36
Phone + OS review: Google Pixel 9a and GrapheneOS
(typekmatus.blogspot.com)
all 31 comments
sorted by:
hot
top
new
old
[deleted]
I wanna discuss with you, because this is exactly what I thought... I've gotten almost down to, contacts/email/messengers and then there are a couple apps which does govt id (like 2fa) that don't have desktop version, grayjay, osm, whether, gadget bridge etc.... And that's it. I was wondering if any device with Ubuntu touch could do that. And one interesting thing I wanted to think is that if there is a cm5 (the blackberry raspberry pie thing) that connects to a 5g hotspot for wifi, can I run max things via browser and IP phone....etc.... Would be an interesting experience/ experiment
Folks, many banks have now implemented 2FA through their apps. That is the only reason why i have it installed. But i keep it on a deperate GrapheneOS profile that i turn on anff as i need it.
[deleted]
Sweden,Lituania,Denmark, Norway, Poland, that I know of, off the top of my head. And for the dystopian feeling you have, consider that its required for banking, tax filing and things where you would otherwise have to prove your identity with a government issued ID or passport. So no more dystopian than being required to show Id when taking out a house loan.
You can add Portugal, Spain and (I think) Estonia to that list. But really the tendency will be for more countries to adopt this technology. Whether we like it or not the degoogling/PrivSec community is really niche and most people prefer to use standard phones, and there these apps work perfectly.
My country’s gov has a 2FA app to authenticate logins for public services, check digital IDs and pay taxes. No web version for that. Local banks also use that system to validate your KYC so you need to have it on your phone anyway.
All of my banks are neobanks except my savings account, so also no web banking there. These banks have several “pots” which you can use to divide your money (bills, holidays, use later, etc) so the interactions with these apps are pretty much daily. I also don’t like to have too much money readily available so that in case of my card being cloned, the hackers won’t be able to take more than 100 euros from me.
There are also public bikes that are free to use but require a specific app that for some reason didn’t work at all on my GrapheneOS install (I think due to Google Play Services seeing my Os is not signed by Google). I’ve also had issues in the past in a city where you could clock in and out of the metro station using an app, but I couldn’t use it because of GrapheneOSs strong anti-tracking features. Had to fork out extra money every time because paying for the metro through the machine would force me to charge at least 10€ at a time while the app would take the exact money due from my account if I used it…
So yes, 1 inconvenience at a time is how these alternatives OSes become major PsITA to use. It’s not just the banks, it’s also the obscure local apps that are necessary to live a normal life. If you have free time to search for alternatives or don’t mind the extra work then it’s probably fine, but when you have a job and need things to just work then it becomes really jarring to use. Just my opinion.
The banking apps I'm talking about will fail to run on GrapheneOS if they detect they were downloaded from Aurora Store, even if you're using an OEM-locked device with GFS installed btw. They also require your device to have Google Play Protect certification.
On top, it's a standard protocol for all banking apps that I use to block any new ip you login into for more than 24 hrs unless it was a pre-trusted phone device. for that unfortunatelly, it is a deal killer that I'd have no way of accessing money when travelling abroad, which is something I do 30+ times a year :(
Good luck setting up N26 (German neobank) account on GrapheneOS. It just doesn't work. Revolut works great though.
You will need to approve from application when shopping online.
For example, I am in the Netherlands, and the payment processing gateway here (called iDeal) will ask you to open your bank app and confirm your purchase every time. Whether it is allowed to do without a phone depends on the implementation of the bank. For bunq, it's okay to approve from web app as long as you verified your identity and trust the session. But for Revolut and most traditional banks like Rabobank, the procedure is completely dependent on mobile application, making it almost impossible to complete any purchase without installing the app.
This really pissed me off - I generally hate the idea of trusting one device, and this is the trend of modern internet. New device detected? Approve from your old device. Two factor authentication? Use your biometrics or just SMS code, no option for password managers or authenticators. Web app? Not functional at all, you have to scan QR from your phone to log in and then approve everything on mobile app. What a nightmare.
what the fuck a blogspot link in an anti google community? Blogspot is owned by google!
I'm too broke to have a domain.
You could use a service like codeberg.org where you could host static pages with a subdomain of them. They are better privacy wise and open source.
I appreciate and applaud your are trying to get away from Big Tech, but... GrapheneOS isn’t really deGoogled—honestly, this post fits better in a privacy or security sub, not the deGoogle one, if you ask me. Most apps on Android today need at least something from Play Services to work. Yeah, GrapheneOS doesn’t come with Play Services pre-installed, but they make it super easy to add, and most importantly: they don’t even support microG, which is the great open-source, deGoogled alternative for Play Services. Oh, and then there is the fact you can literallt only run GrapheneOS on Google Pixels right now... If you’re serious about ditching Google, CalyxOS, /e/OS, or LineageOS are way better options imo
Do you even hear yourself?
