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Comment by zeveb | Hacker News Reader

Ever since I saw the project come out, I've been thinking about what would be required for me to switch from Android. Right now I think that my hard requirements are:

  - Firefox (pretty sure they have it)

  - Signal (I use it all the time)

I don't know if some kind of TOTP store (think Google Authenticator or andOTP) is a hard requirement or a soft one, but it would surely be useful. I can live without my banking app (there's always the website); I can live without Uber or the Google apps; I can live without Kindle and all my streaming (could always keep a SIMless phone around to use as a media device).

As long as it has a browser and Signal, I really think it could be competitive.

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Without a browser, it kind of ceases to be a smartphone. It's just a flipphone. So I don't see how that is really something you need to note.

For me it's Google Maps. There is just no comparison. I don't want to imagine trying to drive around finding places without it. It's not just the navigation and traffic, it's the business hours lookup feature and all that.

I hadn't thought about TOTP stores (Authy), but that's certainly way up there. Unless they can read a NFC yubikey.

See, the problem is, as long as Google is allowed to own services like Maps and YouTube, as well as Android, you've ensured you can't ever switch to a new platform: Google is extremely active in not only refusing to support competing mobile platforms, but actively blocking them from accessing their services, as they've done with Microsoft and Amazon's competing platforms over the years.

I've found for most map queries, Google, Bing, MapQuest, and HERE are all pretty much comparable/a wash.

It's weird that someone as tied to Google Maps would be looking into a privacy-oriented phone like Librem 5.

AFAIK, Google Maps will record your location/speed even while you are not using it (to get their traffic information), it will record any nearby wifi APs to help populate their aGPS database (so your private APs will get recorded along with their locations on Google's servers), and who knows what else.

Why would you want a Librem 5?

KeePass-XC has TOTP support.

The phone would be shipped with WebKit-based browser, Plasma Mobile does the same thing. When I'd have mine, first thing I'd do (or should start already!) is to help making a port of Fennec (current Firefox for Android) to Linux happen.

Signals going to be a no go right? From what I remember it needs google services for push notifications.

As far as the non mobile version, I think that is an election app that uses a pretty good chunk of ram

Signal can use WebSockets, as their non-FCM version (downloaded from their website) does. I've come to agree with Daniel Micay about the best way to separate apps from Google services: https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/b9j6pe/compatib...

Right, Signal won't be on it at release, maybe ever.

They are recommending Matrix as a substitute, so I am getting used to that. Riot.im is the client, and Matrix is a little more capable than Signal (does interest groups), and doesn't demand your phone number or rely on Google Play services, so there's that. As usual, the problem is getting other people to switch, too.

A Matrix <-> Signal gateway server somewhere would help a lot of people make the jump.

I've been thinking of moving to matrix. Most of my people would but the clients aren't quite there at the moment. That should shake out soon.

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