https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/grapheneos-frequent-android-auto-reboots-block-firmware-exploits
GrapheneOS, a privacy and security-focused Android-based operating system, has posted a series of tweets on X suggesting that Android should introduce frequent auto-reboots to make it harder for forensic software vendors to exploit firmware flaws and spy on the users.
I don't understand. So if I only lock my phone (turn the screen off) without rebooting it, it is not fully encrypted (considering that the device storage encryption is enabled)?
Something like that. I'm not familiar with the exact details, but there is an additional layer of encryption that applies before the first unlock after a reboot.
Parts of the OS have to be unencrypted for it to function properly.
Autoreboot is a thing on Samsung phones for quite a while, you can even choose the days of the week and the time for the reboot.
As long as "auto" doesn't mean "forced".
But knowing current trends, especially with Android, it likely will be.
This is just GrapheneOS, this isn't something you get in a big tech phone. Also this is if you were to not unlock your phone for this amount of time. Say your phone is confiscated, they have 18 hours (new default settings) to basically break into your phone otherwise it auto reboots from not successfully unlocking and goes back into that encrypted locked mode.
So as long as you're unlocking your phone once 18 hours, it won't reboot. 18 is just the default too, you can make it more it less, or disable it entirely. But it will never really affect a normal person.
Option to enable automatically rebooting the device when no profile has been unlocked for the configured time period to put the device fully at rest again, which is enabled by default at 18 hours. This can be configured at Settings > Security > Auto reboot.
https://grapheneos.org/features#auto-reboot
But it's a security measure to get it to BFU, where data is at rest and secure, in case your phone is out of your possession for an extended period of time (someone steals it, police take it, etc) so it becomes harder to exploit. I've set mine to 12. Some do 4 or even less. Feel free to turn it off.
No no, I would prefer privacy. I even considered buying Pixel but I really didn't liked it's back camera design.
In experience yes but aesthetically I don’t agree. Actually the metal block and color looks bad. It could have been much better with better curves and colors IMO.
This is still kind of reading like "Look, I know 'pretty phones over privacy' is a bad take, so no, but really, yeah."
Basically all the positives you've mentioned have been aesthetic, with one you even admit is worse to actually use, but which you prefer the look of.
But it is not like I don't care. I care within some limits. Using a phone I don't like aesthetically is not in that limits.
See, this
I care within some limits. Using a phone I don’t like aesthetically is not in that limits.
and this
No no, I would prefer privacy.
are in direct opposition. They are irreconcilable positions. It's your phone, it's okay for you to decide you won't compromise on aesthetics on your own devices, if that's what's important to you. Just own it and be prepared for pushback when you're commenting on an article about a privacy-focused OS and using this as the basis of your criticism.
You just raw doggin out here without a phone case? All those aesthetics go away once its in the case anyway. The pixels are amazing phones and been daily driving graphene for about 6 months; its great.
I'm a year and a half in to Graphene. The community is kinda trash in some respects, but it's one hell of an OS.
I might be in the minority but I actually like the camera visor more than what Samsung does because Samsung phones never sit flat. There's a small wobble because the camera is on one side. At least with the pixel camera visor the phone doesn't do that when you set it down on a flat surface. If anything it very slightly tilts the phone towards you. Not as extreme but it reminds me of a keyboard the way it's slightly titling the keys towards you to make typing easier.
As far as I know they only accept Pixel devices because they are the only devices on the market that allow locking the bootloader after installation and also because of the Titan coprocessor which greatly increases system security
There's also a third reason, which is regular and timely firmware updates. One of the reasons why the GrapheneOS team rejected the Fairphone was due to the lack of proper firmware updates.
I remember I was not able to re-lock bootloader after custom rom installation, so you're probably right. Unfortunately there are not many phones left to install custom ROMs except Chinese ones :/
Why would I want to lock the bootloader? I like having freedom 9f OS, I don't want to replace one OS I'm locked into with a different, albeit more privacy friendly one. Most laptops have unlocked bootloaders.
because they are the only devices on the market that allow locking the bootloader after installation
AFAIK on Xiaomi Mi A2 lite if I flash back the stock fastboot ROM (I had it do it once because I crippled the partition images (this phone is A/B partition device)) it locks your bootloader and you have to unlock it again. I don't know if this applyes to MIUI/Hyper OS phones too, because Mi A2 Lite uses near to stock Android.
GrapheneOS didn't choose Pixels. They chose a set of requirements for current/future devices, which are standards met or exceeded by current Pixel devices. You want GrapheneOS on other phones? Those other phones have to meet the requirements. None currently do.
Pretty much. No idea why you were down voted. They're so damn fragile that they need a case anyway.
So, screen with random (protective) case design. Yup, they all look the same
How does it seem I’m the only person w Samsung issues. I tried a number of galaxy phones on and off from 2010 to ~2018, and every time it’d be great out the box and then feel like a sluggish piece of shit by like 3-6months in. Only mildly helped by resetting the phone. Even when everyone was like “oh no, that use to be a problem, but this time it’s totally different” same old shit.
I’m not sure I could ever buy anything Samsung ever again.
I've had samsung phones since the s8 and I have absolutely no idea what you're on about. Maybe it's cognitive bias?
I’ve had no reason for such a bias, not that I can think of. Though, my last Samsung might have been the 7, or whichever note came after it.
Looking up the S8, it released April 2017. So maybe I stopped using them around the time you started and that is the reason for the differing experiences.
I haven't had Samsung in a long time since I went exclusively Pixel just got the custom OS support. I'd imagine hypothetically that if Samsung did have these operating systems, there'd be a lot less bloat and this would be less of an issue. I mainly want the Samsung hardware over my Pixel.
Then contact Fairphone about these concerns: "Fairphone 4 doesn't provide proper privacy/security patches, which is the most bare minimum requirement for a device." Lots more detail here from GrapheneOS: https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/10b5x4n/comment/j67pbny/
I can't say I'm a big fan of the visor look of the Pixels (I say this as a long time Nexus and Pixel user) but the iPhone and Samsung designs are your bog standard smartphone design. At least the Pixel is doing something different.
My problem is not their design but the fact they are Google phones, as I boycott Google. Also second hand Pixels are hard to acquire for a reasonable price..
Swappa.com is the place to go. You can find them new in the box there for less than the Google store or if you're willing to go used they're even cheaper. Plus you have PayPal protection as a buyer. I've bought and sold phones on there since like 2014 (I think I've bought 8-9 phones and sold roughly the same amount on there without any issues)
What, and use Apple? Linux phones aren't usable yet, and at least android is open source so using a non google Android phone doesn't support Google.
They are not hard to acquire, and they only have an "unreasonable price" if they are recent models.
You won't have any trouble finding a second-hand Pixel 5.
I recently bought a Pixel 4a at 120€ / 131$
Graphene OS drops support for devices pretty soon after Google does. It's not a good idea to buy anything before Pixel 6 to run Graphene OS right now (see https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices)
This will get better going forward since Google is supporting the Pixel phones for much longer (5 years for the Pixel 6/6a onward, 7 years for the newest devices).
Guess that depends on what you mean by reasonable.
The 5 is $130 as refurb, with warranty, from walmart. It was $699 new.
If you want a newer phone, well, it's gonna cost more. Just like brand new phones.
If their price is still "high", that simply reflects their desireabilty, probably from a balance of features and performance by price.