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GrapheneOS
DeveloperGrapheneOS team led by Daniel Micay
OS familyAndroid (Linux)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source with proprietary components (firmware)
Initial release2019; 5 years ago (2019)
Latest release2024061400[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 14 June 2024
Repository
Marketing targetPrivacy/Security-focused smartphones
Update methodOver-the-air (OTA) or locally
Package managerAPK-based
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
LicenseMIT, Apache License, various permissive open source
Official websitegrapheneos.org Edit this at Wikidata

GrapheneOS is an Android-based, open-source, privacy and security-focused mobile operating system[2][3] for selected Google Pixel smartphones.

History

The main developer, Daniel Micay, originally worked on CopperheadOS until a schism between the co-founders of Copperhead Limited in 2018.[4][5] After the incident, Micay continued the development of CopperheadOS as well as the Android Hardening project, which later rebranded as GrapheneOS.[4][6]

In March 2022, GrapheneOS released Android 12L for Pixels before Google did.[7] GrapheneOS applications Secure Camera and Secure PDF Viewer were released to the Google Play Store and GitHub.[8]

Features

In a 2019 review, Moritz Tremmel and Sebastian Grüner of Golem.de said a variant of the Chromium web browser (named Vanadium) hardened by GrapheneOS was included.[4][a] Writing for How-To Geek in March 2022, Joe Fedewa said, unlike standard versions of Android, Google apps are not included due to concerns over privacy. It also does not include a default app store. Instead, Fedewa suggested, F-Droid can be used.[9]

Compatibility

GrapheneOS supports the most recent smartphone models in the Google Pixel product line until they no longer receive updates from Google.[4]

Reception

In 2019, Georg Pichler of Der Standard, and other news sources, quoted Edward Snowden saying on Twitter, "If I were configuring a smartphone today, I'd use Daniel Micay's GrapheneOS as the base operating system."[10][11][12] In discussing why services should not force users to install proprietary apps, Lennart Mühlenmeier of netzpolitik.org suggested GrapheneOS as an alternative to Apple or Google.[13] Svět Mobilně and Webtekno repeated the suggestions that GrapheneOS is a good security- and privacy-oriented replacement for standard Android.[14][15] In a detailed review of GrapheneOS for Golem.de, Moritz Tremmel and Sebastian Grüner said they were able to use GrapheneOS similarly to other Android, but enjoying more freedom from Google, without noticing differences from "additional memory protection, but that's the way it should be."[b] They concluded GrapheneOS cannot change how "Android devices become garbage after three years at the latest"[c], but "It can better secure the devices during their remaining life while protecting privacy."[d][4]

In 2022, Jonathan Lamont of MobileSyrup, in a review of GrapheneOS installed on a Pixel 3, after a week of use opined GrapheneOS demonstrated Android's reliance on Google. He called GrapheneOS install process "straightforward" and concluded to like GrapheneOS overall, but criticized the post-install as "often not a seamless experience like using an unmodified Pixel or an iPhone", attributing his experience to his "over-reliance on Google apps" and the absence of some "smart" features in GrapheneOS default keyboard and camera apps, in comparison to software from Google.[16] In his initial impressions post a week prior, Lamont said after an easy install there were issues with permissions for Google's Messages app, and difficulty importing contacts; Lamont then concluded, "Anyone looking for a straightforward experience may want to avoid GrapheneOS or other privacy-oriented Android experiences since the privacy gains often come at the expense of convenience and ease of use."[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Releases | GrapheneOS". 14 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Doing these 6 difficult things may make your smartphone 'hack proof'". The Times of India. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Maximális biztonságra gyúr az Android-alapú GrapheneOS" [Maximum Security in Android-based GrapheneOS]. Origo (in Hungarian). 5 April 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Tremmel, Moritz; Grüner, Sebastian (11 December 2019). "GrapheneOS: Ein gehärtetes Android ohne Google, bitte" [GrapheneOS: A hardened Android without Google, please]. Golem.de (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ^ Chua, Vaughn (3 April 2019). "GrapheneOS is a security and privacy focused mobile operating system". YugaTech. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  6. ^ Baader, Hans-Joachim (9 April 2019). "Android Hardening wird zu GrapheneOS" [Android Hardening becomes GrapheneOS]. Pro-Linux (in German). Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  7. ^ Wilde, Damien (11 March 2022). "Privacy-focused GrapheneOS based upon Android 12L comes to Pixel 6 in latest beta". 9to5Google. Retrieved 28 June 2022. After news that custom ROM project ProtonAOSP offers Pixel 6 owners the opportunity to run Android 12L ahead of the official stable release, GrapheneOS is the second such ROM to offer the latest build ahead of Google.
  8. ^ Hazarika, Skanda (4 March 2022). "GrapheneOS brings its camera and PDF viewer apps to the Play Store". XDA. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  9. ^ Fedewa, Joe. "What Is GrapheneOS, and How Does It Make Android More Private?". How-To Geek. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  10. ^ Pichler, Georg (24 September 2019). "Wie Edward Snowden sein Smartphone einrichten würde" [How Edward Snowden would set up his smartphone]. Der Standard (in Austrian German). Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Edward Snowden da a conocer las condiciones de seguridad para usar su smartphone" [Edward Snowden reveals the security conditions to use his smartphone]. La República (in Spanish). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Abhörsicheres Handy: Edward Snowden zeigt dir seine Tricks" [Tap-proof mobile phone: Edward Snowden shows you his tricks]. Futurezone.de (in German). 13 December 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  13. ^ Mühlenmeier, Lennart (19 July 2019). "Warum Post, Bank und Co. ihre Kunden nicht zwingen sollten, Apps zu benutzen" [Why Post, Bank and Co. shouldn't force their customers to use apps]. netzpolitik.org (in German). Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  14. ^ Šlik, Jáchym (6 April 2019). "GrapheneOS chce napravit bezpečnostní prohřešky Androidu" [GrapheneOS wants to fix Android security violations]. Svět Mobilně (in Czech). Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  15. ^ Kalelioğlu, Eray (3 April 2019). "Android Tabanlı İşletim Sistemi 'GrapheneOS' ile Tanışın" [Meet the GrapheneOS Android-Based Operating System]. Webtekno (in Turkish). Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  16. ^ Lamont, Jonathan (20 March 2022). "A week with GrapheneOS exposed my over-reliance on Google". MobileSyrup. Blue Ant Media. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  17. ^ Lamont, Jonathan (13 March 2022). "I replaced Android on a Pixel 3 with an Android-based privacy OS". MobileSyrup. Blue Ant Media. Retrieved 6 July 2022.

Notes

  1. ^ Dort geht es eher beschaulich zu: Neben den Standard-Android-Apps zum Telefonieren und SMS-Versenden finden wir eine Kamera-App sowie den Browser Vanadium vor. Letzterer basiert auf Chromium, der von den Graphene-Entwicklern gehärtet wurde.
  2. ^ Die Google-Freiheit genießen wir, von dem zusätzlichen Speicherschutz bekommen wir nichts mit, aber so soll es ja auch sein.
  3. ^ Daher werden die meisten frisch eingeführten Android-Geräte aus einer Sicherheitsperspektive spätestens nach drei Jahren zu Müll.
  4. ^ Es kann die Geräte während ihrer verbleibenden Laufzeit besser absichern und gleichzeitig die Privatsphäre schützen.
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