How insecure are Android phones once they stop getting security updates?

https://lemmy.one/post/1400191

How insecure are Android phones once they stop getting security updates? - Lemmy.one

Is it still safe to use as long as apps continue to be updated and is supported by the play store? How long would you say someone could safely use an Android phone that no longer gets security updates for?

I’m really stubborn about updating my devices and it’ll perhaps bite me in the ass one day but so far it haven’t. My phone has been trying to force the Android 13 update on me for 6 months now and my laptop I’m not going to update any further from MacOS Catalina.
Not updating desktop OS seems pretty crazy to me. Is the reason because it might break some applications you use?

It will break some applications and I don’t like the UI on the new MacOS.

I’ve always used old devices that you often even can’t get updates for so this has always been the norm for me. I know it’s not the smartest thing to do but my great luck has brought me this far so lets see how long it’ll last.

Sounds like Linux might be way. Last OS that a lot of my devices ended up getting have been Linux with how well they run once the majors OS start upping the system requirements.
My next laptop is probably going to be the Framework one so Linux definitely is an option. I’m interested in it but seems a bit tricky to deal with so we’ll see.