Well good thing i purchased a Pixel 6 (when it came out) with only 3 years of support /s
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Itâs 5 years for all Pixel 6 series devices.
One thing I want to add is that Motorola has dropped security support for 3 years â 2 years on their G-series phones (which their âcheap/budgetâ series of phones), and the phones supported by calyx have less than 1 year left
there are no good privacy+security options left for cheap phones, as far as I can tell
If you care about security but not privacy Samsung phones might be the best choice, the A05, A06 are below 100USD and provide 4 years of (quarterly) security patches
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To be fair, it doesnât seem that those who care about privacy really have an option. Even from a pro-privacy perspective, opening yourself up to cyber threats wouldnât be great for privacy so I couldnât imagine justifying trading security updates for less data collection. It seems that picking the cheapest Samsung phone you can find (in my area, the A05/A06 doesnât seem to be available, only the A15 and presumably the upcoming A16?) and following configuration and best practices advice is the only option for those in precarious financial situations.
UPDATE: For anyone reading in the future, Iâd also like to link to my comment here where I go more in-depth on cost comparisons of Pixel vs Galaxy phones.
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As far as I can tell, there still isnât a good answer for poor people. Now that divest is no longer being recommended, is there any option which can respect the privacy needs of people who canât afford or canât get a pixel because they are unavailable in their area?
Either a used iPhone or used Pixel.
Or a Galaxy S24 but it will be worse than the other two.
If people want a good phone they canât cut cost very much unfortunately. A Pixel6a with a cracked screen is probably the cheapest possible option. Below that price donât expect anything.
This is a thread for budget android hardware 
Yeah. It seems like a used Pixel 6 is pretty much the only realistic option in this price range. Which still doesnât help folks who cannot get Pixels in their region.
As someone who doesnt have pixels in range locally [not extensively in Cyprus just one store] but can ship. Just buy used off ebay or new on amazon or marketplaces like skroutz or similar depending on the country obviously
Im just saying if they want a secure device, an iPhone 12 or newer could still be viable.
Some used marketplaces can ship overseas, so its not impossible to get in âunsupportedâ regions, but still harder. There are no alternatives sadly.
Adding here, while DivestOS is unfortunate it is gone. I dont think options like Lineage and Calyx are in any capacity unrealistic for people who can;t buy a pixel (except /e/ OS and similar).
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Depends on what you mean by unrealistic. Not to debate OS security as that would derail the thread but imo its unrealistic to expect non Pixel, Android hardware to be secure.
In the sense that you cant buy a pixel somehow obviously.
based on what security model? i assume the NSA can probably crack even my pixel with GOS, they just havenât needed to.
based on what security model?
What do you mean? It has the best secure element available and other important hardware security features.
i assume the NSA can probably crack even my pixel with GOS, they just havenât needed to.
Not to be mean but you assuming this sounds like something anyone should take seriously? Even though your theory literally contradicts all available proof for them not being able to crack it.
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correct on this one!
but incorrect on the statement before that.
its unrealistic to expect non Pixel, Android hardware to be secure.
this one ^
yes not all of them but not every single one except a pixelâŚ
If youâre after full security then yeah:
Google Pixel (preferably with GOS) and iPhones fit the bill.
but incorrect on the statement before that.
Youâre entitled to that opinion but please tell me what other android hardware comes close to it.
I donât think the situation will change for a long time to come. I wonder if Fairphone is more receptive to community feedback, maybe if enough people suggest they work on improving their privacy, security, and freedom they could become a more viable option? At the same time, theyâre a relatively small company and their products are not available in many parts of the world.
I think the answer is as follows:
Try to get a supported Google Pixel a*. Used phones will be cheaper but they may also lose support sooner depending on exactly which model you get. If thatâs still too expensive, the next best option is to get the cheapest Samsung Galaxy A series phone you can find. They donât stand out in offering great privacy or security, but they seem to last a lot longer than most other Android phones. Again, you can try to buy used but that also shortens the lifespan security-wise. When finding the best deal, you shouldnât only compare upfront cost. Instead you should also divide the cost by the amount of months of guaranteed support left to get a more accurate cost comparison.
Failing that, you can use an outdated Android with an up-to-date custom Android distribution. Firmware and drivers will no longer receive updates, but your OS and apps should remain updated. The best option is to use EOL Google Pixels with GrapheneOS, but you might wanna check how much longer your specific device will continue to receive legacy OS support. If you still cannot get a Pixel, then CalyxOS or LineageOS may be your next best options. CalyxOS (despite its issues) is preferred, but it supports very few devices. LineageOS appears to suffer from many additional issues, including greater vulnerability to physical attackers. Some argue madaidanâs article has some inaccuracies or exaggerates some issues that might not apply to all LineageOS-supported devices.
Unless someone finds more options to share, I think this thread is as close to being solved as it could be for the foreseeable future. Itâs probably not worth bumping the thread for at least another year or two since the only way weâll get a better answer is if thereâs a promising new device or OS.
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Okay, saying this as someone who really likes Fairphoneâs vision of fair labor and repairability and I really want Fairphone to care more about security (maybe start by stop partnering with Murena, be more clear about what they can or cant do when it comes to manufacturer chips, and shipping faster firmware update)
But Fairphone will never be in the category of budget phones IMO. Itâs really hard to make a cheaper phone when youâre trying to pay living wages to everyone and youâre a smaller company and they ship to even less countries than Pixels do
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Everything else you said was spot on, except this, which is probably a minor mistake Iâm picking on 
.
There is no such thing as âfull securityâ for anything. Thereâs always drawbacks to address and consider. That can be better security for worser privacy, or improved privacy for crappy security. (Iâm looking at you, /e/OS)
Essentially, thereâs nothing perfect in the scheme of things.
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At the moment, they are NOT AT ALL in the budget category. Take the Fairphone 5 for example. It costs âŹ549. At that price youâre better off buying a Google Pixel 8a and installing GrapheneOS on it, for a much lower price and 1000x the security (exaggerated).
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