alt Hacker NewsThis is only my opinion, but GrapheneOS's approach to privacy seems obtuse to me. They will claim that an unlocked bootloader is a risk, but then turn around and recommend you install proprietary apps GApps in their sandbox. The sandbox doesn't matter if all the private data is in the same sandbox!
Reminds me of https://xkcd.com/1200/
Replies
gf000 • today at 2:39 PM
They recommend you install google play services if you need it. Privacy is in no small part a user-decision - no matter how secure your device is if you just scroll Facebook all day.
Feels like you don't know what "the sandbox" is. It's not "their" sandbox, it's from AOSP.
When you run an app on Android, it runs in a sandbox. Meaning that your social media app cannot access the files of your banking app by default. They are "sandboxed".
On a normal Android, the Play Services are installed as a system app. It is privileged app that has "system" access. A system app is not sandboxed.
GrapheneOS allows you to install the Play Services and the Play Store as "sandboxed" apps in that they run unprivileged, just like WhatsApp or TikTok or your banking app.
So running the proprietary Google apps in the sandbox is obviously more private than running them as system apps, wouldn't you say?