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Comment by FredPret | Hacker News Reader

How is it usable if it is insecure? People bank on these things.

Motorola G6 Plus (and many other Android phones) is supported by LineageOS which is up-to-date version with security updates.

https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/evert/

So to have an old phone that is still secure you have to know how to flash an OS onto a phone?

did you install the security systems for your house or car?

This is misleading, as the firmware (binary blobs) most likely do not get updates.

I used to run LineageOS and some banking apps would not work as I had to unlock my bootloader.

This is truly ironical that some apps refuse to work on system that is much secure.

I use LineageOS and it is true that I have to use Magisk to have banking app working. And I understand that this is not for everyone.

I just wanted to mention that there is a way to use older phone and have security updates longer than vendor provides it. And even longer than Apple.

I get the argument about binary blob updates. Security is never 100%. And it also shows another reason why binary blobs make things worse.

These days "security" has been perverted so it is mostly not about protecting you from attackers, it's about preventing you from accessing your own data or running the apps that you want. You are the threat that they are securing against. Less "secure" means more freedom for you. Less "secure" can also mean more real security for you since you have to leave the mainstream which is what actual attackers target.

He's using Firefox with updates. I guess they still provide browser updates for his version. TBH, that mitigates most of the real vulnerabilities.

It may even receive system web browser updates, as those tend to go on for much longer than OS updates with Android.

With a little care, it is likely to be fine.

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