I currently use an iPhone, but given the recent attacks made by the US president and members of his administration on my country (tariffs, annexation threats,etc) I am loathe to support any company based out of that nation any longer. Obviously I know that it is likely impossible to get a functional mobile experience with zero US corporate involvement, but what is the least possible I could do and still be practical? A degoogled fair phone device? Something Chinese running a custom rom like lineage os?
I want to sell my iPhone and Apple Watch ASAP and get something that won’t have my sending money to the US via my app purchases (store cut), monthly services (iCloud), and my data being used/sold.
Hard part is software distribution. You can buy Chinese phones but what app store? Can focus on open source applications. Use F-Droid. I have an iPhone and an older Pixel 7. In the past I’ve had ZTE phones. I guess you can buy a Chinese phone with a Mediatek processor that has YMTC memory chips and … whatever else
Desktop/laptop you should and encourage other to try Linux. Something common. Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Even if it’s US based, supporting Linux and open source software aligns with what you want
Open source software isn’t tied to countries. Unless you consider every developer, every person evil just and only because they’re American, it shouldn’t even matter if the project leader is American as no money goes to US companies anyway
It’s worth noting that graphene doesn’t have automatic calls recording, and the Devs have been weirdly aggressive about deleting and banning people that ask for it.
I use GrapheneOS and have reviewed a lot of the documentation in the OS and built in apps. They like to pair the words privacy and security together in that documentation. The info sheet for the chromium degoogled browser they developed called Vanadium is very focused on both aspects. I personally think the two concepts go hand in hand.
Its also the first time I’ve used a non-firefox type of browser in almost a decade. It feels weird, but they are good at describing why it’s more secure in GrapheneOS due to its superior ability to maintain app sandboxes, which is a big reason I use the OS. Full control over what apps can see on my device.
Maybe because… automatically recording calls is literally illegal in some places around the world? It should probably be user choice to opt in to that so it wouldn’t be on by default. And then, if you have it on while travelling, you could forget and break the law when going through a jurisdiction that does not allow it. Better to explicitly allow for each call, like it does currently.
For the phone itself I would say fairphone, but another option is buying a second hand android and installing a custom rom, No money given to the owner company.
If you want a phone that can run a degoogled rom without voiding warranty and don’t mind some American parts Fairphone
If you don’t care about warranty or some American parts you have a lot of choices. Samsung is Korean, Sony Xperia is Japanese, etc
If you want a phone that has absolutely no American parts (which means avoiding the Qualcomm chips in the above phones) you are limited to Chinese phones and really to Huawei. Xiaomi still uses some Qualcomm chips. This will make using western apps a bit of a chore though as they will have to be sideloaded, they won’t be available through the huawei appgallery and the kirin chips don’t support 5g. These are degoogled though. I don’t think you’re in the us based on your post but just in case you are these won’t work in the USA, carriers may not activate them bc sanctions
Qualcomm is hard to get around for cellular modems but their stranglehold is finally starting to get broken. Mediatek (Taiwan), Samsung (Korea), Huawei (China), etc are making cellular modem ics now. Even within America apple finally released theirs with the newest iphone that just released the other day
I’m unfamiliar but some brief searching shows they use kigen for sim handling and mediatek for processor/modem so it appears they also have little to no American parts, though I’m not sure of this
Not being stupid here, but: do you need to? I completely understand and support the anger, but what in-app purchases are you making and can’t you stop making them? You can switch to the free iCloud account (so they don’t get money) and download/delete your content so they don’t have access to it.
I think your data being used is the big one, but it leads down a big privacy hole; you’ll have to decide how far you want you take that.
I’m just wondering if you’ll end up giving more money to them by buying a new phone, Rather than sticking with your current phone, stopping in-app purchases, deleting iCloud, and installing privacy protection.
I remember when Chinese phones used to have a thriving custom rom scene. Then one by one they started locking their crap down or making tools available for it poor enough that custom rom support died out.
if your in the EU give fairphone a look, over 7 years of updates promised for the fairphone 5 in addition to being one of the more repairable phones out there
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: [email protected]
5. Engage respectfully: Harassment, flamebaiting, bad faith engagement, or agenda posting will result in your posts being removed. Excessive violations will result in temporary or permanent ban, depending on severity.
6. Memes are not allowed to be posts, but are allowed in the comments.
7. Posts from clickbait sources are heavily discouraged. Please de-clickbait titles if it needs to be submitted.
8. Submission statements of any length composed of your own thoughts inside the post text field are mandatory for any microblog posts, and are optional but recommended for article/image/video posts.
