GrapheneOS vs LineageOS vs iodéOS
According to Comparison of Android-based Operating Systems, GrapheneOS seems to be better than LineageOS and iodéOS in every aspect.
I’m wondering if there is any downside of GrapheneOS. What am I giving up for using GrapheneOS instead of LineageOS and iodéOS (besides GrapheneOS only support pixel)?
In terms of privacy, security, customizability and functionality, which OS would you recommend and on what device would you recommend using it?
thanks a million
There really isn’t much comparison.
Graphene only supports Pixels because it is the best phone for hardware security. If you choose to use a different phone you have already accepted a less secure device.
Sandboxed Google Play is going to offer the most compatibility as it allows you to access the main app store in the Android eco system without giving up privileged access to your phone. Devices that use Micro G or regular play store can’t make that claim. Which is a massive privacy issue.
Since Graphene OS works with other launchers there really is not a difference in customizability.
I’d love to be able to say there is a good competitor for GOS but none of the other custom ROMs actually focus on Privacy/Security and most are dishonest about that fact. Divest OS was one of the few other ROMs that was honest about what it was so it was sad when the dev moved on.
I’d also note that threat model matters. Not everyone needs top notch security or privacy. There are good reasons to not use GOS, but better privacy/security isn’t one. The obvious one is opportunity, whether it’s regional or financial, Pixels can be a pain to get.
The only real downsides of GOS are that it only supports Pixels, and that it doesn’t support microG (I can see the appeal of Sandboxed Play Services, but I would personally have preferred microG).
- Privacy: GrapheneOS
- Security: GrapheneOS
- Customisability: LineageOS
- Functionality: (Subjective)
I would only recommend three groups of devices:
- Pixels
- Fairphones
- TeraCubes
Google turning Pixels more and more complicated to have alternative OS isn’t a good sign. I hope GrapheneOS come up with a open source and secure phone alternative. Fairphone or TeraCubes using alternative OSes aren’t private or secure enough. I hate to say that but if I would be in the market today for a phone I’d be considering an IPhone.
I’ll probably switch to LineageOS and harden it myself if GOS starts floundering, but that would be purely to get my money’s worth out of the hardware.
After that, I’d go for my alternative setup of dumb-ish phone + laptop + refurbished iPod.
If you have apps that require play services you can install them to another profile in GOS. Profiles stay active if you like and you can get notifications from other profiles as well. That way you can limit data exposure for play services and apps using them. I do this on my GOS and it works very nice. Though you should use Aurora store to get play store apps (you can get it from f-droid). Many apps from play store work well with out play services.
thats good to know, Many Thanks
Can u explain why you would recommend Fairphones and TeraCubes?
In terms of customizability, what limitations does GrapheneOS have aside from not supporting microG? Also, is it possible to install tools like Magisk on GrapheneOS? I’m not entirely sure what Magisk is, but it is always helpful to have more option.
thanks a lot!
Fairphones and TeraCubes are ethical hardware. Fairtrade, repairable, and possibly open-source (I’ll have to double-check that).
GrapheneOS is customisable, yes, but LineageOS is moreso.
Magisk is a tool used to root Android devices (essentially adding an
subinary to give the user root access). However, this makes the system inherently less secure, and undermines the whole point of GrapheneOS.I guess I’m going to buy 2 devices one for GrapheneOS with only Open Source app installed and one for LineageOS for using app that doesn’t work on GrapheneOS.
Thanks a lot
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MicroG is somewhat hacky solution that emulates play services. When you have proper play services you do have all the functionality available. Since it’s sandboxed play services don’t have any privileged access to the system thus can only access data which is available to any normal app.
Being in the Privacy community, I’d say microG is the superior solution to have the functionality you need without giving google access to your device.
Ive only started looking into these. GrapheneOS looks cool, but being stuck with only the Pixel is kinda annoying and google is being shitty about supporting it. Removing drivers and squashing git commits, making it harder to support.
I need to look at the others to see how they fair.
iodéOS is a carbon copy of LineageOS. The main difference is that it has an ad and tracker blocker built in.
so iodéOS is always better than LineageOS if we ignore device support?
I don’t think it’s better because it relies on lineageos but I like their ad/tracker blocker approach.
I guess GrapheneOS > iodéOS > LineageOS then
Also consider that you’re adding another party that you need to trust to the chain, and also adding another point of failure if iodéOS stops releasing.
