NitroPhone 2/Pro with 4.5 years of software updates
nitrokey.com
nitrokey.com
I know it's probably not in their best interest, but I really wish they specified the source of their features individually (whether something comes from the Pixel 6 Titan chip, Graphene or their own custom hardware or software). It makes it difficult to evaluate their value-add over buying a Pixel 6 and throwing Graphene on it.
"Optional: For very high security requirements, both microphones and acceleration and rotation sensors can be removed. Indeed, acceleration and rotation sensors can be misused as microphones. This physically prevents conversations in the environment from being recorded. Phone calls can still be made with an external headset."
I hope this company is contributing to the project or donating a slice of the profit to Daniel Micay otherwise that's an asshole move.
[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/national-...
Let's not add anymore stigmatization in an area where it would serve us all to be a little more paranoid about the amount of spying and corporate+government intrusion that is now the norm in our lives. So many things I would have thought were conspiracy theories a mere 10 years ago are now true. The slippery slope is not a fallacy anymore.
> We are present around the globe in all cultural environments. The threats, challenges, and fears you are likely to encounter are known to us; they are the source of our innovative thrust. Thanks to our world-wide network and regional offices, our presence and services know no borders or limits.
[0] https://web.archive.org/web/20110516233908/http://www.crypto...
Hard to believe this is some sort of Anom[0] type scenario when it's endorsed by Phil Zimmermann.
The only potential issue would be if the device entered a clandestine facility to be backdoored as it gets delivered to a customer. Supply chain attacks are real and plausible.
[0] https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7b4gg/anom-phone-arcaneos-f...
1. I think that I have a right to participate in the digital commons without selling my soul to my choice of two possible corporate masters (Apple or Google).
1A. Corollary, the digital commons necessarily includes the ability to interact with the Internet in a mobile way.
2. There are mobile applications that have such a marked and clear positive impact on my life that doing without them is not merely an issue of convenience, but an issue of capability.
2A. These applications, through market forces, are only available on mobile devices running common mobile OSes.
3. My means of income requires me to fit as much as possible a societal mold that includes availability during reasonable hours via a mobile device.
3A. My employer is not one of the corporate masters, and they have no right to interject themselves in my relationship with my employer that I entered into voluntarily.
When put together, these leave you only one viable option which is running secured hardware with a de-Googled version of Android. I don't see why /this/ device is any better than a Pixel + GrapheneOS done yourself, but the above explains why someone would want a Pixel + GrapheneOS.
You are welcome to disagree with my reasoning, but it is sound.
It's like a person who buys a gun because he wants to exercise his second amendment rights versus a hunter who buys a gun to hunt or a cop who buys a gun for law enforcement.
I'm looking for more examples of the later type.
On the flip side, I think the mere existence of people who are successfully living a 'normal' life in the current era while regaining some reasonable measure of privacy is enough evidence to support the use case, beyond merely theoretical philosophical ideals.
The reality is that for me, at least, government use cases don't interest me for a number of reasons, and I don't necessarily think they align with your clarification to the questions either. I think drawing the parallel to firearms is fuzzy, but if we go with that, there are obvious use cases a government has for firearms that don't support an argument in favor of civilian ownership, but there /are/ arguments that support civilian ownership. Perhaps nothing else makes me more anxious than that thought of a world where privacy and crypto are considered to be something only allowed for elites and government officials, where all of us normies have to be surveilled 24/7. This is already a reality in some parts of the world and fast becoming a reality in the West. Hence, I am not really concerned with how useful this may be to government, I am /only/ concerned with how useful this is to normal every-day people who just don't want to be spied on. Most of the modern surveillance isn't even done for a reason, it's just dragnet surveillance on everyone "because they can", which is the worst type.
So, in "practical", non-privacy/non-security terms, it's crazy to want something like this instead of the "real" Pixel 6 Pro experience (or Samsung S21 Ultra, or iPhone 13 Pro Max, etc), or perhaps until you read e.g. the shockingly bad Samsung privacy policy.
However, there are some other benefits derived from the privacy aspects that aren't strictly privacy benefits themselves:
* Hobby enjoyment
* Trusting (to a degree) your device
But, for me, I love my GrapheneOS phone and it's all of the above. I can live with the limitations, for the most part, and I've also purchased a wonderful Fujifilm camera when I really want to take amazing photos, which of course blows away any phone camera system anyway. The Pixel itself is still a really great smart phone experience, and way beyond my Pine phone (current generation) in terms of both security and usability, even without the few things that are taken out when you switch from Google to open source Android.
I haven't used Graphene but I assume most users do what most Calyx users do, which is extract the gcam apk before flashing, install it, and completely block its internet access with the firewall. We can and do use the stock camera, and it's great.