"GrapheneOS isn't really degoogled"
"GrapheneOS doesn't come with Play Services pre-installed, but they make it super easy to add"
So in your estimation it would be only degoogled if they made it difficult to add instead of super easy? What are you even talking about dude?
Also, you don't have to buy the pixel from Google. You can get one refurbished or used.
What I mean is quite clearly explained in my post above... GrapheneOS only offers Play Store integration, not microG, while microG is a great Google alternative for Play Services. So basically, with GrapheneOS you're not only tied to a Google device, but also to Google Play Services, all 30 or something of them. How is that being deGoogled? As I said, for deGoogling there are better options: those that don't use Google Play Services but microG (most other custom Roms) and those that support other devices than Google Pixels
You are NOT tied to Google play services on gOS. An OPTIONAL sandboxed version of play services, without the system level privileges, is offered.
Also, consider the reasons for degoogling. For many, it is privacy. GrapheneOS is currently the only player on the field with any serious level of security.
Well you are tied to Play Services if you want to run most apps, which all require Play Services to some degree. I'm not saying you can't use GrapheneOS without Play Services, of course you can, just like AOSP, your phone just won't run most apps (well). My points remains: GrapheneOS only supports Google Play Services while there is a great non-Google alternative available + they only support Google devices when there is a whole marketplace full of other devices. In the area of deGoogling they do poorly
MicroG is insecure software and there isn’t a single ROM that uses it that passes even basic security checks. Low tier Chinese hardware is more secure than the best ROM using microG, including /e/OS.
This is important because microG contains all sorts of cool stuff that will help break Google's monopoly over the Android ecosystem at some point, like UnifiedPush, an alternative to Google's push notification system. That's why they are better. By offering support for Google Play Services but not microG, the monopoly of Google and the continued use of Play Services is supported, which imo it should not be
[deleted]
Most of this is false and/outdated information. CalyxOS indeed is temporarily suspended, but all of these OS that you mention and microG deserve praise for everything they do to help people be more private, deGoogle and use open source software imo
What a weak line of argumentation. Hopes and dreams don’t matter on the face of reality.
There is a reason why investigative journalists, activists and whistleblowers use GrapheneOS, and it is the only OS that is recommended for such use cases. It’s the only OS that has the receipts to prove their are resistant to remote penetration breaches from the likes of Pegasus and common evil maidens like Celebrite.
There are no high-risk personas using microG OSes. The ones who did are now dead.
You’re free to use your insecure and outdated OS of choice that allows you to feel good about using the equally insecure MicroG. Just stop pretending it is a viable choice for the majority of consumers, who don’t want to have to throw away their phones because they got infected by a swarm spam bot that also drained their bank account.
Yes and this is indeed the target population of GrapheneOS, people with extremely high security needs. And that's great. But my point is that such efforts come with compromises and in the case of GrapheneOS it has led to a reduced level of user friendliness for regular normal users. Which is fine, it's all just choices. Because of those choices, GrapheneOS is not the best option in terms of deGoogling, others are better. Again this ok, you can never do everything at the same time
What compromise are you doing with GrapheneOS+Google services that you aren’t making with microG? In my experience the sandboxed version of Play Services works much better than MicroG, with the added security of using an android native service developed by Google themselves.
You can argue “MicroG isn’t Google” but it actually is since it’s just a bunch of Google libraries with some FOSS costing on top. And again, you’re more likely to get your phone remotely hacked by a silly exploit that was patched months ago but still got you because instead of GrapheneOS you decided to use some other security-void like Calyx, LineageOS or /e/OS.
Play services and store are optional and if installed are treated the same as any other app in the system.
this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2025
36 points (89.1% liked)
DeGoogle Yourself
17848 readers
16 users here now
A community for those that would like to get away from Google.
Here you may post anything related to DeGoogling, why we should do it or good software alternatives!
Rules
-
Be respectful even in disagreement
-
No advertising unless it is very relevent and justified. Do not do this excessively.
-
No low value posts / memes. We or you need to learn, or discuss something.
Related communities
!privacyguides@lemmy.one !privacy@lemmy.ml !privatelife@lemmy.ml !linuxphones@lemmy.ml !fossdroid@social.fossware.space !fdroid@lemmy.ml
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS