Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
[Matrix/Element]Dead
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
Murena phones are basically Fairphone with /e/OS https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki//e/_(operating_system) with IMHO compare to GrapheneOS.
Their privacy features are really good. It replace Google Services with an open source equivalent. Not sure I can deploy Google applications.
The result is a smartphone mostly degoogled, a good UX and you 'feel' the privacy features without being annoyed by them.
EDIT: changed "completely degoogled" to "mostly degoogled".
PInephone! A bit of work, requiring to not being shy opening the hood of a linux system. but totally worth it, the reward is freedom and its continuous cycle of collective learning...
(although the Pinephone is not really a "smartphone" in the sense most people use that word: a restricted computer that allows to run wallgarden applications.... a pinephone doesnt natively run "smartphone apps" and is more like a full-blown, general purpose computer running GNU/linux that also contains a modem enabling calls, sms and data...)
Gigaset. I am using the GS5. 2 Sim slots and a SD card slot, not those Sim/SD slots that most manufacturers use. Replaceable battery.
made is Germany, run stock android. Stock to the point of I have it bugging me to install Oct 2023 patches for the past 2 weeks. Kinka wish I could talk it I will patch when I get back from holidays.
If you just want something that’s more privacy-minded out of the box without messing about with custom ROMs etc, maybe consider an iPhone?
Weirdly in this case I think I agree. You can look at my previous comments about how much I hate Apple but it seems to me that OP isn't too technical and installing a custom ROM might not be what they're after. iPhones don't have any of those annoying games and stuff preinstalled, as long as the carrier doesn't install stuff. I'd suggest a refurbished unlocked iPhone though, to save some money. Make sure the previous owners account is removed from the device or else it'll probably just be a paper weight.
If OP is open to custom ROMs then GrapheneOS is a great choice but LineageOS and DivestOS are also great options for someone that wants to get started with privacy and they support a lot more devices, that can be got for cheaper than an iPhone/Pixel. Again, I'd recommended a refurbished, carrier unlocked phone that is supported by one of these projects
Its not hard to flash a rom these days, unlike ten years ago.
Now developers post instructions for each device type. Look at Lineage, Graphene, DivestOS. Very good instructions from all of them, including installing ADB on Windows or Linux.
Of the dozens (hundreds?) of times I've flashed over the years, I've bricked 1 device, and that was from experimenting and not following instructions, I knew it was risky.
And with Pixel it's about as straightforward as it gets.