Privacy

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Help me to not revert back to iPhone after GrapheneOS Issues (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 months ago by brownmustardminion@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I recently acquired a pixel phone and set up gos. Prior to trying gos I was using an iPhone hardened as much as possible based off of recommendations and guides from respected OSINT experts.

It’s only been a week but I’ve found gos extremely frustrating and mostly useless except for web browsing.

I can’t seem to get my Yubikey to work so my 2FA is borked. Works fine on my iPhone.

I’ve previously managed to degoogle my life but now certain apps require me to use sandboxed google apps just to run.

I’m facing the nearly insurmountable task of convincing my friends, family, and colleagues to download and use signal when they are all using encrypted iMessage.

Most of my banking apps just simply do not work. Mobile banking is unfortunately something important that I need in my occupation. A part of the appeal of gos was being able to have an isolated dedicated profile for banking.

There’s also a few features that I’m assuming are iPhone exclusive that it really sucks to have without. Double tapping the bottom of the screen to shift everything down so you can reach the top of the screen with your finger when using one hand. Holding down on the space bar to move the text cursor between characters. Maybe these exist on gos though?

I understand most of the issues lay on the shoulders of the app developers. I’m grateful for the devs for creating and working on this project. I’m not bashing anyone here. I’m simply asking for some guidance on how I can break through the hurdles and make this work for me, from the mouth of those who were once in my position.

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[–] thayer@lemmy.ca 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

You'll need to provide specifics if you want solutions to many of these issues.

What exactly isn't working with your Yubikey?
Which bank apps? Did you check the compatibility list maintained by GOS?
Which apps aren't working without Google Play?

For the keyboard, there are several FOSS keyboards which support spacebar navigation, but you can also install Gboard and simply disallow any permissions, including network access.

Regarding Signal, this would be a reality for anyone with a non-Apple device. You may need to find a compromise and simply use SMS, RCS, or even just email when dealing with certain people.

There will always be one-off features available only on other devices or platforms. Only you can decide whether they are worth the cost of security and privacy.

[–] brownmustardminion@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

When I initiate Yubikey auth via NFC in Bitwarden, it takes me to a Yubikey demo page. From what I’m reading online, for some reason I need to install google play for the key to work correctly.

Also seeing lots of chatter on the forums that a recent gos update broke most banking apps and they’re working on a fix.

Thank you for the info about the keyboard. I’ll check that one out.

[–] ninjaturtle 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

From my experience, you have to use google services for the 2fa to work on Yubikey. You can work around this by using a TOTP and storing it on the key. There is a Yubikey app that can read the tokens that doesn't require google services. Another approach is make a separate profile that has a google account active on it and just keep those apps there to use the Yubikey on.

Some banking apps require extra work in their settings permissions to get them to work. Try turning off some of the extra security measures for app in the app permissions settings. See if that can get them to work.

Messaging is going to be broken unless both parties use an internet based messenger, like signal or iMessage. SMS is very restrictive. RCS may help fix this when it launched to iOS but it seems to break on graphene. Probably the same reason banking apps break.