Mastodawn

richarddebruin Jul 5, 2025

@sandradejong leuk project, maar je had eigenlijk voor #grpaheneos moeten kiezen. En dus een Pixel toestel via Marktplaats moet kopen. iOS waar je nu op zit is veiliger dan /e/OS. Waarom? Zie hier: https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

Comparison of Android-based Operating Systems

ThePfromtheO Jul 6, 2025

@richarddebruin @sandradejong
#GrapheneOS is safer, but it's also less #userFriendly than #eOS, AFAIK. Plus #eOS looks a little more like #iOS.

Gurleen K Jul 8, 2025

@ThePfromtheO @richarddebruin @sandradejong GrapheneOS is very user-friendly. If you need to turn on Google Play Services, it is easily done by just pressing the install button on the built-in app store provided by Graphene.

@gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong
OK, but why did people say it's not, then?

@ThePfromtheO @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong Groups who feel threatened by GrapheneOS misinform people about it to justify why people should use an OS unable to keep up with basic privacy/security patches, not providing driver/firmware security patches and not keep basic parts of the privacy/security model intact. The vast majority of tech media sites publish poorly researched and AI generated articles. They're not trying GrapheneOS but rather describing it based on what others say.

@GrapheneOS @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong
“They're not trying GrapheneOS but rather describing it based on what others say.”

I understand this, but #GrapheneOS's homepage is also a factor that influences their opinions, as I said here:
https://social.vivaldi.net/@ThePfromtheO/114823736413376203

Also this: https://mastodon.nl/@sandradejong/114823623342107933

ThePfromtheO (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] What I don't understand is that considering the amount of popularity and sponsorship #GrapheneOS is getting, why didn't it put a little effort into making its website more welcoming? Especially for visitors, who might be potential new users and finally supporters.

Vivaldi Social

@ThePfromtheO @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong We plan to include videos and more images on our website but the project is focused on substance, not marketing. It has the same aesthetics as Android 16 within the OS. We keep the default system color scheme, background, etc. very minimal. Our default background is a pure black background instead of an advertisement for GrapheneOS. Boot animation is minimal. We put our effort into privacy, security, compatibility, usability and robustness.

@GrapheneOS @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong
“ the project is focused on substance, not marketing”
It is, but IMO it shouldn't be so in a such high degree that it won't even include a few screenshots of the interface. When I went to the homepage (and this was certainly before hearing any comment on its user-friendliness etc.!) I considered it was either too technical, or too much focused on security and privacy to be interested in its appeal to visitors.

@ThePfromtheO @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong Our focus on user friendliness is currently overhauling the appearance and functionality of the legacy AOSP apps or replacing them with forks of better apps. This takes us much more time than others because of our standards for robustness, privacy and security. We care about doing things correctly.

Since the OS is just meant to look like standard Android 16 with a very minimal base install, we only want screenshots/videos to show our features.

@GrapheneOS @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong
I only speak about a few screenshots featuring the operating system. #eOS doesn't have many either, just two with the home screen, a few featuring the messages, calendar, and maps apps (one photo for each), and a few with the app store and the settings app. The rest is not needed.

@ThePfromtheO @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong GrapheneOS user interface is the unmodified Android 16 UI beyond configuring it similarly to the stock Pixel OS and other devices such as enabling rounded icons, rounded corners, etc. Our default homescreen is simply a black background. Our system app icons just use black on white. It's a very minimal base install. Third party apps and services are left up to users. We aren't trying to provide a fancy default homescreen, etc.

@ThePfromtheO @gkcan @richarddebruin @sandradejong We plan to add videos to show using features like Contact Scopes, Storage Scopes, etc. as part of our usage guide. We could make a form of combined video for the home page showing various GrapheneOS features, but as we said it's very hard to keep that up-to-date and make changes to it. It would need to be many small clips edited together and regularly redone as things change. Our focus is improving the OS rather than that kind of marketing.

Sandra de Jong ⁂

@GrapheneOS
I am very interested in GrapeneOS but when I looked at the website, I really got scared becaues of all the text and no step-by-step "Come here, don't be scared, I've got you"

Maybe GrapheneOS also is not for me and only for people who are very tech. But if I am a person who could be very happy with your OS and community, then it would help a LOT if it would feel more welcoming.

@ThePfromtheO

@sandradejong @ThePfromtheO

> Maybe GrapheneOS also is not for me and only for people who are very tech. But if I am a person who could be very happy with your OS and community, then it would help a LOT if it would feel more welcoming.

GrapheneOS is not harder to use or less accessible. It has an easy web installer, broader app compatibility, better stability and the feature set of Android 16 rather than 14. We've become more focused on polishing the out-of-the-box experience recently.

@sandradejong @ThePfromtheO Our website is the way it is because our focus is improving the operating system for our existing users. We do plan to improve it, but we care about the information on the site being accurate and the content having substance. There will be screenshots and videos showing off the features, which we'll commit to keeping properly updated.

People often find out about GrapheneOS through content where there are images, videos, etc. of someone's specific setup.

@sandradejong @ThePfromtheO GrapheneOS is a non-profit organization and not one tied to a company. It's entirely funded via donations, which mainly come from our userbase. This provides us with a substantial amount of sustainable funding without strings attached.

Murena is a for-profit company, heavily focused on selling devices which are actually much less private and especially far less secure than an iPhone. Their funding is via product sales and also large government grants for /e/OS.

@sandradejong @ThePfromtheO Our funding mainly comes from making our existing userbase happy by providing more of what they want. What they want is for us to focus on continuing to improve privacy, security, compatibility and usability in the OS. We currently see improving the out-of-the-box experience as more important than the website, including by replacing or overhauling the remaining AOSP apps without bundling third party apps and services not aligned with our goals/approach.