Road Trip without Google Maps? | GrapheneOS review

Can GrapheneOS be used as a degoogled phone daily driver? GrapheneOS is a consumer-grade open-source mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, or AOSP. It's one among the many custom ROMs created on that platform. Unlike previous homemade ROMs, though, this one offers enhanced privacy and security. It improves technologies such as app sandboxing, exploit protection, and the permission model significantly.
Daniel Micay, the co-founder of CopperheadOS, a privacy and security-focused mobile OS, developed this relatively new mobile OS. GrapheneOS used to be known as the Android Hardening Project when it was created in late 2014. Micay and his team decided to rebrand the project in 2019 to better reflect how it has grown and matured.
Although GrapheneOS is based on Android, the two operating systems are not identical. One significant difference is that GrapheneOS is Google-free. That means no Google Play Store, Google Chrome, Google Maps, or any of Google's other apps and services. You might question why an operating system would keep Google out entirely when so many people rely on its services. Well, this is all part of the project's efforts to provide the most strong privacy and security possible to its customers; bringing Google and its snooping eyes into the mix would make it impossible. In essence, if you don't use Google, you won't be tracked, which means you'll have better privacy and security.
Apple's new on device scanning is a great reason to switch to a private mobile OS. Apple's NeuralHash works by transforming images on a user's iPhone or Mac into a unique string of letters and numbers known as a hash, which will be available in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey in the next month or two. Any time you make a minor alteration to an image, the hash is changed, which can prevent matching. According to Apple, NeuralHash aims to ensure that images that are identical and aesthetically similar - such as cropped or manipulated photographs - produce the same hash.
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//CHAPTERS:
Intro - 00:00
Magic Earth downloadable maps - 00:31
Android Auto - 01:23
Installing food app - 01:55
Aurora Store Insecure Anonymous Session - 02:53
GrapheneOS location services - 03:55
Finding your current location with Magic Earth - 04:25
Magic Earth Review - 05:20
Bluetooth Audio Integration - 05:49
Bluetooth Phone Call - 06:19
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This video is for educational purposes only.
#grapheneos #digitalprivacy #security

[@sideofburritos]

If you're looking to switch to a private/secure mobile device, I just put together a “getting started” guide on my website that should help you find relevant videos and information - sideofburritos.com/docs/setup-guides/mobile-privacy/

[@InebriatedEscapist]

Just wanted to say, I really appreciate the effort you've put into making these videos. They are a big reason I went through with switching from iOS to a Pixel 5a with GrapheneOS. I've been pleasantly surprised, too, with both AOSP in general and the FOSS ecosystem that's built up around it in the past few years.

[@sideofburritos]

That makes me super happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know :) I try to put a lot of effort into my videos, so knowing they've helped you out really means a lot. I could not agree more! I was honestly blown away at how well it worked right from the start. 5-10 years ago it was the complete opposite. I still have flashbacks trying to unbrick my phone after messing up the CyanogenMod install.

[@patrickgreiner9241]

@php switched over from iOS recently. its awesome. you can actually install nearly everything with the aurora store but always see what's going on and restrict apps. downside is you need to install everything manually. passwords also. takes some hours but after you're done its running good. battery lasts 2 days cause the phone doesn't connect to services you don't want.

[@patrickgreiner9241]

@php well you need to rethink the buttons a bit as androids keyboard isn't similar to the iOS one. but in my opinion it isn't slow. just normal for me. not faster not slower than iOS

[@DanAnear]

@sopu I was going to leave basically the same comment. I have a Pixel 6 due to arrive any day now. Been working towards removing Google from my life for a few years now, very close.

[@johnzmuda545]

Respect to the grandmas. Getting my Pixel 6 in the mail Thursday. Been watching your GrapheneOS videos a lot, and appreciate how you're laying it all out there. Very informative. Thanks! Looking forward to trying everything out.

[@sideofburritos]

👵❤️. Very nice, congrats on taking the leak! Glad to hear the information is helpful, hope all has gone smooth with your setup so far.

