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Comment by Mutjake | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if Sailfish or a scrubbed Android (GrapheneOS?) would be worthwhile to give a test run for. Hard passing Apple is going to be painful, but I’m having trouble stomaching the direction where they see implanting end-user devices for LE purposes, so I might need to give it a spin. Any experiences on what would be the biggest pain points as a daily driver?

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Please do not take this as me being flippant, but it is also an option to reclaim your independence and not use a smartphone, or any phone at all. Since I started doing this, the effects on myself were as expected, better focus, etc, but the secondary effects on my social circle were unexpected. People take more care to be on time when they say they are meeting me places, no more calls as I arrive saying "oh okay, youre there? Im walking out the door". No more "drive by" social interactions that spawn new storylines and gossip that I dont need to be a part of.

What was most unexpected is how, unprompted, a lot of the most ardent phone abusers in my social circle started gradually releasing themselves from their phones, putting them in a drawer, or just outright turning them off for weekends.

I have a single prepaid phone that my wife has the number to, it has no apps, no email, no scrolly things. When we are apart, it is turned on, otherwise, my time is otherwise occupied.

Thanks, giving it a thought. I might be too in love with tech to go to the deep end, but it’s never a bad idea to consider that option either. I’d need to learn to use a paper calendar and to carry it with me at that point for sure :-)

And go back to reading shampoo bottles on the toilet. :)

There’s definitely going to be a market opportunity in publishing the James Joyce’s Ulysses in a limited edition shampoo bottle format. The perfect vanity gift for that special someone who already has everything, but tends to forget their phone when heading to the ministry of magic :-)

the part in chapter 4 where leopold is squeezing one out would work great!

Thank you for taking the time to share this idea with us; it certainly made me think.

> not use a smartphone, or any phone at all.

There are some real-world issues with that, all of which a friend recently encountered (they don't even use a credit card). Firstly, if you don't set up internet/mobile banking, it does leave you open to someone doing it "for you." Luckily money in the bank is insured, but that doesn't help the stress experienced by a 70 y/o (who was doing all the right stuff, as she's retired intelligence). Secondly, you're going to struggle if you're forced into some situation away from your landline, such as a hospital visit.

I was able to repurpose my Pixel 4 with GrapheneOS for her: no app store, no email, no scrolly things, data disabled, no e-waste, nothing but phone calls over LTE.

I run LineageOS with zero Google services (no microG either - no need for it) as my daily phone, and have been for several years now across a series of devices (currently, a Moto z3 Play and an Essential PH-1).

I prefer to use FOSS apps where I can, and as such, most of my installed apps come from F-Droid. When I do need something from the Play Store, I simply use the Aurora Store to grab those applications (which are really just Paypal and Slack for work).

Potential issues you might run into are some apps like banking and such not functioning thanks to SafetyNet. For banking, I just use the browser anyway, have never had the need to use my local bank's mobile app.

It really depends all on your needs, but you will find that using a de-Googled device is very doable as a daily driver, and I have been doing it for a number of years now - I can't tell you when the last time I signed into a "Googled" Android device was.

I also have a few PinePhones (my first testing grounds for Sailfish, interestingly enough) and am a huge proponent of Linux phones. I throw my SIM in my Pinephone sometimes and use it often for testing development stuff. For daily driving, however, my de-Googled devices are still what I reach for the most.

My friend's been running LineageOS with Microg[0], I'm waiting on a Pixel so I can run CalyxOS (with Microg) because I'm not keen on the security downsides of Lineage. He says it's been an incredibly stable set up. GrapheneOS is a great alternative to Calyx from what I've read, if you rely less on play store apps that require google Android APIs (that Microg also implements). GrapheneOS vs CalyxOS is a trade between convience+pretty good privacy (Calyx) and better security+privacy (GrapheneOS, as when you do use proprietary apps relying on Gapps it's all sandboxed).

[0] https://microg.org/

Guess I could give a shoutout to fellow people in Oulu with their handset marketed to government use mostly I guess(?) https://toughmobile2.bittium.com/

Meaning the price for a consumer is steep and dunno if some of the features are useless without the matching backend. But I guess the level of security should be good. At least the folks from Bittium I’ve interacted with seem to know what they’re doing, for what that counts for :-)

GrapheneOS is great as a daily driver. The only breaking point might be the incompatibility of certain apps that depend on google play services, but this is a highly subjective matter and depends on how far you go in restricting yourself. (Strict with only FOSS apps vs loose with some privacy invading apps from the play store via Aurora)

But since there are plenty of apps in the froid store there are plenty of free alternatives...

Graphene was a little too restrictive for my liking, personally. It also felt dated. Calyx has been a sweet spot between privacy and features.

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