I have been running lineageOS on my OnePlus 2. I liked it, but Lineage has stopped supporting my phone. There are two options that I have been able to find as replacements - postmarketOS and /e/OS. Any thoughts on those or other recommendation? Anything that gets security updates, is open source, and is functional meets my needs.
On android there are three recommended operating system:
GrapheneOS
GrapheneOS starts from the strong baseline of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and provides substantial privacy and security improvements from the bottom up, such as:
- hardened memory allocator
- hardened C library
- hardened kernel
- stricter SElinux policies
- secure application spawning system
- hardware-based security verification and monitoring
- Wi-Fi anonymity (per-connection MAC randomization, anonymous DHCP, anonymous IPv6)
- Network permission toggle
- Sensor permission toogle
- hardened app runtime
- hardened verified boot
- stronger app sandbox
- stronger file-based encryption
- encrypted backup via seedvault
- mitigation against browser fingerprint
- jitless toggle for Vanadium
You can find a partial list of grapheneOS features here.
GrapheneOS has also experiments support for installing the official releases of:
as unprivileged, sandboxed apps like any others and GrapheneOS implements shims to make them work without the many privileged permissions and SELinux policy extensions these apps usually require. This approach fit the android security model, unlike microg.
CalyxOS
CalyxOS starts from the strong baseline of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and minimizes the tracking, surveillance, and spying done by phone manufacturers, mobile phone service providers, internet service providers, advertising companies, data miners, and malicious hackers. It provides some privacy and security improvement, such as;
- scramble PIN
- block unknown USB devices
- encrypted backup via seedvault
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth auto turn off
- directly make an encrypted call using Signal or WhatsApp from the Dialer
- sensitive Numbers privacy
- tethered network devices (USB or Wi-Fi) can use the phone’s VPN or Tor.
- microg
- datura firewall
- mozilla Location Services (and Dejavu) available as default location services.
- nominatim available as default geocoding service
You can see the full lost of features here
In addition, CalyxOS bundles some application in order to protect user’s privacy and security, such as;
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CalyxVPN and RiseUP VPN
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Aurora store and F-droid
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Signal, k-9 and openkeychain
LineageOS
LineageOS is a ROM focused on costomization and compatibility with different devices rather than improve privacy and security. Nonetheless, It comes with a few privacy and security improvements, such as:
- PIN scramble
- sensitive numbers privacy
- encrypted backup via seedvault
- Trust
- Hide specific apps behind a secure lock
You can see more detail about LineageOS features
However, this ROM severely weaken the security model of android in different ways:
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using SELinux in permissive mode instead of enforcing mode, which is a very bad approach
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disabling verified boot which ensures that all executed code comes from a trusted source, rather than from an attacker or corruption
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using userdebug builds, which is a bad approach because builds released with userdebug do have serious sandbox holes. In fact, Even if lineage supported verified boot, you could easily disable it as it is a userdebug build. So malware could just disable verified boot on lineageos if it wants to due to userdebug and achieve full persistence.
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lacking of rollback protection which means that an attacker could downgrade the system to a vulnerable version for further exploitation even if the bootloader was locked.
Moreover, LineageOS still support phones which don’t have vendors support anymore. So, closed source components such as the bootloader, modem firmware, and other firmware no longer get updates.
/e/
/e/ is basically a LineageOS reskin.
conclusion
It’s important to understand that this is not a comparison. These operating systems are different projects; they offer different things, have different goals,thus they have different approaches. Therefore, I’m not saying what OS you should use. You have to choose according your own user case and threat model. And please, if you can read the documentation I linked about these project.
Also, these project have really active community, so if you have any questions you should ask there:
Great general info! Thanks for taking the time to put it together. Specifically, Graphene and Calyx support a combined total of 12 devices 11 of which are Pixels. Great for those users and it might inform what I buy in the future. Lineage supports tons of devices - great for anyone reading this who doesn’t care about the softened security (or doesn’t have another choice). Lineage is out for me specifically because my device is old/unpopular enough. /e/ still list support for my device, but I am guessing that since it is based on Lineage it won’t get meaningful support either.
It depend, /e/ could still continue to support your device if trees aren’t so outdated. Still, check frequently at least the security patch version
Thanks for the distinction. Just for the record and anyone asking the same question - /e/ does still support even though lineage dropped my device.
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Maybe if I am ever looking at graphene I will. As I said it isn’t available on my device.
LineageOS don’t use permissive selinux and disabled nearly every function of userdebug build except for root functions over adb (that is disabled by default).
The only real danger about LOS is the unlocked bootloader, but it can’t be solved by LineageOS developers, since it depend deeply by manufactorer.
