[bityard]

Google has root on your Android phone, they can technically do anything they want. The only practical thing stopping them is their own scruples, for whatever that may be worth, or bad press.

Same is true for Apple.

(With one marrow exclusion for those who installed a "de-googled" Android variant and run no Google services.)

[endemic]

> "de-googled" Android variant and run no Google services

The only way to fly!

[fifteen1506]

Or GrapheneOS with Sandboxed Play Services running as regular user apps.

[wkat4242]

They can still do a lot. I'd much rather use software I can inspect to talk to the services I really need (firebase push) and replace the ones I can (like location). MicroG is great for that <3

It can even fake some of the more basic safetynet attestation crap and during Covid they made their own version of the Bluetooth thing. Marvin the dev is a great guy.

I don't know why people hate on MicroG so much. Grapheneos devs foam at the mouth when you mention it and in the lineageos irc channel you get Insta kicked when you mention it.

[Brian_K_White]

No one should use graphene.

[deadbunny]

Why?

[Brian_K_White]

Because it requires placing trust in someone who does not exhibit enough stability or rationality to justify that trust.

[soupbowl]

I really like grapheneOS features and it clearly increased my battery life but... . After looking at the community, some of the developers, seem fragile and unstable. It is the only negative I have for grapheneOS but it stands out enough to make me reconsider using it.

[tentacleuno]

I personally recommend CalyxOS. It's a well-known alternative which uses microG.