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GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

blog.tomaszdunia.pl

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Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#401

Post by pixelesque »

vbarrielle wrote: post #342
gunapologist99 wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TOTP not accepted? (When will people learn that biometrics are not another factor: they're entirely public and irrevocable. It's not just security theater, but Apple & Google know that this forces you into their ecosystem, which should be illegal. Of course, Brussels is full of rubes anyway.)

TOTP not accepted, because the confirmation for payment must include the amount to be paid, which cannot be done under TOTP as far as I know.

Some UK banks (Nationwide and Barclays I know for certain) have had mini card-reader PIN devices since around 2010 that they've given customers, that basically generate on an LCD screen an 8-digit code for authentication.

When confirming a large transfer, you also need to enter the payment amount in the device, and I assume this gets hashed into the number as well.

More recently (last 3/4 years), you can also use their mobile app to do this instead / as well as.

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#402

Post by microtonal »

adezxc wrote: post #6
ordainedclicks wrote: post #3

One of the only big downsides I've noticed with GrapheneOS is that several banking apps don't work with it at all thanks to being tied to Google's verification ecosystem. Luckily I have hardware 2FA keys from my bank so I can authenticate using that. It also slightly decreases the suck-factor from whenever the phone decides to fly off down a drain. This may not be the case for you, so do your research on what you nee…

Yup, also Google Pay doesn't work, though there are other providers which work fine (Curve Pay I think works in all of EU), but it just made me carry my wallet everywhere and I understood I don't mind that at all.

I still have my Apple Watch configured, so I'm just doing the NFC payments with that :).

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#403

Post by haskman »

mctt wrote: post #251
haskman wrote: post #235

Been running GrapheneOS for a while on a Pixel 9, and extremely happy with it! Apart from the usual perks of the FOSS ecosystem, there are a few things specific to GrapheneOS that are not immediately apparent but have turned out to work very well - 1. The Pixel camera app works, including all modes and settings. A camera that takes good photos was absolutely a requirement for me, and the FOSS camera apps are not quit…

8. External storage works. This is the only mobile OS I've found that has stable support for an External SSD. I bought a second hand Pixel 7 to test this and an exFat SanDisk Extreme Portable 2TB works with reads/writes perfectly.

Very good to know!

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#404

Post by antonyh »

shevy-java wrote: post #236
fodmap wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's mind boggingly stupid that they lock down apps like this, when you can just open the thing in a website anyway. I can use my bank on some linux distro... Not in Spain. I can access my bank's website but I can't do anything without their bank app. Even sometimes they require to confirm my identity using their app in order to access their website. I have several linux phones but I can only do banking with their…

This should be illegal that the government forces people into apps controlled by private, commercial entities. I call such a government corrupt. Here in central Europe I can still access the bank website fine without smartphone. I need a physical device to yield a TAN though, but I can access and do online transactions fine. So I think something is wrong with the spanish government. People need to protest.

I switched bank in the UK due to enforced app use, from Starling to Nationwide. They use a card reader to issue codes, so I can still use the web. I see this as a much of a must-have as physical bank branches with real cashier services.

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#405

Post by smlavine »

barbazoo wrote: post #384
empyrrhicist wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your password must be between 8 and 12 characters, and must have lowercase, uppercase, numbers, and punctuation. Pick up the can!

> Pick up the can! Gotta admit, this triggered me. I don’t think those are the same thing. If no one had a good password we wouldn’t affect each other negatively. If no one picked up trash, we would. Edit: Sorry folks, didn’t get the reference.

It's a Half-Life 2 reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJshjMyg6no

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#406

Post by notpushkin »

Mindwipe wrote: post #312
shevy-java wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This should be illegal that the government forces people into apps controlled by private, commercial entities. I call such a government corrupt. Here in central Europe I can still access the bank website fine without smartphone. I need a physical device to yield a TAN though, but I can access and do online transactions fine. So I think something is wrong with the spanish government. People need to protest.

The DSA European digital wallet spec currently requires Google or Apple attestation, so not for much longer. And that is mandated by the EU.

Sigh.

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#407

Post by estebank »

barbazoo wrote: post #384
empyrrhicist wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your password must be between 8 and 12 characters, and must have lowercase, uppercase, numbers, and punctuation. Pick up the can!

> Pick up the can! Gotta admit, this triggered me. I don’t think those are the same thing. If no one had a good password we wouldn’t affect each other negatively. If no one picked up trash, we would. Edit: Sorry folks, didn’t get the reference.

I'm pretty sure it's referencing Half-Life 2, where an agent of an oppressive regime tells you to pick up a can that they just dropped on the floor as a sadistic display of authority (and to provide world-building and teach the grab mechanics to the player).

The GP is equating policies for strong passwords that aren't trivially cracked with authoritarianism.

If no one had a good password, we actually would affect each other negatively. If your personal banker can be easily compromised, that means that you could be easily parted with your money.

I do agree that they are not the same thing.

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#409

Post by microtonal »

palata wrote: post #71
stinos wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Author is installing Google Play Services it seems, wouldn't that work around this? In any case, for me this also sort of defeats the purpose: I'd rather break free from Google and Apple, not just (stock) Android and iOS.

> this also sort of defeats the purpose Not really. On GrapheneOS, the Play Services/Play Store run as sandboxed apps, i.e. they are not system apps like on Android. They just run like a normal, unprivileged app. That's a lot better than on Android. > I'd rather break free from Google and Apple, not just (stock) Android and iOS If you want to break free, you don't have to install the Play Services / Play Store on Gra…

With microG, your apps still connect to the Google servers, so you're not "breaking free".

Moreover, some OSes (e.g. /e/OS) give certain Google apps higher privileges than other apps even with microG, install Android Auto and it's still game over. GrapheneOS does not have this issue because as you say, Google apps/services get sandboxed.

Obligatory link: https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

Re: GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

#410

Post by haskman »

rcMgD2BwE72F wrote: post #273
haskman wrote: post #235

Been running GrapheneOS for a while on a Pixel 9, and extremely happy with it! Apart from the usual perks of the FOSS ecosystem, there are a few things specific to GrapheneOS that are not immediately apparent but have turned out to work very well - 1. The Pixel camera app works, including all modes and settings. A camera that takes good photos was absolutely a requirement for me, and the FOSS camera apps are not quit…

>4. Android QuickShare works! Does that require being logged into a Google account? How to ensure Google knows nothing about your shares? I have Graphene w/ Google Play Services (required for my job) and would love a easy way to share files/info with various devices (incl. iOS/macOS which I remember should work with QuickShare in the future) but will avoid a service that shares data with Google.

Unfortunately yes, and I am signed into my Google account for it.
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