zlacker

>>madars+(OP)
Perhaps a newbie question, but since there's a lot of Graphene users here I thought it'd be best to get a human answer.

I have an old Pixel 5 which I stopped using because Google dropped Google Pay (tap to pay) on it. I moved to a new device (Pixel 9) for daily usage but still have the 5 laying around (due to low resale value).

At the time I moved, Pixel 5 was about 1.5 years (November 2023) beyond Android security updates. I still love the form factor (more than the bigger 9 I use now) and it has much more life left in it. I'd quite like to use this as a backup device for basic utility (camera, phone, SMS, basic read-only web use) and to take with me for runs and travelling.

Would installing GrapheneOS on this device likely make it more secure? Do Graphene releases work the same on all devices, or is it sort of device-by-device basis?

>>sjw987+di1
Yes it will make it more secure (and faster!), but it is already receiving only bare EOL updates, but will definitely give it some life extension. See: https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices

>>backsc+Ai1
You won't get the full set of security measures (those require newer Google Tensor chipsets with ARM Memory Tagging Extensions, so Pixel 8 and later), but it's still going to be far more secure than any Android or even iPhone.

Regarding NFC payments, the apps themselves refuse to run on non-vanilla OSes due to spurious security concerns and Google's maneuvers behind the scenes, but there are reports that Curve Pay works, at least in the UK.

>>fmajid+Si1
That shouldn't be much of an issue. I didn't plan on NFC payments going forward. If I use the web minimally and toggle the internet off when not in use, that should be pretty secure, right?

>>sjw987+uj1
Yes, Vanadium (or any browser based on the system WebView) is going ot be up to date and as secure as it gets on a mobile OS.

I only mentioned NFC because you mentioned Google Pay.