The winner was obvious from the start, but the video is still very interesting.
For those who don’t have the time to watch, here’s THO’s findings based on analyzing the operating systems against LINDDUN standards. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, GrapheneOS reigned supreme.
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I’m really disappointed that he just Mixed every CustomROM/AOSP forks feels like a AD for GrapheneOS well I agree GrapheneOS is the best we have but you can’t just say every CustomROM/ASOP fork is the same without sounding propaganda’ish. No hate.
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I think this is why the video tries to use a reproducible method. So that a viewer can score whatever random CustomROM they want without him spending tons of time trying to go through them all. I also think the video was pretty clear on why they chose to have GOS standout, whether you agree with those reasons or not.
that’s not what he did.
I know he didnt do that, what I am saying is if there is a particular ROM you think would score significantly better then his score that “Mixed every CustomROM/AOSP forks” would, you should be able to reproduce his method and come up with a score.
I think the video assumes you are likely to be in the 20-22 range regardless so why waste the time?
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I see your point but I largely disagree. Many AOSP forks implement few or no privacy improvements compared to AOSP, and many even add privileged Google Play Services. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that they would at best score marginally worse than stock AOSP.
There is also harm in making a pseudo-recommendation based solely on privacy as a factor while dismissing the security shortcomings of many of these AOSP derivatives.
Privacy Guides recommends only GrapheneOS and DivestOS and the reasons why other forks are not recommended can be gleaned from the criteria.
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DivestOS would be the only OS worth mentioning apart from GrapheneOS. But DivestOS has a different goal, which is to extend the support of EOL devices and secure them as much as possible.
Even @SkewedZeppelin recommends GrapheneOS for those who can get a Pixel, so I don’t think it would make sense to include DivestOS in the comparison.
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I agree but it just feels like a bad AD. There are a lot reasons why people can’t use or buy a pixel with GOS and the way he is saying it he pretty must saying “you can’t have a private phone without GOS” and it is just wrong.
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How is iOS behind AOSP? Is it because he is taking the out of the box experience?
How is AOSP behind iOS?
I didn’t get that from the video but is that so wrong? Objectively speaking, if you dont use GOS, your phone is significantly less private then a phone using GOS. That is a fact.
I think the bigger revelation is that there really isn’t much difference between a custom rom and stock OS. r/LineageOS would be up in arms lol.
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Even without using Google Playstore and their applications the AOSP system lacks the privacy options found in GrapheneOS and, to some extent, in iOS’s privacy settings and lockdown mode as per PG’s guide
If I’m not mistaken the AOSP project had the security as focus not privacy. Not defending Apple but nowadays their systems are coming with many privacy options in their settings (assuming that we can trust those settings since we cannot audit the code like in the AOSP). That is why I was expecting a head compared to AOSP but I could be tremendous wrong. There is also the talk about the use of Apple Pay over Google Pay but this would be another topic I guess.
I counted 7 times where he says “only GrapheneOS” I probably missed some and I know some of them is wrong. ROMs like DivestOS do the same.
It really depending how you use your phone. Example a person who uses GOS but uses every soieal media and upload everything he do on Facebook is way less private then the person who uses degoogled LineageOS and who never used soieal media and rarely uses his phone. But person who uses GOS have a more secure phone.
Btw I like GOS and The Hated One I just think it’s a bad video.
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I agree. For example, he says something like: “If you install privacy invasive apps on AOSP (forks), it’s the same like on pixel/android”, so taking the worst case scenario, which is quite unlikely if people choose some de-googled fork to protect their privacy.
Why doesn’t he compare all of those if you would use them without google/vendor accounts, with all of their pre-installed apps disabled or uninstalled? And I don’t know if iphone can be used without apple account. Or most likely scenario, where regular users use google and vendor account, while AOSP users usually get most of their apps from f-droid, use aurora store, maybe microg, etc.
IMO, the biggest impact on privacy have users themselves, their habits and programs they use, not OS/device.
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iOS is better than Pixel OS or AOSP at protecting your data from other apps. The reason is also very simple: they’re building an advertising monopoly, and Apple directly benefits from competitors receiving less information about iOS users.
But iOS isn’t any better at protecting you from Apple than Pixel OS, or especially AOSP, is from Google. So if you’re fine with having an Apple ID and Apple collecting troves of your data in exchange for some better protection against 3rd party apps, then iOS makes more sense than AOSP.
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Just because DivestOS includes some things from GrapheneOS like network permission, etc., it doesn’t mean that it’s on par with GrapheneOS. There is a reason why the creator of DivestOS recommends people to use GrapheneOS.
https://divestos.org/index.php?page=patch_levels
Furthermore GrapheneOS is a substantially hardened operating system. DivestOS includes some of the security features from GrapheneOS along with its own.
Such hardening changes can prevent exploitation of both known and unknown issues and are not found in LineageOS, CalyxOS, or most other aftermarket systems.
If you are choosing an operating system for security the order is GrapheneOS, then DivestOS, then official LineageOS, with the choice depending on what device you have or can acquire/afford.
At the potential cost of freedom and/or privacy, you may even want to consider the stock OS as long as it is not end-of-life.
I’m not saying DivestOS is the same as GrapheneOS. I’m saying DivestOS is not the same as LineageOS with privileged Google Play Services.
But how can you say DivestOS’s network permission not on par with GrapheneOS’s? It is the same code.
LineageOS doesn’t come with Google Play Services. You can just flash Google Play Services alongside LineageOS, but it’s not officially supported.
I didn’t say that.
Okay let me rewording it. The video is a good example of FUD. “using your words from other posts”
I wonder what is GrapheneOS doing differently to DivestOS? I can see GOS enhance security for better protect your privacy but it doesn’t necessarily mean better privacy.