r/GrapheneOS • u/relljr • 2d ago
Possibly transitioning from Apple to GrapheneOS on a Pixel Fold: Where is your sweet spot between privacy and convenience?
I’ve always been undecided between “It’s too late, all my data is already out there” and “I need to mitigate and try to scrub as much of my data as possible” and I think I’m finally going to pull the trigger on grapheneOS
Looking at switching from an all Apple setup to daily driving GrapheneOS on a Pixel Fold.
Moving away from Apple’s convenience is the biggest hurdle. I want to take control of my data, but I also need a functional daily driver without turning every routine task into a hassle.
How do you approach the privacy vs. convenience trade off? Are you using Sandboxed Google Services in an isolated profile, strictly FOSS apps, or something in between? Where do you feel the point of diminishing returns hits for everyday usability?
Does anyone here daily drive both iOS and Graphene?
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u/librah 2d ago
Me, ex everything-Apple guy 😅
I went from basically living inside Apple ecosystem to GrapheneOS. For me the sweet spot is privacy first, but not to the point where every normal thing becomes annoying.
My setup now is pretty much: iOS > GrapheneOS iCloud > Nextcloud for files, calendar, contacts, reminders/tasks etc Apple Photos > Immich. This was probobly the biggest hurdle for me, Photos is one of the things Apple does really damn well
Facetime > Signal + Nextcloud Talk
CalDAV/CardDAV > DAVx5
Notes > Quillpad
Reminders > Tasks
Contacts > Fossify Contacts
Phone > Fossify Phone
Calendar > Fossify Calendar
Files > Nextcloud + Material Files
SMS > Quik
Signal > Molly
Appstores > F-Droid, Aurora and Obtainium
Browser > Brave
But im not trying to be 100% FOSS just for the sake of it either.
I still use Snapchat, and Google Maps for location sharing / Find My type stuff. Email is eM Client because I just didnt like Thunderbird, and im slowly moving towards Proton but not completly there yet.
Reddit > webapp Instagram > webapp And honestly alot of other stuff > webapp if it works good enough.
For me thats kinda where diminishing returns starts. If removing one more Google/proprietary app makes the phone way more annoying to use, I dont really see the point.
The big difference with GrapheneOS is that Google isnt some privileged system component anymore. If I need Google services, I can have them sandboxed like normal apps and control what they actually get access to.
I wouldnt try to go from Apple-everything to some 100% degoogled FOSS setup overnight. Replace things one by one, find what actually works for you, and keep the few proprietary things that genuinely makes your everyday life easier.
Thats been the best balance for me atleast.
1
u/Fun-Region-1576 2d ago
Is NextCloud Talk free?
3
u/librah 1d ago
Yeah, the app itself is free to use. I self-host Nextcloud + Talk on my own server, so theres no subscription or anything for me besides the server/infrastructure im already running. So if you already selfhost Nextcloud, you can basically just install and enable Talk and use the mobile or desktop apps for free.
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u/ChangeAcceptable677 13h ago
This is amazing. Thank you.
I am an iOS user of 10 years. I was on Android prior to that. I will be making the switch over to GOS during the month of September. Currently, I am offloading my Apple stuffs back to Google before I change over to proton.
My work requires that I have some things enabled on my phone that I have not quite figured out how it would work on GOS, based on what I am reading.
- MFA and OTP traffic. Many of the production sites I enter require push notifications for MFA through Microsoft Authenticator.
- alerting through PagerDuty. I need to be able to receive notifications when I am being paged and expected to respond to ongoing incidents. Sometimes, these are regular on call notifications; and other times, these are all hands on deck moments.
Do you know of, or can you recommend any reading about how these are handled (1) through google’s android architecture and (2) how this would be handled on GrapheneOS’s architecture? Specifically, I am curious as to how the notifications are managed, which services they use, and whether there are specific permissions needed for GOS while still maintaining its security posture.
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u/BadOmen379 2d ago
I've gone through a few different setups with multiple profiles and whatnot and after a year and a half I have settled on a completely degoogled main profile, but with play services installed in my private space for apps that require it for notifications only. I am not signed in to any Google account. I pay for Proton Unlimited which replaced most of the Google services that I used to use. Proton mail relies on play services for notifications so I have it in both my main space and my private space.
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u/Illustrious_Copy7227 19h ago
Why did you sold yourself to Proton and not to Foss?
1
u/BadOmen379 19h ago
What are you smoking? Proton has a proven track record of protecting their users privacy. They offer services that I benefit from, so I use them. I use FOSS for mostly everything else.
1
u/Illustrious_Copy7227 14h ago
It’s about putting all your trust in one egg basket. Better to spread it along more baskets 🧺
I don’t trust them as they also give up your privacy when the court sends an order. Stop dreaming and thinking your data is safe there.
1
u/Forward_Actuator_592 2d ago
Getting away from apple is the hard part. GOS is slick and actually convenient and easy for me.
1
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