GrapheneOS recently added our own modern Camera app replacing the legacy AOSP Camera. You can also use the Google Camera app included in the stock OS on GrapheneOS if you want more features. It only depends on GSF which can be installed alongside it as another fully sandboxed app. They work the same way as any other apps. There's a guide on the camera at https://grapheneos.org/usage#camera. GrapheneOS has the same camera quality and features as the stock OS. It's the apps which are different, and you can use the stock OS camera app.
It's also possible to use Play services (GMS) and the Play Store as fully sandboxed apps due to the sandboxed Play services compatibility layer on GrapheneOS. You might be choosing to use it without that but it does have broad app compatibility for users who want it. You don't have to give up much to use GrapheneOS anymore. Not every Play services feature is available but the functionality that's available is steadily expanding as we make extensions to the compatibility layer.
https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-play-services
The compatibility layer enables using GSF, GMS and the Play Store as fully sandboxed apps with exactly the same restrictions and permission model as any other user installed app. That includes the improvements offered by GrapheneOS such as the Sensors toggle, Network toggle, stronger sandbox and other privacy/security improvements protecting the OS from apps.
Using a five year old phone isn't an issue anymore, they are fast enough that it doesn't matter.
For those wondering why you'd want this - I use Graphene OS on an old Pixel 3 and battery lasts 2-3 days easily. I dont have to constantly fight all anti-patterns in modern day Android, but I can still chat, email, text, browse and watch videos...
To get somebody the same as I have now? 2 hours max. Would I overpay somebody else to give me the same thing, if I knew how long it takes to do from scratch? Definitely
If you have serious privacy concerns phones like this makes sense.
Friends or relatives? No way.
1. I don't want my data used against me politically - there are legitimate reasons to shield your personal data to protect yourself from political persecution from ordinary people to the government. E.g. A gay man may fear his homophobic colleagues will bully him, a migrant may fear that his right-wing boss may fire him if he knows his origins, a muslim may prefer to not grow a beard or a Sikh not wear turban to hide his identity to safeguard himself from unwanted hostile attention from strangers etc. etc. E.g. 2 - The United State government now demands that you tell them about all your email and social media accounts when you apply for a US visa.
2. I don't want my data used against me commercially - BigTech want more and more data about us to determine how to influence our behaviour. Preventing them access to my personal data protects and allows me to make rational purchase decisions, rather than those based on impulses influenced by BigTech overt or covert advertising.
Denying corporates access to our personal data does both, because BigTech now also sell our data to government agencies. Since the government is one of their target customer base with a big purse, BigTech have now also started using our personal data to try and influence us politically.
LineageOS, CalyxOS, /e/ and other Android distributions essentially rely on the standard Android which only comes with its own selection of apps. GrapheneOS, on the other hand, is an elaborately hardened Android and should therefore be seen as its own operating system. In addition, security updates are often provided late by the distributions mentioned at the beginning."
Pretty low to call out other Android projects in a marketing release but falls directly in line with how the GrapheneOS project treats the community. Won't be buying this or recommending it.
Second of all, the only accusation I see is on your part.
joemazerino has been spreading misinformation about GrapheneOS including personal attacks and libel targeting our developers for years. You can see a bunch of it in their comment history among other gems like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26974901. They've been regularly promoting a proprietary fork of GrapheneOS which falsely pretends to be the original project. It's barely maintained with the last release in September and almost zero development since they forked our project in 2018. That product is pure grift and very openly scamming people. It's unfortunate that a product depending on our work has invested substantial effort into harming us but that's the reality for us. A small number of people got duped by that and it snowballed into further attacks on the project which are worse than ever thanks to the help of an certain faux 'privacy activist' charlatan on YouTube. joemazerino made sure to spread a 1 hour hit piece with a whole bunch of fabrications about myself and the GrapheneOS project from that person. We're used to this and it comes with the territory in an industry with more scammers than people doing useful work.
Is there anything extra here that I couldn't do myself?
(I'm still likely a customer since getting it done for me is a valuable service)
I can't imagine anyone without tech skills wanting a phone like this anyway.
(Not affiliated, just a happy user)
Yes, most of them. But the Pixel is an exception with 4 years of software and 5 years of security updates promised directly by Google.
Because this looks like a scam or another company providing security service for criminals (or will be mostly used by them).
EDIT: actually, it seems that Purism's Librem key is (was?) based on the Nitrokey.
Something like Pine phone which allows you to customize the OS to your liking seems much more reasonable.
I also would prefer a hard switch for things like cams and mics, removing them seems lazy.
I wish it were, but it ain't there yet. They have my money and my support and my spiritual energy, but I need a dependable phone today too.