[@johnzmuda545]

@@sideofburritos absolutely. The biggest struggle I've had is finding apps. Install went super easy with your video. The biggest thing I miss is my Spotify. Any recommendations on any music streaming? I use newpipe, but it buffers when I'm in my car. Also hard to control when driving. Thanks for any input! I'll keep watching

[@sideofburritos]

@@johnzmuda545 hmm, did you install Aurora Store? auroraoss.com. You'll be able to get spotify from there without logging in with a google account. I still use spotify, but I am in the market for an alternate. With Aurora Store you should be able to get any apps you aren't able to find open source alternates of.

[@johnzmuda545]

@@sideofburritos ok cool. I have a Spotify account, I'd just have to not use it? I do have Aurora Store. I just figured it has the trackers and all on it, or is it sandboxed? Guess even though I watched your video on sanboxed apps, I still don't quite understand how it works. I made a second user account, should I just put it there if I don't want that stuff on my owner account? I appreciate your time in answering!

[@sideofburritos]

​@@johnzmuda545 Hmm, it comes down to what your threat model is. For me, Spotify provides enough value that I don't mind having the app on my device + being signed in (even though it is monitoring my Spotify activity). All apps are sandboxed, so they won't be able to access your data unless you allow it (such as contacts, calendars, files). If you receive a popup where an app asks to use your contacts, and you allow it, then it'll have access, otherwise it won't. Since Spotify needs internet access to work, they'll get your IP address and Spotify usage activity. For me, I'm willing to make that trade off for the value. User profiles provide an additional layer of separation. I would suggest installing any "sketchy" apps like that in a separate user profile like you mentioned. I have a "burner" user profile where I put apps like that. The nice perk of a separate user profile is that when you're done, hold the power button and select "end session" now that app and everything else in that user profile will no longer be running. It's a great way to make sure you can control if those apps are on or off. You can also checkout Spotube - github.com/KRTirtho/spotube. It's an open source Spotify client without any trackers or telemetry. I haven't tested it a ton, but the little I have it worked well. It's lacking some features, but it's worth looking into. It uses your Spotify API keys which they have a great guide to on the link above. I also realized that was 3 paragraphs, so hopefully there's something useful in there, haha.

[@betterbprepared]

That tip on the Aurora store was EXCELLENT!!!! I have been doing without a few apps because they weren't showing up. I assumed it was because I was running with Play Services. Just tried this and it worked. Now I can grab a few other apps that I haven't been able to use for almost a year. Great video! Just subscribed!

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks! Glad to hear that helped out! I thought the same thing until I found that setting, it's nice to have full access to all apps.

[@mohitjaat91]

Loved to see the practical review of graphene os . Happy to hear your grandma saying us freinds 😊

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks! I figured it was a good way to really test it out in a useful way. Glad you enjoyed it! 👵

[@arkoutarkout3654]

@@sideofburritos everything I want to know about the OS it alway one of your vids

[@vonwagner1257]

I’ve seen you use metric and assumed you were Canadian. Thanks for using KMs even when in Florida. You sir are a gentleman

[@sideofburritos]

Glad to hear that was useful to see! At my job, I work with people from all over the world. I found that when telling a story if I don't use KM as well, it makes it much harder to contextualize.

[@JoseAvila-le7dr]

I Worked at a gas station on the way to Death Valley, can't stress it enough on how any person traveling needs to carry an android with downloaded map. So many lost tourist and no signal, but they always carried an expensive IPhone.

[@sideofburritos]

I can only imagine how many tourist's you saw out there without any cell signal. It's all well and good until the route needs to be recalculated. Downloaded maps can be a literal lifesaver in that part of the country.

[@danielpadilla1537]

Finally - a video with GrapheneOS regarding maps!! Instantly subscribed.

[@sideofburritos]

Haha, thank you!

[@thedangerson]

Literally on day 1 with my Pixel 6a GrapheneOS phone and enjoying (and adapting) so far. Your vids have been helpful. Keep it up. And tell grandma we’re friends - I subscribed.

