this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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Now if only GrapheneOS was easy to install on cheap Android devices.
Grapheneos is surprisingly the most easy OS to install... The issue is most phone manufacturer's dont meet Grapheneos its standards.
I agree, but isn't that just the same way said differently?
They have reached a deal with Motorola, so hopefully there will be more options soon. You can get we used pixels pretty cheap though, and the installation process is very easy.
I was wondering how this stance will impact that deal. A large company like Motorola would typically seek to comply with laws such as these
I'm hoping they already had the discussion with Motorola about it. I'm assuming Motorola wouldn't be on the hook legally since Graphene is the OS provider. I could be wrong though.
Yeah, hopefully worst case, Motorola just doesn't ship them with Graphene (which could be a security risk anyway). Then they'd be off the hook.
In the worst case it will just be Motorola shipping their base android version with verification and then just flashing grapheme over it. Just the way it currently works with pixels.
Remember Motorola phones are made by Lenovo which is now an Indian company.
You mean Chinese? With an ever bigger presence in India I'm sure
Irrelevant. They need to comply with the laws of the market they are selling at.
Check what pornhub decided to do in Texas
Pixel is the brand name from DoubleClick. I've got no interest. Plus, it's a pain to put them on Tracfone, so I've got net-negative interest.
It's not just a pain, it's basically impossible to install Graphene to a TracFone because you'd have to build it all yourself, and then still be vulnerable anyway. I also doubt that you could even get it to properly build for TracFone.
Cheap android devices don't have the proper security hardware. Hopefully the Motorola phone is cheaper than a pixel though. Used pixels are also pretty cheap, all things considered.
Correction, the oldest supported Pixels that will likely lose support soon are pretty cheap. Everything else was still around $400 when I checked last month.
$400 is pretty cheap for a phone these days.
No, $400 is about $300 more than any phone could ever be worth.
$400 is more than I have ever paid for a phone (and no, I never bought a carrier locked subsidized phone). From 2014-2022 I had 3 phones that cost a total of $450. This ain't it.
I'm not interested in using anything with DoubleClick's hooks in it. I'm happy with my $30 Tracfone for most of the features it offers.
Your TracFone will never have the security features required and will always be vulnerable to things like Cellebrite. If it's an Android phone, you're also being tracked by several companies.
That's what it is then.I just don't want to deal with the arbitrary nonsense like age-verification and software install limitations. Then again, I only have a phone at all because of my wife. If it were just me, I'd just keep a featurephone in a drawer and maybe check that it's charged once a month. As it stands, I may end up having to give up the small amount of morality I have and just give up on Android and pay a ridiculous amount of money just for phone service.
I'm glad to see that Graphene won't be doing the age verification thing, because I'm afraid all new phones (including TracFones) will require it moving forward. But the hardware limitations will continue to be a blocker for people with cheap phones.
I agree on wanting to ditch my phone altogether. Maybe if I can retire, I can ditch it.
And if all banking apps were compatible with it...
don't use a banking app if you enjoy your privacy.
there isn't a single banking app that isn't tracking you.
Banking apps are generally compatible with GrapheneOS. Some of them just require Google Play Services, which Graphene alone gives you the option to turn on or off at will, or to install only on select user profiles.
Banking apps work for me with exploit compatibility mode enabled for them.
...it is?