He’s tech illiterate. Like struggles to use email tech illiterate. But I figure if I set GOS up for him, will he even really notice?
The only difference I have noticed between stock Android and GOS (as long as Play Services is installed with max permissions) is that you have to manually reboot the phone periodically to update.
He doesn’t use NFC. His banking app works on GOS. He just uses the phone for calls, socials and browsing, nothing crazy.
Am I missing something, or should this be fine?
Side note: Shout out to the GOS team for making such a secure product so usable. Amazing work.
I’d say he’ll notice. Apps can and do introduce stricter verdicts or otherwise break. Sandboxed Play Services, while very stable for what it is, will by definition prompt him considerably more than on stock due to lacking system-level integration. There is some confusing UX behavior from Play seeking to install suite of Google bloatware that needs to be worked around by GOS, as well as the uncertain status of RCS if he ever needs it. My parents are quite tech-literate, but if I switched them to GrapheneOS, I would drown in tech support issues.
Since he has an update phone frankly I don’t see the benefit to force GrapheneOS to someone who is tech illiterate and happy with the device he already has.
Also he will loose the spam call filter.
GOS is intended to be usable by everyone, but there is a big difference between actively choosing it and simply receiving a device preinstalled with an OS that someone else deemed best for you, unless there is some clear threat model in mind.
No, he won’t notice. He will probably use it more easily because there are so few apps to get confused in. Set up his stuff once including logging in to everything (that will be a hassle for him on any phone if he struggles with email) and it will work great.
Another benefit is the long 7 yrs support window so he won’t have to worry about change in the future.
I’ve seen people in the GOS forum say they set up grandparents on it and it works great for them.
These people want a phone that does phone things and that’s exactly what GOS does. No ads, no AI, no popups. Just a phone.
People saying that you need some special reason to use GOS is ridiculous. Privacy and software freedom should be for everyone, regardless of their technical ability and especially when the software is as polished as GOS.
Except he doesn’t. The problem is not really the user is tech illiterate, it’s he doesn’t ask for it and doesn’t really have a use for it.
The stock OS has the same support window, no added benefit here.
That said GrapheneOS will not hurt but he will definitely notice the changing and it will probably cause more harm than good for him since he’s used to stock.
Oh it’s not a new phone it’s the same phone? In that case it’s more of a stretch for sure. Mb that makes more sense now I’d recommend against. IDK why I read it that way.
I installed it on a tech-illiterate, privacy-minded family member’s phone. They were using Android. I set up & tested all apps from their current phone with sandboxed Play. Avoided introducing alternative installersor making any additional changes, opting to create a 1:1 “feel”.
Have basically had no issues. Now that theyre comfortable on the device, Im slowly, gradually shifting their posture to better habits - FDroid or Obtanium, replacing play-only apps with vanadium web apps when possible, etc
There is a difference here. First, I essentially never have glitches with GOS. I have had fairly regular glitches with basically every Linux distro I’ve used. Secondly, with Linux if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can actually be a fairly serious security downgrade (and therefore also privacy downgrade) from other OSes. GOS is incredibly easy to use, and it’s hard to use it in any way that leaves you in a worse position than stock Android.
If you’re familiar with GOS and set it up for him, the only difference will be the black and white icons. But you will need to do some setup. After that, should be solid. Has been more reliable than android for me, but thats just n=1. One downside to consider is if something happens to his phone, he wouldn’t be able to just log into a new phone have everything back like nothing happened.
You’ll need google if you want rcs.
The stock sms app is ugly, but been solid for me. Has not been solid for a friend on a different carrier. Switching to fossify messages a few days ago seemed to fix that. And is not so ugly.
If your not using google services, you’ll need another way to backup or sync data. There are many.
I am running graphene on a second device just to play and learn, to see if it is possible for me as a main device.
Honestly, a non tech person can easily use it as a daily if it’s set up correctly. It won’t be as safe as the way we might set it up, but it will still be a step up from stock google. Few caveats:
Camera no where near as good
Not all banking apps work
There will probably be a couple more security notices to accept or clear than normal.
But they look and feel the same when a normie has hold of it and they are pretty much green to go and red to stop
IF you’re setting up an android-like experience for a normie, they will presumably need sandboxed google play, in which case the Pixel Camera becomes an option
GOS adds the network permission, so you can disable its ability to phone home & create a more private - if imperfect - setup