[@sideofburritos]

Very nice, glad to hear! It can be an adjustment at first, but it's worth the effort. 👵

[@brittany9964]

Awesome video - and a sense of humor! 👍🏻

[@DrAreli]

I had to subscribe because of your beautiful sweet grandma! 👵🏻😍 - Bring her more often😁💕

[@sideofburritos]

Awww thanks 👵 :D

[@millerk115]

Classic gramdma convo.. very appreciative of your videos.

[@ChristopherCarpenter]

Thumbs up for grandma saying hi!

[@questionmark9713]

Nice thank you for the video. Your grandma was so sweet take care of her and visit here as much as you can !!!

[@sideofburritos]

Thank you! 👵❤️

[@oldaccount7463]

2:50 that answered my question from a previous video about installing bank apps. Thank you!

[@sideofburritos]

Ah, glad to hear that worked! It's a cool security feature on by default, but if you don't know about it, it can make it difficult to find the correct app. I spent a while trying to figure out why a basic food app didn't show up 🤣

[@crzyruskie86]

You can also go through your web browser as well I believe if you bank supports that. That way you wont have google ping your ip.

[@KoolJ00]

Cool video, thanks for making it.

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bssmith222]

Hello back to Grandma. That was classic. Great video.

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks! 👵

[@meekalito8102]

Thanks a lot for the anonymous tip in the Aurora Store!

[@sideofburritos]

Welcome! Took my a while to figure out why I couldn't find half the apps I was looking for.

[@popbumper]

But you were making that video for your friends TOO! How sweet your grandma must be! Thanks so much for this review. I'm almost there. Graphene - YES. Which phone? 5a maybe. Appreciate your video was very helpful, especially with my confidence in Magic Earth.

[@sideofburritos]

:D Thanks! Glad you found it useful! Just saw your other comment that you went with the 5a, good call. It's a solid phone and (to me) a big more manageable size wise vs the 6.

[@mikehawk7307]

Are you making a video for your friends? I love it. And it reminds me of my GM.

[@PIRLOW699]

Nice chanel! You got a new subscriber

[@sideofburritos]

Awesome, thank you!

[@sylversyrfer6894]

Great review! Please tell your grandma you have another friend here! 😊

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks, and will do! 👵

[@Cybergear]

thanks for this video.

[@cameronmoore136]

"Friends" Grandmas are so pure.

[@user-yb1fe5bb7w]

Omg I'm a big Taylor Swift fan too! lol Had no idea about Stuckey's having dog parks at their rest stops. Pretty cool. Looking forward to trying out Magic Earth. Thanks making this video. It was helpful.

[@sideofburritos]

You're very welcome! It was super cool to see they had a 🐕 park, definitely will be a stop on my next trip! 💯 Magic Earth 💯

[@KeeksRL]

grandma just earned you a new friend +1 sub!

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks! Grandma coming through 👵

[@jimmyg1455]

I have tried grapheneos and liked it, but convenience eventually trumped privacy concerns with google phone for me:) thanks for sharing.

[@sideofburritos]

You're welcome! Yea, I can definitely see how that would happen pretty easily. It's a big adjustment, you should try CalyxOS out. It's like using regular android without 95% of Google, it's a great compromise.

[@Chuck8541]

aww, hi grammy!

[@dreadinajeep]

Liked video for grandma.Magic earth works well.Its a good google maps alt

[@sideofburritos]

👵

[@Supperconductor]

I gave you a like and subscribed just because your grandma is so sweet and nice. Go ahead and let her know we are friends. 😁

[@sideofburritos]

👵 thank you!

[@OktayAcikalin]

What's your opinion on HERE WeGo? I tried Magic Earth but at least here in Hanover, Germany I found many incomplete areas on the map.

[@blueeurope]

Maps is honestly the biggest problem that i've found with Graphene. Thanks for the video.

