# The end of mobile Divested projects **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/the-end-of-mobile-divested-projects/23396 **Category:** Tool Suggestions **Tags:** completed **Created:** 2024-12-23T17:01:06Z **Posts:** 58 ## Post 1 by @anon48875053 — 2024-12-23T17:01:06Z [https://divestos.org/pages/news#end](https://divestos.org/pages/news#end) This is very unfortunate. We should remove DivestOS, Mull, and Hypatia from the recommendations. --- ## Post 2 by @gregandcin — 2024-12-23T17:05:48Z This came out of nowhere. Though, not entirely unexpected. Lack of funding and only one person running the whole thing, I’m surprised it got as far as it got --- ## Post 3 by @anon48875053 — 2024-12-23T17:07:17Z > [@gregandcin](#): > > Lack of funding and only one person running the whole thing And it was still a lot better than CalyxOS, which has a lot more money and developers. --- ## Post 4 by @anon29374801 — 2024-12-23T17:10:57Z Sad to see, big loss for the privacy community. Was really hoping the [funds raised](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/success-divestos-is-unsustainable-and-needs-community-support/16089) would keep the project afloat. The [Alternative Distributions](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/android/distributions/) page just got real bleak for non Pixel Android users. --- ## Post 5 by @gregandcin — 2024-12-23T17:12:00Z Kinda related, guess I need to find a new mobile browser? I wish I was in a position to help maintain a browser, but alas I am not --- ## Post 6 by @Breeze7846 — 2024-12-23T17:19:53Z Aw crud, that really happened out of nowhere. I wonder why? I thought fundraising had been generally successful… I guess it is back to basic Firefox/Fennec with uBO for me… --- ## Post 7 by @Kris — 2024-12-23T17:21:50Z blocks my VPN provider ![Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 18.20.16](//forum-uploads.privacyguidesusercontent.com/original/2X/8/82bd7d1d726eacc3b76ce78db2db5463b9ecc43a.png) > - The non-mobile Divested projects (eg. Brace, D-WRT, real-ucode, and DNS blocklists) will continue to be maintained. please a link. With a web search I only find DD-WRT.. --- ## Post 8 by @anon63378630 — 2024-12-23T17:32:26Z > [@Kris](#): > > blocks my VPN provider Many VPN providers are explicitly exempted. > [@Kris](#): > > please a link. The link to Divested-WRT is here: [Index of /unofficial-openwrt-builds/mvebu-linksys](https://divested.dev/unofficial-openwrt-builds/mvebu-linksys/) Mirror: [https://eeyo.re/unofficial-openwrt-builds/mvebu-linksys/](https://eeyo.re/unofficial-openwrt-builds/mvebu-linksys/) --- ## Post 9 by @anon63378630 — 2024-12-23T17:32:59Z And thank you everyone :slight_smile: --- ## Post 10 by @baby_bat — 2024-12-23T17:34:33Z Man can I just say I am incredibly impressed and grateful for your work, I’ve been blown away by mull/mulch/hypatia. Seriously thank you so much for everything. --- ## Post 11 by @fria — 2024-12-23T17:35:03Z Sad news. I’ve started a PR to remove these projects: [https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/pull/2839](https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/pull/2839) --- ## Post 12 by @ph00lt0 — 2024-12-23T17:36:29Z I think we should draw lessons from this. It isnt the first time a project on the shoulders of one person just dissapears. Quite sad to see this go nevertheless without much clarification. --- ## Post 13 by @anon63378630 — 2024-12-23T17:37:47Z > [@ph00lt0](#): > > without much clarification I’ve worked on this project a decade. That is a long time and I need to move on in life. --- ## Post 14 by @ph00lt0 — 2024-12-23T17:41:50Z Note I dont blame you and I get that. Nevertheless it makes me trust projects that are a oneman show even less. --- ## Post 15 by @rookie-ger — 2024-12-23T17:43:37Z That’s often the problem with projects that lack both financial power and manpower. Sad thing but understandable. @anon63378630 I wish you all the best and thank you for what you have done! Maybe there are people out there who want to fork some of your