Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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I need a new phone but I want to do this right (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 months ago by hector@sh.itjust.works to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

74 comments fedilink hide all child comments

(Please when answering, assume I’m not a beginner at privacy/programming :) I know where the good stuff at)

First off, shameful confession: I’m writing this on a dying yellow iPhone XR I bought second-hand three years ago (189€). I absolutely love the look of it: the screen, build quality, are all amazing. The only problem was the locked ecosystem (sideloading Spotify/Torrent client was sooo hard).

I saw the android phone of my mother dying really fast. She currently has a Xiaomi phone that’s ridiculously big for my hands, there’s advertisements in the stocks apps (?!!), the UX is janky and everything. It looks like a bloat, privacy nightmare.

So… because it’s impossible to find a jailbreakable phone nowadays I need to buy an android and ideally I would want:

Good screen (vivid colors)
Good build quality (not shitty plastic)
Don’t care about the camera (I don’t want those ridiculously big cameras they make nowadays)
Would want to install either GrapheneOS/LineageOS

The things that scare me off:

I really need my bank app and I need it updated so I have to use Google Play Services but I don’t want it to plague my phone with privacy bullshit (I want to be degoogled)

The things that excite me:

Customization possibilities
Learning experience
Even more privacy than a de-googled IOS phone :)
F-Droid!! (Maybe I’ll find a beautiful IRC client)
More choices for Mastodon & Lemmy clients
Freedom of free software.
client for open-source git providers :)

But to get all of that, I don’t want Google, I need shitty apps (non-free software) I have to install:

Instagram (for non-technical friends)
GitHub (job & open-source)
No-Ad Modded Spotify from Balatan
Discord (gamer friends)
Telegram (cryptobros friends)
Steam (because I still love gaming)

Any advices? Phone ideas? I’m so lost in this ocean of choice (freedom ✨)

My current phone:

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[–] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Or, if you want an older phone, try a Pixel 3, 4 or 5

These are outdated and don't get security updates anymore, and thus shouldn't be used anymore. The Pixel 6a is supported until 2028, the Pixel 8 even gets 7 years of security updates (until 2030), the Pixel 8a and 9 are supported until 2031.

/e/OS (also known as Murena) is also a good ROM for privacy

/e/OS is unfortunately highly insecure and shouldn't be compared to GrapheneOS or recommended. Graphene is really the better choice here.

[–] earth_walker@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

They can recieve security updates if you use an alternative ROM such as Lineage or /e/OS.

Can you please explain how e/OS/ is insecure?

[–] Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago

They can recieve security updates if you use an alternative ROM such as Lineage or /e/OS.

They can only receive OS updates, but firmware updates are just as important for maintaining the security of a device. These can only be provided by the device manufacturer.

Can you please explain how e/OS/ is insecure?

Sure. It's based on the already insecure LineageOS, you can read more about that here: https://madaidans-insecurities.github.io/android.html#lineageos

On top of that, the /e/OS devs don't release updates in a timely manner, often taking 1-3 months to releases even simple but important Android Security Bulletin patches.

[–] steersman2484@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

They can not recieve firmware updates. They are always provided by the OEM