It doesn't open up any holes since google play services are not allowed any special access on grapheneOS and run as a regular sandboxed app. You can make a separate user profile just for google apps.
It does if you want to fully use google play services. If you run google play services as a regular app, you cannot use banking apps, whatsapp (app works but no backups to gdrive) or uber for drivers. And you also cannot do purchases in the app store sadly. If you can live with this then fine.
It just seems odd to me, may as well install LineageOs if you just want an alternative android os really. You get more privacy controls than stock android. I just feel that the whole point of graphene is to be able to have a private phone and live outside big tech and you pay a price for that.
If you don't really care that much about privacy and are happy to let google apps run in the background then data about you can still reach the mothership but your smartphone experience is quite degraded imo
> It does if you want to fully use google play services. If you run google play services as a regular app, you cannot use banking apps, whatsapp (app works but no backups to gdrive) or uber for drivers. And you also cannot do purchases in the app store sadly. If you can live with this then fine.
This has nothing to do with it being sandboxed. You are talking about the SafetyNet api, which makes sure the device is using the "official" android version.
> If you run google play services as a regular app, you cannot use banking apps, whatsapp (app works but no backups to gdrive) or uber for drivers. And you also cannot do purchases in the app store sadly. If you can live with this then fine.
I do at least some of those, so I can say you are making wrong claims. I won't test all of them, it would be your job to test them before claiming that they don't work.
> It just seems odd to me, may as well install LineageOs if you just want an alternative android os really.
GrapheneOS is a lot more secure, and in my experience I get better support than I did with /e/OS.
> You get more privacy controls than stock android.
I do on GrapheneOS, even though I installed the Play Services and Play Store. I love being able to run them in the sandbox!
> I just feel that the whole point of graphene is to be able to have a private phone and live outside big tech and you pay a price for that.
Well you are not forced to install the Play Services. But if you own a phone that is supported by GrapheneOS, I would say it's a better choice than anything else out there.
I am currently using 4 banking apps from 3 different banks on GrapheneOS, they all work just fine. I'm also using WhatsApp and would not use the backup feature to Google Drive even on PixelOS. Uber (haven't tried the for drivers app), and other ride hauling apps also work fine.
Why would I choose LineageOS instead of GrapheneOS? I can't see any benefits in using LineageOS, I only see major drawbacks.
Why is it always 0 or 1 with privacy? Why can't I use GrapheneOS with sandboxed Google Play Services? Seems like the best option. I can still use all the apps I want and also get privacy and security benefits. I only give Google what I want and still get to live like a normal person, without making huge compromises on security, privacy, usability and GrapheneOS has been the most stable OS I've used. More stable than the stock PixelOS.
netdevphoenix|3 months ago
It just seems odd to me, may as well install LineageOs if you just want an alternative android os really. You get more privacy controls than stock android. I just feel that the whole point of graphene is to be able to have a private phone and live outside big tech and you pay a price for that.
If you don't really care that much about privacy and are happy to let google apps run in the background then data about you can still reach the mothership but your smartphone experience is quite degraded imo
preisschild|3 months ago
This has nothing to do with it being sandboxed. You are talking about the SafetyNet api, which makes sure the device is using the "official" android version.
And no, not every banking app requires this.
palata|3 months ago
I do at least some of those, so I can say you are making wrong claims. I won't test all of them, it would be your job to test them before claiming that they don't work.
> It just seems odd to me, may as well install LineageOs if you just want an alternative android os really.
GrapheneOS is a lot more secure, and in my experience I get better support than I did with /e/OS.
> You get more privacy controls than stock android.
I do on GrapheneOS, even though I installed the Play Services and Play Store. I love being able to run them in the sandbox!
> I just feel that the whole point of graphene is to be able to have a private phone and live outside big tech and you pay a price for that.
Well you are not forced to install the Play Services. But if you own a phone that is supported by GrapheneOS, I would say it's a better choice than anything else out there.
tholdem|3 months ago
Why would I choose LineageOS instead of GrapheneOS? I can't see any benefits in using LineageOS, I only see major drawbacks.
Why is it always 0 or 1 with privacy? Why can't I use GrapheneOS with sandboxed Google Play Services? Seems like the best option. I can still use all the apps I want and also get privacy and security benefits. I only give Google what I want and still get to live like a normal person, without making huge compromises on security, privacy, usability and GrapheneOS has been the most stable OS I've used. More stable than the stock PixelOS.