projects and go on developing them. --- ## Post 16 by @baby_bat — 2024-12-23T17:47:40Z I know fennec isn’t formally recommended but how does this affect fennec’s development since they contributed to it as well? --- ## Post 17 by @xe3 — 2024-12-23T18:08:16Z > [@anon48875053](#): > > This is very unfortunate. And abrupt/unexpected (to me) > [@anon63378630](#): > > And thank you everyone :slight_smile: Thank you. I hope you are doing alright. Good luck with whatever comes next. --- ## Post 18 by @steve_donald34 — 2024-12-23T18:28:47Z That is really sad :frowning: for me mull & mulch was really important :frowning: --- ## Post 19 by @Niek-de-Wilde — 2024-12-23T19:22:55Z Approved. This is quite unfortunate indeed. In any case @anon63378630, thank you for the maintaince for all these years. Honestly, devs like you are what the privacy community thrives off. You helped so many people with these projects of the years, its something that you can look back on and be really proud off. :slight_smile: --- ## Post 20 by @anon80779245 — 2024-12-23T19:59:13Z I want to say it is very sad indeed. @anon63378630 thank you for Mull while it lasted. This is honestly the best mobile browser I ever used : great passkeys and extension support, good defaults and usability. I am interested in knowing why you stopped and whether you have other projects in mind. And Merry Christmas everyone. --- ## Post 21 by @ignoramous — 2024-12-23T19:59:39Z _ex-AOSP dev & ex-Chromium codebase fiddler here_ > [@anon63378630](#): > > worked on this project a decade. Don’t bother. Critiques don’t even know the half of what it takes to mod mega projects like AOSP / Chromium and will throw in whatever analysis that suits their priors. I have and always remained dumbfounded by your resourcefulness & relentlessness; the amount of work you got done with limited support & sponsorship was unreal. What an amazing run! Wishing you the best. --- ## Post 22 by @PixelatedWizard — 2024-12-23T20:21:48Z Hopefully someone comes up with Firefox for Android hardening guide to begin to replace Mull. Mullvad Browser for Android pretty please? --- ## Post 23 by @anon5410820 — 2024-12-23T21:06:19Z Thank you so much for your work --- ## Post 24 by @Equinox — 2024-12-23T21:56:00Z I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for your incredible commitment to developing and maintaining such outstanding software products over the years. Your passion and dedication to providing these tools for free have made a significant impact on many users, including myself. --- ## Post 25 by @overdrawn98901 — 2024-12-23T22:01:28Z Wish I was as half as smart and tenacious as you - you’ve done some great work. I’m a mere application developer, and systems devs seem to have arcane knowledge of the systems they work with. Kudos, I’ll try to find your Patreon or something to buy you a drink or ten. > Donations are no longer accepted. Thank you to everyone for your support over the years. -Tavi :disappointed_face: --- ## Post 26 by @anon39816623 — 2024-12-23T22:06:18Z Glad I stopped using Mull browser a while ago; I had a feeling this would happen eventually. After this and Bromite, I think privacy guides should stop recommending browsers from projects like these and just stick with products made by companies that are well-established like Brave and Firefox. The same will happen to Cromite eventually; it’s just a matter of time. --- ## Post 27 by @anon85289728 — 2024-12-23T22:08:55Z Thank you for your hard work. Good luck with your future projects. --- ## Post 28 by @anon48875053 — 2024-12-23T22:20:07Z He literally maintained Mull for years. All Mull users just need to install a different browser and stop being so dramatic. It’s not like Mull was an email provider or something, and now everyone has a headache and needs to migrate to another provider. --- ## Post 29 by @ph00lt0 — 2024-12-23T22:27:32Z Not really agreeing with you. Not everyone is as tech savvy and people might have helped their family in using this. Switching is always a pain. This is a reason we need stable