[@sideofburritos]

You're welcome! Worst case scenario, Google maps on a separate profile is always an option.

[@bigdogkropp]

Thanks for the video. I'm a medical courier and take long trips everyday. Gonna run my new Pixel 6a with GrapheneOS side-by-side with my regular android phone for a week and see how it goes. If you install the sandboxed google play does google track your location?

[@sideofburritos]

You're welcome! Just installing sandboxed google play, no. On GrapheneOS they're installed as regular apps, so you can confirm the location permission is revoked from them. Now if you installed Google maps and used that, then while you had the location toggle enabled and maps turned on your location would be accessible.

[@warnuod]

great video, thank you for sharing your experiences. Can you say something about battery life? I have huge drain on my pixel 7 - about 2%/h with it being completely idle; i see that you don't even have it plugged in to power on your road trip.. makes me wonder if my phone is defunct

[@echo5394]

My Pixel 7 drains even worse. My advice is to force LTE only.

[@warnuod]

@@echo5394 doesnt do much for me; already tried it. Turning off mobile connectivity helped. I will be cycling 60-0. Battery life is the worst on this phone.

[@alanoveseika261]

Small question, u used that navigation app as an alt to G Maps, knowing both can download areas?

[@sideofburritos]

I didn't have Google Play services on my phone, so Google Maps wouldn't work with it. I prefer the alternate non-googled service

[@chuckr7871]

Back in the day I used a Rand McNally road atlas bought at Walmart and I taught my daughter to read the maps so she became my designated navigator on road trips. Then in the late 90s I got a Garmin GPS and still use those. I never thought of using a phone as a GPS and probably never will. No data connection on my phone after all it's a phone not a GPS.

[@reallauradee]

Grandma ♥️

[@tonyb4112]

I use this os and I like it

[@tejasjani6404]

What you can do is copy the coordinates from web version of google maps and putting them in open street maps. It will work like charm after that. I always do that.

[@sideofburritos]

Interesting, never thought of that. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion

[@tejasjani6404]

@@sideofburritos To copy coordinates from Google map, share the destination location link into any notes app. When you closely look at the destination link, there will be destination coordinates. 🤗🤗

[@GustavKampp]

How did you decide to trust Magic Earth?

[@DJNICOGENT]

Hi can I use a Samsung Note 8 or only pixels phone is the only phone I can use

[@sideofburritos]

Hello! Only pixel devices are supported due to the hardware security they have - grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices

[@user-ub9on4ww1v]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@heinzkitzvelvet]

I discovered that if I'm running a VPN connected in Netherlands, there were certain apps that would not show up in aurora store. But, when I switched to US servers, the apps appeared.

[@sideofburritos]

Hmm, were you using the "anonymous (insecure)" option to log into Aurora? If you do, that uses your IP instead of the Aurora servers (based in France I think) to generate the authentication token. That then allows you to see any GEO restricted apps, depending on the VPN server you're using.

[@heinzkitzvelvet]

@@sideofburritos No. I've never used the insecure anonymous login with Aurora. Only the secure anonymous option.

[@Zubbbz]

aw your grandma is so sweet

[@sideofburritos]

Thank you! 👵

[@talalztube]

YO GRAND MA!...is sweet.

[@sideofburritos]

Thanks :D 👵

[@maximiliaanvandijk6111]

Android auto is coming to graphene :D

[@OurNotSoSeriousLife]

Will GrapheneOS work on a pixel 2xl?

[@sideofburritos]

It won't, the earliest supported device is the Pixel 3. Here's the full list - grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices

[@ACoustaDC]

I just got a 6a for graphene. I am going to keep my other phone. I was thinking of making a google account and using their maps. The reason I think it's good... is the police detection alerts on long road trips. I do not speed, just like to know where the cops are.

[@sideofburritos]

I've been on a few more road trips since making this video. For those long haul drives, I like to use Google Maps for the same reason, as well as traffic. Using a separate user profile with maps is a great option, so you don't need to carry two devices.

