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Review: GrapheneOS 2025
Quoting: DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD. —
I think it's fair to say I had quite a mixture of experiences and impressions from using GrapheneOS. As I just mentioned, the documentation is quite good and the project has clear goals which it executes well. People looking for a hardened version of Android with no proprietary apps or extra bloat would be well served by GrapheneOS. I also want to say the install method through the web browser is top notch. Not only is the install process well documented, but the website makes installing GrapheneOS a four-click process (once the phone is in developer mode).
The power and ease of the installer was especially key for me. I'm no stranger to flashing custom operating systems onto phones. It's been about a dozen years since I last ran a phone with its default operating system and I've had the chance to run a wide range of mobile systems, ranging from Manjaro, to UBports, postmarketOS, Murena's /e/OS, and iodeOS. The install processes vary a lot and I've grown accustomed to several. I mention this because, after I tried GrapheneOS, I tried to install a few other open source operating systems on my Pixel.
Murena's Easy Installer documentation was missing, apparently removed from its website. When I found the Easy Installer (which is also web-based) it reported my device wasn't supported (though my Pixel 6a was featured in the list of devices /e/OS supports). I then tried the manual install instructions for Murena and it rendered the phone unable to boot. Then I tried downloading iodeOS's desktop installer. It recognized my phone and downloaded the appropriate image, but choked (both times I ran the installer) during the flash and reboot phase. In the end, I went back to GrapheneOS's website and ran its web installer again, which worked perfectly.
My point is that, while GrapheneOS provides a very minimal, very locked down, and (at times) annoyingly nag-filled experience early on, it was the only system of these three Android-based operating systems to successfully install and run. I think that is worth a lot.
I will also say that while Graphene's highly minimal, locked down approach is not ideal for me (and probably not ideal for a lot of people who want to use their phones for typical smartphone tasks), it is well suited for people who want a small feature set and strict permissions. GrapheneOS gets in the way (both of the user and potential bad actors), it keeps things minimal, it encourages a "correct" approach over a feature-filled approach (again, like OpenBSD). This platform is some extra work to setup, much like Arch Linux or Slackware, but it means we end up with just what we want on the system with no extras and no bloat.
This isn't a platform for the non-techies in your life, it's not for someone who wants to run a lot of apps. But it is well suited for people who want to start small and add extra software or features as-needed. I, for one, plan to keep running GrapheneOS for a while. I was tempted to try a few other platforms, but now that I've settled into the flow of this OS (now that everything is configured the way I want it), I'm reluctant to give it up. Plus, GrapheneOS offers five-to-seven years of support, giving me another two and a half years of updates on this device. That's pretty good for an open source, mobile platform.