Hi everyone. To introduce myself and my knowledge of privacy, I am a relative beginner, but I have been familiar with the concept for 3-4 years or so and read articles and blogs and related posts on Reddit on ways to improve my privacy. I have been using apps like the following for years on all my…

[image] Tux: What makes you feel that way? In my view, GrapheneOS is a very pure Android experience and an massive improvement over OEM versions filled with crapware. Actually, GrapheneOS made me realize how much I love Android. I’m just lukewarm about Google’s flavor of it. Whoever says Grap…

[image] plus-subzero: How is it their fault? I have not blamed GrapheneOS for this state of affairs.

[image] privacyisconsent: I have not blamed GrapheneOS for this state of affairs. You lumped it in with things that are lacking compared to stock, which I thought was unfair to them, even though it ultimately affects the overall impression of GrapheneOS. Someone who doesn’t know what a GMS‑li…

[image] privacyisconsent: It may not be convenient or smooth because features will be missing in comparison to the stock PixelOS experience. Certain apps may also refuse to run on an OS that is not Google-certified. Yes, the spyware is certainly missing :grinning_face: There is no real solut…

[image] plus-subzero: It’s truly the cleanest Android experience out there. [image] Tux: In my view, GrapheneOS is a very pure Android experience and an massive improvement over OEM versions filled with crapware. In my view as well. As a long time iPhone user, GrapheneOS is what made m…

[image] NatureFriends: besides Play Store, which is very difficult to remove, although I use F-Droid and Aurora Store instead AuroraStore will not help you protect yourself from Google: it sees all your movements (this is a false sense of security). If you really want to go through life witho…

[image] Boris: In my view as well. As a long time iPhone user, GrapheneOS is what made me switch and is the only viable Android experience, even if you use vanilla Google Play store. The worst part of GrapheneOS is the Google apps. I know they’re optional and most need them, but they’re a gre…

[image] Bumbashirovich: AuroraStore will not help you protect yourself from Google Wouldnt it still allow the user to download apps from Play Store without a Google account, and even if you do decide to use Aurora with a Google account it would still allow you to do it without logging in “the…

Yes, but if you don’t disable Google Play Protect, it will continue to collect information based on hardware identifiers and IP. However, disabling Play Protect exposes you to security risks.

Can a non-GrapheneOS Android be made reasonably or respectfully privacy friendly with sensible privacy choices?

Questions

beantaco January 22, 2026, 10:33pm 20

Without doubt GrapheneOS is the best Android solution, but it currently requires a Google Pixel phone (though other devices may gain support soon).

To the thread’s main question, what’s missing is recommended Android solutions for people who don’t own a Google Pixel. In contrast to desktop with many recommendations, ignoring iOS for a moment, currently only GrapheneOS is recommended for mobile. This disparity between desktop and mobile recommendations was identified in this thread.

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Can a non-GrapheneOS Android be made reasonably or respectfully privacy friendly with sensible privacy choices?

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