(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:

    • toastal@lemmy.ml
      2·
      2 months ago

      Missing from the list: ASUS lost a lawsuit in the UK after lying about saying their unlock servers being down would come back up for Zenfones. While they have a headphone jack, offer good price/performance, & used to fall in the ‘small phone’ category, you can no longer unlock bootloaders with final statement being they won’t be allowing it going forward.

      (I would contribute to the upstream, but I only use proprietary Microsoft GitHub when absolutely required—keep this in mind Privacy fam when setting up any unmirrored Git repository)

  • loganb@lemmy.world
    10·
    3 months ago

    You sound like the ideal candidate for a refurbished Pixel 7 / 8 from amazon.

    Test its hardware thoroughly on the stock os in case you need to return it.

    Install GrapheneOS using the Web installer.

    Install Droid-ify into your main profile from the f-droid web page. It looks much better than the official f-droid client and actually has a working auto-update

    Create a work profile. I use an app called Shelter as the work profile admin app. This allows you to auto freeze your big-tech apps to help with battery life / privacy. Install google services from the built-in GrapheneOS app store.

    Enjoy.

  • Earth Walker@lemmy.world
    10·
    3 months ago

    Get a Pixel 7 or newer and put Graphene OS on it. Pixels are excellent phones and have good support for custom ROMs. The Pixel 6 has a lot of weird issues that the others don’t have, so avoid it. Graphene is the best ROM for privacy AND security, and it is also relatively user-friendly.

    Or, if you want an older phone, try a Pixel 3, 4 or 5. They are good phones with an older design style that may appeal to you.

    /e/OS (also known as Murena) is also a good ROM for privacy, and supports a broader range of devices.

    • codenul@lemmy.ml
      2·
      3 months ago

      Typing this up on /e/os on OnePlus6t. Love it for ~2 years now. Signed up and support the project now with their ecosystem (64gb option).

      • Earth Walker@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 months ago

        I’ve heard a lot of people complain about software glitches and minor hardware issues. These issues may be due to the fact that the Pixel 6 was the first Pixel to use Google’s own Tensor chips.

  • chi-chan~@lemmy.world
    4·
    3 months ago

    Banking apps work great on second profile (user), you can use Shelter/Insular (accessible from the main user), or Android’s ‘Multiple Users’ (which means to switch user).

    E: double space

  • a Kendrick fan@lemmy.ml
    3·
    3 months ago

    everyone keeps mentioning Pixel Devices, but I’d personally never use one for the same reason I won’t wear branded clothes

    you should check out OnePlus devices, the bootloaders are easily unlocked and they’ve major LineageOS support, the phones also have a high quality build, if you like the form of your XR, definitely check out the OnePlus 8/8 pro or 9/9 pro

    another option is if you can get any of the Samsung S10 models with an exynos chip, they also have strong build and are supported by lineageOS as well

  • youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
    2·
    3 months ago

    Your “ideally would want” pretty much locks you to a Pixel phone. The 7 has serious radio issues, the 8 works great (I had the 7 Pro now have the 8 Pro, no always on GrapheneOS) and don’t know about the 9, but other that all the AI bullshit they are pushing with it, I don’t really see that the specs justify those prices, specially since you’re looking at installing GrapheneOS on it.

  • toastal@lemmy.ml
    2·
    3 months ago

    I would just add a +1 for Sony Xperia phones with LineageOS support (do check). They offer OLED panels, a 3.5mm headphone jack, & microSD card—with the last two once being standard now almost impossible to find despite their usefulness.

    As for services, many of them can be accessed thru a browser. There are enough Firefox forks out there that you could stay authenticated with these grimy, untrustworthy apps & another fork with your typical web browsing.

    That said some of this could be given up to an extent. If you have a microSD slot or carry a separate DAP, there shouldn’t be much need for Spotify where an offline library is quicker, saves data, & can offer higher bitrates (obv no ads too). Microsoft GitHub is not useful on a phone since no one codes on a phone & you can subscribe to the things you need either their Atom feeds or via email & all of your personal code should be living somewhere off the proprietary platform—especially if you want to help access to contributions since it is blocked for US sactions in some regions & they bow out to capitalist interests (see youtube-dl, or Switch emulators, etc.), while requiring your contributors give up their privacy as there is no way to report bugs or send patches without an account. And the chat options, depending on the situation you should see if you can get folks to consider your privacy too (else why on this sub?) & switch to something decentralized & with E2EE the default for DMs & optional for groups—XMPP is a great default choice, Mumble was built for games, but there are other options. Need is a strong word, & it might take a few years, but eventually, hopefully you can ween yourself & help friends get off these platforms as it is bad for them too, but you are not going to get much privacy if the corporations & governments can still read all your chats.

  • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
    1·
    3 months ago

    Buy unlocked. It’ll cost more and you won’t have the option of doing the carrier/manufacturers no interest payment system, but that’s what it costs to actually not be locked into a particular carrier for the foreseeable future.

    My actual advice about phone choice is to learn the unjailbroken ios way of doing things because what you’re asking for in your post knocks out a lot of the more specific things people recommend on android devices and pushes you to smaller or not privacy focused roms.

    You’re not auditing the code so you need the most eyes on it that you can get so running smaller or less privacy oriented software becomes more of an issue.

    If you haven’t already, make a threat model and see if/how that changes your requirements and desires.

  • Chais@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    3 months ago

    Throwing Fairphone into the pot. They’re well supported by LineageOS and have the additional advantage of being user-repairable.
    But they only ship inside Europe.