131–140 of 653 posts
I've been running GrapheneOS for 7 months now and I'm not going back. When I bought my Pixel 10 last year, I wasn't actually planning on trying Graphene for a while....until I noticed Google had force bundled a 'Wicked For Good' movie promo theme with the latest security update.
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TBF if Google locked down the devices like that it would be a GPL violation. Not their first or whatever but still, there's a reason for them not to do that beside "being nice"
The Linux kernel developers see what Tivo did as a "feature" rather than a "flaw" and refuse GPLv3.
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When I got a new phone last year, I purposely got a Pixel (open box 9a) to put GrapheneOS on it immediately. Been happy living the de-Googled Android life since. I was sad that I had to go through the OOBE setup on the stock image to unlock the bootloader. At least it doesn't force an internet connection and login, unlike Windows.
Is it possible to install basic Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Drive without googlifying the whole phone? I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS.
The Owner profile itself doesn't run Google Play Services, so when that Private Space is locked and dormant it's effectively a degoogled stack.
Some will invariably argue that an old pocket-sized Linux PC with a cellular modem is a superior experience, and for some specific things it may well be, but GrapheneOS is the only viable option for someone looking for a user-respecting modern phone with very few limitations.
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> I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS. This is entirely possible as other posters have explained. But I think it kind of defeats the point of Graphene, at least somewhat. Google is already profiling every aspect of your life by reading your emails, files, calendar, location, etc? In that case, OS access becomes moot. I think that GrapheneOS makes most sense as part of a broader…
I agree and have moved mostly away from everything Google. But it's hard to replace maps. I know open street maps exists but it's hard to beat Google's data gathering.
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> I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS. This is entirely possible as other posters have explained. But I think it kind of defeats the point of Graphene, at least somewhat. Google is already profiling every aspect of your life by reading your emails, files, calendar, location, etc? In that case, OS access becomes moot. I think that GrapheneOS makes most sense as part of a broader…
I agree and have moved mostly away from everything Google. But it's hard to replace maps. I know open street maps exists but it's hard to beat Google's data gathering.
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Is it possible to install basic Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Maps, Drive without googlifying the whole phone? I'm not looking to fully de-Google but I want Google as apps and not my OS.
Yes, you install the Google Play store via the GrapheneOS App Store. The OS comes with like 5 apps out of the box. The rest is up to you. Biggest caveats that I've encountered: tap to pay via Google Wallet is a no go, Android Auto can be flaky, MDM managed work profiles don't work at the moment, and some apps that use the Google Play integrity API fail to validate and refuse to work (I've only encountered one app tha…
I'm hopeful that an OEM Motorola device will get certified for Google Pay.
I've been running GrapheneOS for 7 months now and I'm not going back. When I bought my Pixel 10 last year, I wasn't actually planning on trying Graphene for a while....until I noticed Google had force bundled a 'Wicked For Good' movie promo theme with the latest security update.
What's the app data backup/restore story on GrapheneOS? My understanding is that even with pseudo-D2D (device-to-device) transfers Seedvault doesn't backup everything[1]. Are there more-functional, non-root, local (non-cloud) alternatives? [1]: https://github.com/seedvault-app/seedvault/wiki/FAQ#why-do-s...
That Motorola phone that lets you install Graphene can not come soon enough. Pixel phones are not sold worldwide so it feels like they're gatekeeping security. I know that's not the case really, but there's very few ways to successfully degoogle otherwise.
> Pixel phones are not sold worldwide Still boggles my mind the fact Google doesn't sell their phones worldwide. Obtaining a Pixel has proven to be quite difficult for me.
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Can you please not post aggressively like this? It's against the site guidelines because it destroys what HN is supposed to be for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
I've been running GrapheneOS for 7 months now and I'm not going back. When I bought my Pixel 10 last year, I wasn't actually planning on trying Graphene for a while....until I noticed Google had force bundled a 'Wicked For Good' movie promo theme with the latest security update.
I too, liked it. However, some apps that I need for work, like Microsoft Authenticator, no longer work under GrapheneOS. https://www.theregister.com/on-prem/2026/03/10/microsoft-tig...