Daily Driving GrapheneOS

good writeup. I've been meaning to set this up for myself too. I keep uninstalling apps from my phone every other day because if I use something very little, I am afraid the app is collecting data from my usage in some way or the other.

I have a fairly new ish Pixel phone, do you think I'll be able to go back if I don't like it?

Re: Daily Driving GrapheneOS

#5

Post by skeptic_ai » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:40 AM UTC

I’ve tried but: couldn’t get my card to work on wallet. Can’t verify.

Uber couldn’t verify payment so I couldn’t take a ride when needed.

Re: Daily Driving GrapheneOS

#6

Post by vbezhenar » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:42 AM UTC

sankalpmukim wrote: post #4

good writeup. I've been meaning to set this up for myself too. I keep uninstalling apps from my phone every other day because if I use something very little, I am afraid the app is collecting data from my usage in some way or the other. I have a fairly new ish Pixel phone, do you think I'll be able to go back if I don't like it?

Yes, it's super simple to install GrapheneOS and to revert to the factory OS on Google Pixels. It is done from Chrome browser with phone connected via USB cable, no need to install anything. Of course when you'll switch, you'll lose all data on your phone, basically like factory reset (but esims survive I think).

Re: Daily Driving GrapheneOS

#7

Post by rudhdb773b » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:43 AM UTC

skeptic_ai wrote: post #5

I’ve tried but: couldn’t get my card to work on wallet. Can’t verify. Uber couldn’t verify payment so I couldn’t take a ride when needed.

Contactless payments are often a problem, but adding a card for Uber (directly in the app) should work. I use it frequently, along with Grab, Bolt, Maxim, etc.

Re: Daily Driving GrapheneOS

#8

Post by vbezhenar » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:44 AM UTC

TBH What I wanted from the world is AOSP distribution. Built similarly to GrapheneOS in terms of distribution, ease of install. But I just don't feel I need all these privacy enhancements and stuff, I'm perfectly fine with ordinary system compiled from Google sources with proper update schedule. Also I don't want to see anything installed out of the box, except maybe single app to install AOSP apps, F-Droid, Play Store, just APK from the given URL. So basically almost empty mobile OS which user fully customizes, no predefined choices, no custom patches.

Re: Daily Driving GrapheneOS

#9

Post by riedel » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:47 AM UTC

vbezhenar wrote: post #8

TBH What I wanted from the world is AOSP distribution. Built similarly to GrapheneOS in terms of distribution, ease of install. But I just don't feel I need all these privacy enhancements and stuff, I'm perfectly fine with ordinary system compiled from Google sources with proper update schedule. Also I don't want to see anything installed out of the box, except maybe single app to install AOSP apps, F-Droid, Play Sto…

So what is wrong with lineage in this case?

Re: Daily Driving GrapheneOS

#10

Post by microtonal » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:51 AM UTC

sankalpmukim wrote: post #4

good writeup. I've been meaning to set this up for myself too. I keep uninstalling apps from my phone every other day because if I use something very little, I am afraid the app is collecting data from my usage in some way or the other. I have a fairly new ish Pixel phone, do you think I'll be able to go back if I don't like it?

I have a fairly new ish Pixel phone, do you think I'll be able to go back if I don't like it?

Yeah, it is very easy, it's described here:

https://grapheneos.org/install/web#replacing-grapheneos-with...

Similar to GrapheneOS, Google also has a web installer (linked from the above section). Just in case you didn't know - both installing GrapheneOS and recovering the stock OS will remove all data as well.