recommendations. Not trying to discredit the great efforts here but this is more of a general comment. This stands alone of my appreciation of the work done here too. --- ## Post 30 by @anon48875053 — 2024-12-23T22:34:44Z > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Not everyone is as tech savvy and people might have helped their family in using this. Ain’t nobody installing Mull for someone who isn’t tech savvy. It’s like setting up arkenfox on grandmas PC. For 99.99%, they just go to the Play Store and install Brave. --- ## Post 31 by @ph00lt0 — 2024-12-23T22:35:44Z I hope you are right. Anyway I want to focus on things I can recommend to each and everyone. It makes it more future proof and simple. --- ## Post 32 by @anon73250778 — 2024-12-23T22:52:14Z Thanks for everything, man. I am a middle aged guy. I somehow wish I can go back in time and be like you. I’ve always had fascination and curiousity for tech but somehow my career choice went into a different _far away_ direction. * * * I wonder if being a solo dev is too much a heavy burden. I look at my kids and I ask myself how can my kids be a good open source advocate. Coders, even. I know the Open Source Greybeards seem to be getting older and older and we wonder where are all the young kids at. I’ve heard they seem to be out there thriving, its just that they are solving the problems in front of them, rather than the infrastructure that we have now. I wished I could have helped you unburden your dev load so that it doesnt feel to be alone but I dont know how to code. I wish my kids can too but they have other childish things in mind right now. Maybe someday. * * * Anyway, you seem to be a really smart person and I see that not all your projects have stopped. So we wish you well in your next chapter of projects. --- ## Post 33 by @freddy — 2024-12-23T23:44:51Z > [@anon63378630](#): > > And thank you everyone :slight_smile: And thank you for all of your work over the years. Best of luck with whatever is next :hearts: --- ## Post 34 by @divestosuser — 2024-12-23T23:55:38Z Very sad to be reading this! Thank you Tavi, I have enjoyed using Mull as well as DOS on my EOL devices for a number of years. Good luck with your future endeavors. @anon63378630 If you are willing to share, which mobile OS and mobile browser will you be switching to personally? --- ## Post 36 by @anon48875053 — 2024-12-24T00:24:52Z Or more likely, he will just use GrapheneOS. --- ## Post 37 by @redoomed1 — 2024-12-25T03:55:26Z 6 posts were merged into an existing topic: [LineageOS (Android ROM)](/t/lineageos-android-rom/15404/6) --- ## Post 42 by @phnx — 2024-12-24T01:28:23Z Especially in the era of devices recieving 7 years of support. You can easily buy a 2 year old device for cheap and keep it for 5 more years. Using DivestOS was, in itself, far from ideal. --- ## Post 44 by @anon5410820 — 2024-12-24T03:50:29Z > [@phnx](#): > > You can easily buy a 2 year old device for cheap I think it’s only cheap in some countries. Mine Pixels aren’t even available here, it’s hard enough to get a reputable Pixel, let alone a trustworthy refurbished shop. That said, I’m still saving money to hopefully have enough to buy one. My current situation is less than ideal :frowning: --- ## Post 46 by @anon21489307 — 2024-12-24T11:26:54Z > [@phnx](#): > > Using DivestOS was, in itself, far from ideal. Moreover, very few devices are able to relocked their bootloader, meaning most devices lose verity boot when using a custom ROM, which IMO a _huge_ security issue. > [@LineageOS (Android ROM)](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/lineageos-android-rom/15404/11): > > Very few devices[cheap and long update support devices] Starting from Galaxy A1x series releasing in 2024 (A16), Samsung provides 6 years of update. And before that, it’s 5 years for their mid-range devices. While flagships get 7 years support. --- ## Post 47 by @steve_donald34 — 2024-12-24T11:29:13Z > [@Apollyon](#): > > I think privacy guides should stop recommending browsers from projects like these and