Graphene is just taking control of my phone from Google and giving it to whoever runs Graphene. I don't get any say in how my phone works.
Graphene thinks you can't be trusted with your own device. But don't worry, they definitely know what's best for you and it's a totally different kind of control from what Google has. Really, just trust them, it's totally fine, promise.
I switched to Lineage after a few months.
What specific ways do you feel are "more locked down" than stock? It's not recommended, but you can install magisk + root if you really wanted to. It won't try to prevent you.
>Graphene is just taking control of my phone from Google and giving it to whoever runs Graphene. I don't get any say in how my phone works.
That's fine. The homepage of grapheneos says:
"The private and secure mobile operating system with Android app compatibility"
Surely you must understand that "security" and "giving users a say in how their phone works" are diametrically opposed? A phone can't be secure if its sandbox can be bypassed in one tap by the user. You might have a lot of say in how your linux system works, but don't kid yourself into thinking it's secure. It's only one `bash -c "$(curl -fsSL http://...` from getting pwned.
Try putting that sentence prominently on the front page of the GrapheneOS website and watch the monthly download count rapidly drop. It would not be out of place for an Apple press release, but it would be out of place there.
I think the Graphene people sometimes forget that the vast majority of their users are nerds who aren't being targeted by APTs, don't want to be locked out of their own device, and really just want a trustworthy Google-free OS on their phone. They also probably use Linux on their computers and yet haven't been hacked by "fake sudo" or "evil maid" attacks and likely never will be.
> It's not recommended, but you can install magisk + root if you really wanted to.
Apps will then either detect that you're rooted, or use AOSP attestation APIs to cryptographically verify that you aren't using a known-good custom ROM, and block your access to basic features of modern society such as mobile banking. This isn't Graphene's fault, but it should be noted that you will start losing out on things as soon as you start customizing or rooting the OS. So it does matter what upstream does to some extent.
FWIW I don't agree with the OP, just replying to your comment in particular.