If you say "GrapheneOS may be the best, but you should treat it as untrustworthy.", is it fair to single it out as the "BackdoorOS"? It seems more like your position is that no closed source hatdware can be trusted? On that level we also can't trust any software because of Ken Thompsons "Reflections on trusting trust". So is your point that phones/computers can't be trusted in general, or that GrapheneOS is especially unsafe compared to available alternatives?
In the long run, I’m pinning my hopes on the LibrePhone project, which is reverse-engineering firmware blobs to eventually offer open-source alternatives. I hope to be able to combine that with the Fairphone at some point (which, as I mentioned, already allows you to remove modules like the microphone, camera, etc.).
But right now, there simply isn’t any alternative free, open-source firmware yet. So, yes, it’s the best option for now—though it’s still not trustworthy. Especially since old cross-device tracking methods, such as uXDT, continue to play a role there as well.
With PCs and laptops, there isn’t anything completely open-source either, but it’s still easier to run them in a completely isolated environment, because a smartphone that’s completely isolated loses its purpose—that’s the difference.
If you say "GrapheneOS may be the best, but you should treat it as untrustworthy.", is it fair to single it out as the "BackdoorOS"? It seems more like your position is that no closed source hatdware can be trusted? On that level we also can't trust any software because of Ken Thompsons "Reflections on trusting trust". So is your point that phones/computers can't be trusted in general, or that GrapheneOS is especially unsafe compared to available alternatives?
In the long run, I’m pinning my hopes on the LibrePhone project, which is reverse-engineering firmware blobs to eventually offer open-source alternatives. I hope to be able to combine that with the Fairphone at some point (which, as I mentioned, already allows you to remove modules like the microphone, camera, etc.). But right now, there simply isn’t any alternative free, open-source firmware yet. So, yes, it’s the best option for now—though it’s still not trustworthy. Especially since old cross-device tracking methods, such as uXDT, continue to play a role there as well.
With PCs and laptops, there isn’t anything completely open-source either, but it’s still easier to run them in a completely isolated environment, because a smartphone that’s completely isolated loses its purpose—that’s the difference.