Hard part is software distribution. You can buy Chinese phones but what app store? Can focus on open source applications. Use F-Droid. I have an iPhone and an older Pixel 7. In the past I’ve had ZTE phones. I guess you can buy a Chinese phone with a Mediatek processor that has YMTC memory chips and … whatever else
Desktop/laptop you should and encourage other to try Linux. Something common. Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Even if it’s US based, supporting Linux and open source software aligns with what you want
Open source software isn’t tied to countries. Unless you consider every developer, every person evil just and only because they’re American, it shouldn’t even matter if the project leader is American as no money goes to US companies anyway
Second hand Pixel phone and install GrapheneOS on it.
https://grapheneos.org/
Devices
For OS comparission
I would add the Mudita Kompakt to the list. It’s from Poland and runs on a de-googled AOSP. With a 4,3 inch e-ink screen it is a niche phone though.
I have a Fairphone 5 and am very satisfied with it. Would definitely recommend
I have the Fairphone form iode with their OS on it. Best phone I had so far and the System ist pretty much set up the way I like it out if the box.
It’s worth noting that graphene doesn’t have automatic calls recording, and the Devs have been weirdly aggressive about deleting and banning people that ask for it.
Graphene OS just has weirdly aggressive devs.
I guess it’s very “on brand” for the devs of a privacy project to be extremely paranoid.
isn’t it more security focused than privacy?
I use GrapheneOS and have reviewed a lot of the documentation in the OS and built in apps. They like to pair the words privacy and security together in that documentation. The info sheet for the chromium degoogled browser they developed called Vanadium is very focused on both aspects. I personally think the two concepts go hand in hand.
Its also the first time I’ve used a non-firefox type of browser in almost a decade. It feels weird, but they are good at describing why it’s more secure in GrapheneOS due to its superior ability to maintain app sandboxes, which is a big reason I use the OS. Full control over what apps can see on my device.
Maybe because… automatically recording calls is literally illegal in some places around the world? It should probably be user choice to opt in to that so it wouldn’t be on by default. And then, if you have it on while travelling, you could forget and break the law when going through a jurisdiction that does not allow it. Better to explicitly allow for each call, like it does currently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_call_recording_laws
Such a bummer that I can’t use one here in the US.
Used pixel, put grapheneos on it.
Helps prevent e-waste and youll end up with a fully functioning phone
Yes, used is the way to go to be the most socially and anti-capitalist conscious.
Yep buying used is the route to go to not directly source a company with new revenue.
This is a very good option
Maybe Fairphone (Netherlands) with /e/OS (Google free Android from France).
For the phone itself I would say fairphone, but another option is buying a second hand android and installing a custom rom, No money given to the owner company.
If you want a phone that can run a degoogled rom without voiding warranty and don’t mind some American parts Fairphone
If you don’t care about warranty or some American parts you have a lot of choices. Samsung is Korean, Sony Xperia is Japanese, etc
If you want a phone that has absolutely no American parts (which means avoiding the Qualcomm chips in the above phones) you are limited to Chinese phones and really to Huawei. Xiaomi still uses some Qualcomm chips. This will make using western apps a bit of a chore though as they will have to be sideloaded, they won’t be available through the huawei appgallery and the kirin chips don’t support 5g. These are degoogled though. I don’t think you’re in the us based on your post but just in case you are these won’t work in the USA, carriers may not activate them bc sanctions
Qualcomm is hard to get around for cellular modems but their stranglehold is finally starting to get broken. Mediatek (Taiwan), Samsung (Korea), Huawei (China), etc are making cellular modem ics now. Even within America apple finally released theirs with the newest iphone that just released the other day
Ulefone is a great option if you don’t care about security updates and want to beat something to death with your phone.
I dropped my power armor 13 while getting out of my car one day and left a half-dollar sized dent in my door frame.
I’m unfamiliar but some brief searching shows they use kigen for sim handling and mediatek for processor/modem so it appears they also have little to no American parts, though I’m not sure of this
Not being stupid here, but: do you need to? I completely understand and support the anger, but what in-app purchases are you making and can’t you stop making them? You can switch to the free iCloud account (so they don’t get money) and download/delete your content so they don’t have access to it.
I think your data being used is the big one, but it leads down a big privacy hole; you’ll have to decide how far you want you take that.
I’m just wondering if you’ll end up giving more money to them by buying a new phone, Rather than sticking with your current phone, stopping in-app purchases, deleting iCloud, and installing privacy protection.
Right. Purchasing new sends money to the ultra rich somewhere in the world.
Something chinese (lol)
Not really.
Chinese phones sold in the west still have Google Play Services, which give google (potential) ad revenue.
So you just get spied on by BOTH the NSA and the Chinese Intelligence Agencies.
I remember when Chinese phones used to have a thriving custom rom scene. Then one by one they started locking their crap down or making tools available for it poor enough that custom rom support died out.
I mean you could get the chinese domestic versions. I think Huawei has ones with stripped domestic Android.
Samsung is basically all Korean?
if your in the EU give fairphone a look, over 7 years of updates promised for the fairphone 5 in addition to being one of the more repairable phones out there
Anything second-hand, really.
Samsung is from South Korea, and their flagships are on par with iPhones.
If you want to cost a company money, calling and talking to a person is a big expense for any company.
Maybe Jolla with SailfishOS would be the best bet.
They had significant Russian funding last I knew. Has that changed?