Still, even if it is a security risk it depend a lot about your threat model and if you usually install only trusted apps and navigate on trusted sites (or usually disable JavaScript) the actual attack surfaces isn’t really a problem for the common users, and there are only theoretical risks.
The great thing about official LOS is the support of a lot of devices (and not only Google made) and the big community approval needed for every change.
Community standards for LOS are actually really strict, and you can be pretty sure to have a stable system when you use official LOS on your device. Since there are dozens of supported devices it gives users a lot of freedom.
don’t use permissive selinux
LineageOS weakens SELinux policies.
disabled nearly every function of userdebug build except for root functions over adb (that is disabled by default).
LineageOS still uses userdebug build. Userdebug builds are primarily development builds that are supposed to be given to closed beta testers hired by a business. These builds are not considered to be secure. Security isn’t even a concern as these builds are purely for development purposes.
The only real danger about LOS is the unlocked bootloader Disabling bootloade
Verified boot ensures that all executed code comes from a trusted source rather than from an attacker or corruption. Moreover, Verified Boot checks for the correct version of Android with rollback protection which helps to prevent a possible exploit from becoming persistent by ensuring devices only update to newer versions of Android. Verified boot it’s not only useful against physical attacks, if a remote attacker has managed to exploit the system and gain high privileges, verified boot would revert their changes upon reboot and ensure that they cannot persist.
Also, rollback protection can be enabled even with bootloader unlocked. However, Lineage doesn’t have rollback protection either.
even if it is a security risk it depend a lot about your threat model and if you usually install only trusted apps and navigate on trusted sites (or usually disable JavaScript) the actual attack surfaces isn’t really a problem for the common users, and there are only theoretical risks.
That’s not really a good argument. The majority of users have bad habits regarding good security practices, they usually install applications without check the signature, for example. You just assume that users will act in certain way, but in reality you don’t know that. It’s not real security, it’s security through obscurity. The risks are not only theorical, as I explained above.
Community standards for LOS are actually really strict.
Doesn’t seems so. All the problem I pointed out still remain. Also, they don’t add any relevant security or privacy improvement, instead they weaken the security android model.
Since there are dozens of supported devices it gives users a lot of freedom.
If you prefer/need/want to use lineageOS then go for it, it’s up to you. However, freedom it’s not equal to privacy and security.
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reading recommendation: https://blog.brixit.nl/do-you-really-want-linux-phones/
postmarketos is better longterm because they work heavily on upstreaming patches to for instance the linux kernel or other projects. ubuntu touch instead uses many local patches but doesn’t invest that much time into upstreaming.
if you have time i’d suggest to choose postmarketos and try to fix your problems you find. you can learn a lot by it and improve the long term support. because others have done exactly that before you, the support is already very good usually. so you don’t need to learn everything yourself, just need to look what other people had done on other devices to fix similar problems.
it may require a few hours/weekends until you understand things, but it feels good to have that much knowledge to be able to fix your problems.
EDIT: ah, sorry. i thought your device would be in community, not in testing: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/OnePlus_Two_(oneplus-oneplus2) - so i thought you had this device: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/OnePlus_6_(oneplus-enchilada)
so in that case: you probably would need to invest more time but it is still possible to get good support. usually you can also look at the ubuntu touch patches and see if you can work with them, altough for instance ubuntu touch uses usually a very old kernel whereas postmarketos uses a new kernel.
Good thoughts in the article about what needs to get prioritized in development. Yeah, my phone specifically isn’t quite there, but at least they’re pretty far along in the process, and this is good discussion for anyone else looking for a new OS who might have a different old phone. My ability to contribute to code is so limited that it might as well not exist. Best I can usually do is finding and reporting issues.
well, you can learn. many people in the tech scene have never formally learned to program and just tinkered around. trial and error basically.
so this is not a question of your programming skills and instead rather one of motivation and curiosity.
and also many people in the tech scene like to explain things if you show motivation and the desire to listen, read manuals and such things.
so good internet-search skills will get you very far in my experience
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Thank you! I must have been looking somewhere with outdated info when I looked into this one.
Its worth a try, but the OP2 isn’t the best supported device sadly.
Yeah, I don’t think it was super popular and it’s getting old (6yrs). I think spotty support is all I can hope for, but I’d rather do that than toss it.
I have been running /e/ for over a year and I have to say that it has been great. As opposed to lineage, they have stripped out as much of the Google stuff as possible while keeping it working (they use microG).
Great to have perspective from a real world user. Thank you!
I highly recommend just going to the xdadevelopers forum for your device, and see what the most supported ROMs are. They’ll all be AOSP-based of course, but many of them will have de-googled / de-play-store download options. Most importantly the most popular ones will always support all your phone hardware.