[@RhythmicSoundwaves]

​@sideofburritos I'm still sort of new to this. Are you referring to the other profiles you can have on graphene os if so does that me you can do this with your Gmail, Google photos etc?

[@frankdietreich4896]

Has any one tried using a /e/ phone ?

[@broodsincorner]

Wouldn't allowing Google to get your IP address, device info, and location defeat the purpose of a de-Googled phone? Or is there not enough other info attached to those data points on Graphene for it to be compromising?

[@sideofburritos]

This is just my option, but it depends on your personal threat model. For me, enabling that option temporarily shares some data because I manually enabled a setting that caused my phone to do that. Once I disable it, that action no longer occurs. I'm personally OK with how this occurs as I was the one that chose it to happen vs some software randomly doing it. If you have a phone embedded with the Google Android, your phone is contacting Google and sending them various data in the background at all times. For this example I could have turned on my VPN and that would have negated them seeing my actual IP, for this example though I opted to keep it simple and use it as is since I was in a random location. Hope that helps!

[@broodsincorner]

@@sideofburritos Yes that clarifies quite a bit. I've been worried that having any apps with trackers on a de-Googled phone may spoil the phone's privacy completely, but if there are options to allow tracking at only certain times when using certain apps, then that makes things easier. Thanks, this helps me prepare for getting a de-Googled phone myself.

[@Zaptosis]

Also this is done through Aurora & google has access to much less information, also the IP address of a call phone will change with the tower you're connected too. So this isnt a massive privacy risk as google wouldn't have access to the vast majority of information they usually collect as a trusted user on the device.

[@pixlplague]

So I take it you didn't have MicroG at all on this correct?

[@sideofburritos]

You are correct, no microG services were installed.

[@conradjames2745]

Hi Grandma

[@sideofburritos]

👵 Hi!

[@ScriptureFirst]

Haha. He likes burritos… 🤔… hmm. Sounds good. Now I need some burritos & chipotle isn’t open 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@sideofburritos]

Nothing beats a burrito!

[@jimmyg1455]

Still using graphene os?

[@sideofburritos]

At this moment no, only because I'm testing CalyxOS out for a video in 2 weeks. After that I'll be back on GrapheneOS

[@chris08091]

hi grandma

[@Shew0000]

Hi Grandma 😂

[@sideofburritos]

👵

[@Chuck8541]

TAYLOR SWIFTTTT!?!?!?

[@sideofburritos]

She was the perfect fit for the video, I couldn't resist 🤣

[@Chuck8541]

@@sideofburritos fair enough. I have a couple guilty pleasures. lol

[@c.m.7037]

Can anyone advise how you can trust a open source ROM without being able to vet code or know code to make sure it's legit not collecting data /exploiting you? Also, what's up with the GrapheneOS leaders/developers drama? Seems like they are childish/unstable, it's hard for me to put faith in something like that.

[@marc-andreservant201]

Android Auto uses invasive permissions from Google Play Services in order to send display data to your car's infotainment system. You could use a cheap Android head unit or a used phone with a stock ROM for in-car use. You use the Google-infected device only for maps and music, and your actual private data stays on the GrapheneOS device.

[@locklear308]

Just get a gps :D

[@sideofburritos]

The minimalists side of me doesn't want to have to carry another device :D

[@locklear308]

@@sideofburritos Well honestly at this point I've learned than smartphones are basically just poop. Planning on going back to a flip phone and just using a real gps. Better accuracy too! So maybe shrink one item and gain another :D

[@wallofriogrande]

Most of your point with Google maps is kind of irrelevant. You can choose to download offline maps in google maps.

[@IISeverusll]

It's sad to see how addicted you were to the google app ecosystem. Oh woe is me, what ever will I do if I can't switch songs handsfree or navigate with an offline map. LMFAO SAD ASF.

[@sideofburritos]

's/ASF/AF/g'

[@noahhastings6145]

Sorry bud, I like you like a friend. I don't see you as a subscriber.

[@sideofburritos]

Awww, shucks.