://forum.fairphone.com/t/e-os-betrays-users-privacy-openai-being-integrated-directly-into-core-os/119381 https://forum.fairphone.com/t/e-os-betrays-users-privacy-ope... https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm Well and besides that only shipping ASBs and no other security updates outside major Android releases (and both usually late). Using heavily outdated kernel trees (e.g. FP4 is using a Linux kernel patch level that hasn't been updated since 2020!), outdated vendor firmware blobs, etc. It might work, but it is not very secure, nor very private.
chrisjj 8mo ago
What IA?
- microtonal 8mo ago
  /e/OS speech to text uploads your speech to OpenAI. (I think IA was a typo.)

dns_snek 8mo ago

GOS is degoogled in all the ways that I care about - it's about the data they can gather. Among all the smartphone options that I consider usable day to day (leaving only Android and iOS at the moment), GOS is the most private and secure.

izacus 8mo ago

/e/OS is Android, meaning it's still critically dependent on goodwill of Google to continue releasing their work as part of AOSP. So if you're trying to be a silly purist, then /e/OS doesn't fit either. If you're not, getting a Pixel will significantly enhance your safety since they're better supported for security patches and better designed in hardware when it comes to security.

eloisant 8mo ago
> /e/OS is Android So is GrapheneOS
- subscribed 8mo ago
  At least GrapheneOS is releasing up to date OS versions and patches very quickly, quicker than all the vendors except Google. And in terms of the security, they release binary patches for the exploits under embargo until...... mid-2026. Remember November 2025 security bulletin? Multiple RCEs, media wrote articles about that.... Meanwhile GOS was long patched. Look at /e/OS releases now: https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/releases/-/releases https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/os/releases/-/releases What is the most recent version? 3.5. What Android revision is it based on? Lineage 22.2, which is Android 15. It also claims that it includes "all Android security patches available as of February, 2nd 2026" .....but not all patches get back ported, meaning they miss many fixes and improvements. And that's just the start. Tbh I'd rather run Lineage Os on the older phone that this.
einpoklum 8mo ago
Let's explore this a little further. I think it is legitimate to be a purist about smartphones, but I don't think the GP is. So, let's talk about the non-purist situation: Users like us want to de-google. But we are not willing to make all of the sacrifices that purists do. The question is then, what can we use (and - what projects can we support financially). Now, we can use GrapheneOS if we have Google Pixel's. But - most people don't have those phones, for any number of reasons. One of them is price, by the way: You can get a decent smartphone for under 100 USD and even a half-decent one for 70 USD. And most people in the world are not in an economic situation where you can tell them "shell out 300 USD and buy a Google Pixel". Moreover - suggesting we strengthen our ties to Google in order to de-Google is fundamentally problematic. Even if we're not going all the way, we are striving to distance ourselves from them. So, an imperfect software solution for a wider selection of phones does sound quite useful. Change my mind! :-)

Arch-TK 8mo ago

Google's hardware is just hardware. It is not locked down like the hardware of many other manufacturers. Moreover, it's the only such hardware which also allows you, the user, to lock it down for your own security. GrapheneOS is not just focused around avoiding Google, it's more accurately focused around security and user choice. The goal is to give you the option to avoid needing to rely on Google's spying or services while not having to compromise on security. None of these other solutions regularly get included in Celebrite's documentation as being an explicit benchmark of their software's ability to break into phones. And that's almost certainly due to the fact that unless you leverage hardware security features like what GrapheneOS (and stock Android on a Pixel, and iOS on an iPhone) utilises, you have no chance of going against any actual adversaries. And I'm not just talking about state actors here, even drive-by opportunistic attacks are likelier on a random other phone running some other Android build. So yeah, you are running Google hardware, that doesn't make you "googled". It's just a sad reflection on the reality of the hardware landscape. If you want the same security as what GrapheneOS offers, you will currently need to use a Pixel. I'd be curious to see what comes out of their Motorola partnership though.

dminik 8mo ago
A large part of "degoogling" to me means "stop giving google money" and "cut off Google entirely from my life". If I have to give Google a lot of money every 4-6 years to remain "de-googled" then I never was.
- hexfish 8mo ago
  Thats a very binary way of looking at this.
  - jaggs 8mo ago
    But true.
  - miramba 8mo ago
    I think it’s very valid. I want to be hardware-independent, not only OS independent. I need graphene to work on a fairphone, jolla phone or whatever other alternatives there are. E/os can do that (to an extent), Graphene can’t for probably very good reason, but still: It‘s not an alternative then.

fragmede 8mo ago

The post about Graphene partnering with Motorola is right about this one, currently, (Lenovo bought Motorola from Google in 2014.), so that point will no longer be valid as soon as they ship something. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214645 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47214645

ementally 8mo ago

Literally announced today partnership with Motorola to bring it to their devices.