just stick with products made by companies that are well-established like Brave and Firefox. The same will happen to Cromite eventually; I don’t agree with @Apollyon completely. because: - Who knows that Brave will not stop the development or they will always provide the criteria of us? I don’t believe the corporate/companies. - what else we can do? maybe we can choose products that has multiple committers. (of course we should check if the committers are not translators or documentation writers only) 4 people has send disagree to @Apollyon message. But nobody writes a solution or what is wrong with that message. I see communication problems on open-source projects… --- ## Post 51 by @anon80779245 — 2024-12-24T14:02:53Z [@team](/groups/team) let’s move unrelated comments to another thread --- ## Post 52 by @Breeze7846 — 2024-12-24T16:41:00Z Is there any chance of a reputable org or developer taking over DivestOS and continuing maintenance/development? --- ## Post 53 by @Tech-Trooper — 2024-12-24T19:54:16Z @anon63378630 maintained the apps for a long time himself. That is longer than some teams or companies, for instance Skiff. --- ## Post 54 by @ph00lt0 — 2024-12-24T21:17:08Z Definitely not denying that. There are more factors that are important in due diligence :slight_smile: --- ## Post 55 by @FlipSid — 2024-12-24T23:53:25Z Unfortunate, very unfortunate :frowning: All the best for you :hugs: --- ## Post 56 by @n_n — 2024-12-25T00:24:45Z This is very saddening. I’ve learned about DivestOS at the old Privacytools site. Time flies. But I saw that coming. The project was unsustainable as it was. Too many devices supported, many of which doesn’t have enough, if any, userbase or just old behind any reasonable expectation of security. It is too late to say this, but I thought it would be better to focus on a couple of the best suited (non-Pixel) devices, with better support, so people would specifically buy devices to use with DivestOS, and not just come with their Android 7 devices in search of security. Anyway, thank you for your devotion, time and efforts, and good luck in your new chapter, @[SkewedZeppelin](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/u/SkewedZeppelin). --- ## Post 57 by @anon39279085 — 2024-12-25T00:46:33Z @anon63378630 Thank you for your hard work. My suggestion of course would have been to maybe delay the project in favour of a job and still work on Divest but I may understand why you may not want to do that even if it meant keeping the project alive speaking from experience with talking to other people. Anywho may the project rest in peace ``` _ /) mo / ) |/)\) /\_ \__|= ( ) __)(__ _____/ \\_____ | _ ___ _ || | | \ | | \ || | | | | | | || | |_/ | |_/ || | | \ | | || | | \ | | || | | \. _|_. | . || | || | DivestOS || | || | [2014-2024] || | || * | * ***** | **** \))ejm97/.,(//,,..,,\||(,,.,\\,.((// ``` (yes I know it could have been divest or divested computing group but I feel it still fits, anyway here’s the classic see you again on top) > **[Wiz Khalifa - See You Again ft. Charlie Puth [Official Video] Furious 7...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKAFK5djSk&feature=youtu.be)** > > Download the new Furious 7 Soundtrack Deluxe Version on iTunes here: https://apple.co/3paGCzNSee Wiz on tour http://wizkhalifa.com/tourTag ‪#‎SeeYouAgain‬ on... --- ## Post 58 by @AnotherBloodyUsername — 2024-12-25T23:06:05Z Would it not end up being a horrible, self-fulfilling prophecy where one is having to firefight and do all the legwork. So there is a higher chance of inadvertently pushing buggy updates. Or missing out on features. So people don’t use the project at hand and thus less likely to donate. So the dev loses resources and thus shuts down the project? --- ## Post 59 by @redoomed1 — 2024-12-26T03:21:22Z I’m closing this thread since the topic suggested the removal of some recommendations, which was completed and pushed to the live site. Anyone who’d like to discuss Divested or the future of the alternative Android OS landscape can open a separate thread.