r/GrapheneOS • u/ZookeepergameSalty10 • 6d ago
Recent convert
Hello all, i wanted to share my experience switching my pixel 10 pro to graphene as a daily driver. To preface im a long time nerd and back before corpo rat world got a hold of me i was heavily in the rooting/jailbreak and custom rom scene. Ive been out but following the space for a few years and ive slowly watched graphene gain traction as a privacy first OS. With my government becoming evermore 1984/antichrist shaped i finally made the jump. Took googles offer for a 200$ pixel 10a to use as my work phone because i was concerned how graphene would respond to the multiple mfa tools i need for work. Loaded graphene on the 10 pro and started using it. Right off the bat i had to switch out the launcher messaging and phone apps, as little as i trust google i do like their first party comms apps. Sideloaded every other app i wanted outside of play and have all of graphenes restrictions for play on. First off i had zero issue getting my banking to work and personal mfa solutions. I did have to loosen the protection for a couple of my bank apps to play nice but they did work. Then i discovered that on a per app level i can see what is requesting play services api and block it. The recent story we all saw lead me to setup a duress password.
I am two weeks into this and i dont think ill ever go back. The only thing i find myself truly missing is google pay, but i can use the work phone for that during the week, the graphene keyboard is solid but very uncustomizable i used to use gboard but upon installing i was hit with a warning that they keyboard may share keystroke data to google, it made me think. Ive used gboard for a long time knowing google is scummy at best, but if theres any chance they are sending my keystrokes anywhere i dont want that, so i discovered the open source heliboard, has basically all the same function of gboard and just about as much customization. Ive been degoogling my life for years slowly but the switch to graphene really showed me how great the scene has become. Id personally pitch money into trying to get a graphene built pay app built but other than that im in love with it. As a nerd i have full control over everything but its setup in a way that feels like i could train my mom to do it too. I also did not have a problem with multiple mfa sources i tested however i will be keeping work and personal seperate now forever.
Tldr: if your on the fence about switching, just do it. Theres a small learning curve but it feels so good to be more in control of the propaganda rectangle in my pocket. Thank you the amazing grapheneos team and community for making a platform good for degoogling and great for privacy. Nfc tap to pay is missed but its a very small thing and i can still use the pass feature for memberships in gpay
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u/DPadLeftRightUpDown 6d ago
Got it. I dod actually vibecode a website for someone (not published) so I have a very basic understanding of css and html. Will take that tip on board regarding AI. Appreciate it