Some questions about Custom ROMs

[jonah (Jonah Aragon)]

@Shade

Hi, I want to ask about the custom ROMs to be specific GOS and CalyxOS. Which is better in your opinion and which one is trust worthy?

The Best Android Operating Systems - Privacy Guides

@Shade

As for me when I tried GOS, I had to download the sandbox then I had to log in to the snadboxed play store… so I thought What’s the point if I’m going to log in to google…

Just don’t sign in then. If you install sandboxed Google Play you can benefit from some Google services without signing in, just like with microG, and you can obtain apps from an alternative store like Aurora without signing in.

This is why we don’t list the Google Play app here even if you’re using sandboxed Google Play on GrapheneOS:

Obtaining Applications - Privacy Guides

There are still many benefits to this setup compared to system microG. The biggest benefit is that you can isolate Google-related services to specific profiles:

@jonah

To preserve your privacy, the most commonly recommended “minimum” setup for multiple users on Android with GrapheneOS is a two-user setup, where only one secondary user has Google Play Services installed.

In this setup, the system user only contains apps that don’t require Google Play Services, like open source apps installed with Obtainium or F-Droid. The secondary user would contain apps from Aurora Store or the Google Play Store that rely on Google Play Services, such as some banking apps, social media apps, etc.

This configuration is really only viable with GrapheneOS and sandboxed Google Play (or another custom ROM with non-system microG) because that setup doesn’t require Google Play Services be integrated with the system. On your typical stock Android device, Google Play Services will be installed with system-level permissions, meaning that it will be present in all user profiles on your phone.

If you use microG on CalyxOS or other custom ROMs, microG is installed across the entire system and accessible to any app you install, even if you don’t want that app communicating with Google’s services.