I’ve never been in the xdadevelopers forums. I will definitely go take a look. Thanks for the new resource.
They also might package spyware and are often provided by twelve year olds.
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Dont accuse other users of racism for no reason. No one even talked about Indians before you. This is a warning.
Thank you.
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Sorry I didnt notice before that he edited the comment, and unfortunately we dont have any edit history stored in Lemmy. Anyway, when you see a rule violation (eg racism), then you should report it to the admins/mods and have them take care of it. Attacking another user is also a rule violation (rule 2), and is just gonna lead to more trouble.
Edit: also I suggest that both of you stop arguing, because it is not going anywhere. Just accept that you disagree, and ignore each other. @Helix@feddit.de @TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml
also I suggest that both of you stop arguing, because it is not going anywhere. Just accept that you disagree, and ignore each other.
Good idea, sorry.
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I appreciate that you try to fight against racism and discrimination. That isnt the problem, the problem is how you are doing it. You have to understand, most people in Europe dont hate nonwhite people (except for a small, vocal minority). The racism here is much more subtle than that, and people dont even realize that their beliefs and worldviews are racist. I know because I used to hold such beliefs as well (its almost impossible to avoid because the media really misrepresents things).
I think the best way to fight against this racism is with education. If people in the west could understand how people in the global south are being exploited and oppressed by imperialism, they would change their beliefs. Another thing is that many people view racism as something like person A saying a bad word to person B, but thats only a minor part of it. I would say the main aspect of racism is the economic relationship between imperialist and neocolonial countries (again, exploitation and imperialism).
I would like to point out that the term he used before making the edit was pretty obnoxious and targeted towards Indians
I edited ‘usually’ into ‘often’, as far as I remember. I myself can’t show the history.
I am an Indian.
Nobody cares. Even if I said 12yo Indians, that’d still be obvious hyperbole and not racism, because I didn’t use ‘pajeet’ or other racist words. I also didn’t insinuate that only Indians do this.
It’s just like if I said CSGO is full of 16yo German cheaters. Which incidentally is true and ruins the game for many people, including Germans. If you cared about understanding my comment you wouldn’t have thought it was racist.
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And the admin unfortunately does not see racism because he does not know how racism against Indians work, because he is a foreigner.
Yeah because magically only targets of racism know how racism works. You even contradict yourself there as that’d mean I myself couldn’t be racist because I wouldn’t know how.
Can you provide a source for your dubious claims?
My experience and subsequent hyperbole. Many of those 12 year olds are probably legal now.
Is this the “12yo p*jeet ROM” racist meme?
Don’t call me a racist, mudslinger.
Because I am an Indian, who has been enough on 4chan and reddit to know what this means.
OK bruh. I don’t care if you’re Indian or twelve. You shouldn’t pack spyware into my ROMs and know what you’re doing is all I’m saying.
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You call other people racist, which in my book is a serious crime, and then cry about when they tell you to fuck off? What are you, 12? Or have you simply never grown up?
Stop causing drama and stop trolling me. The new ignore feature will be live in a few weeks and I can’t wait to test it on you.
I don’t even know what a “12yo p*jeet ROM” is. After a short research I found out it’s a derogatory term for people shitting in the street, who in my understanding probably don’t even have the means to create ROMs as they don’t have access to more basic infrastructure needed to piece them together. Your allegation doesn’t even make any sense.
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Acting ignorant towards these dogwhistles being called out is a favourite tactic of people like you.
I can’t even imagine what horrors 😱 you went through due to my comments. I sincerestly apologise for hurting your feelings. Of course, you caught me, I’m a 👌dog-whistling right wing extremist fascist and I like to start genocides and generally hate everything that is not 👩🏻🦲 white, libtard or gay 🏳️🌈. That’s clear due to my other racist comments on this site. 🙃
PostmarketOS would be my choice of those options. They support full disk encryption which the others don’t.
Out of curiosity: given that AFAIK full disk encryption only helps when the device is turned off, how is that a really useful feature for a smartphone that is basically never turned off?
You’re right that they are probably just edge cases. As a thought experiment I see three possible use scenarios - 1) Lose the phone and it dies 2) Malicious person gets phone, tries to restart for whatever reason, and is locked out 3) I know for some reason that someone is about to try to get data off my phone in person and I have time to turn it off.
More to the point there really isn’t a downside. Entering a password when I restart is nothing for me, and the read/write slow down isn’t going be noticeable because I don’t ask much of my phone.
That is a nice-to-have that could push me that way
Yes there is also latest version of LineageOs 20 available. Read it here Lineage Update
