Thanks @paulakreuzer, post edited!
Thanks a lot, @lklaus, for this app. It’s a little cryptic, but the Play Store is out-of-bounds on my FP2 (and the Exodus app, which is available on F-Droid, only checks for Play Store apps, of which there are none on my FM2). But if one focusses on the interesting information, it gives a list of trackers for any app, in a minute. Very informative.
I was disappointed (or, you might say, previously naive) to see various Google analytics in many of my apps, plus a few names I’ve not heard yet. Interesting.
What do you mean by “mails to Privacy officers” - did you ask why they were using the trackers and what they are doing with your collected data?
Danke & Grüße von
nobi
2 Likes
Hey, I’m amazed how this strategy is a non-topic everwhere. You are so right; the threat to privacy and free speech are so obvious; the solution is so simple* – and yet, nobody talks of it.
Thanks for making this point!
* Simple in technical terms - create a foundation, organize a hackathon, get it out. I figure there will be many developers in Europe who are willing to spend some (paid) time on such a project. It will be NOT simple in business terms - get users back from FAAMG (new acronym I just learned 
Danke & Grüße von
nobi
3 Likes
Good idea.
But there will have to be provisions to prevent that this foundation is used by the police or secret service; because (I would bet on it) they for sure would like to get as much information as possible (same like FAAMG now).
1 Like
Yes, I mailed the “Datenschutzbeauftragten” whether he was aware of some of the more intrusive trackers that used adid and a unique id from installation. They either went investigating and said they are removing this or showed some (very) hidden option to disable it.
In the end, i also put those hosts in my adaway personal black list to just silence them… Guess it’s time to verify everything is still ok…
2 Likes
In the “General Fairphone 3 discussion”-thread I found this:
I wonder if this is possibly a replacement for FP Open OS? Another method for the same goal: no separate OS, but simply remove the Google stuff from the default OS?
1 Like
The Android Open Source Project can be found here:
At least me, I will depend on someone making it a simple update.
Implementing something myself? No way!
Sorry, at least not enough time; even if I should be able to grasp what is necessary; something I would not place a bet on. 
2 Likes
AOSP is the basis for every Android, including FP OS. The wording there is confusing, it probably means something very similar to the existing FP Open OS.
And yes, removing Google stuff (& installing some apps replacing lost functionality) is basically how FP Open OS is made.
6 Likes
Thank you for all the informative posts in this thread.
From all I read the best solution for an Open Source OS for the Fairphone 3 would be /e/OS.
The main reasons being :
- It de-googles the OS more deeply than Fairphone Open did
- It can be used out of box because it contains the necessary replacement apps (mainly an alternative app store, an alternate search engine and a sync app linked to a sync server). Fairphone Open did not.
I really wish that the Fairphone team will cooperate with the e.foundation to make this possible and official (including the automated updates of the OS).
If this succeed then it will be possible to offer the option to buy pre-installed Fairphones with this OS, as an official alternative to the Google Android.
Offering this option is in my opinion the key to the success of the Open Source OS on the Fairphone.
3 Likes
Agreed, /e/ seems to be the best option today to deliver a fully working de-Googled, Android-based OS, with a big enough brand name to support a wide customer base. Unfortuantely the timing is not quite right, FP3 is coming soon but eOS is still in its beta phase and is simply not mature enough (yet) specially for a EUR450 phone.
However they are currently looking to partner with hardware manufacturers to start production to sell their own phones with eOS preinstalled… right now they are selling refurbished phones which I think it’s great since that is great for the environment as well. Does anybody know of any licensing issues that would make this partnership not possible?
If I had to choose between these two for a new phone today, I would go with a refurbished /e/ phone as it’s still great for the environment but also software ecosystem. Although to be fair I haven’t really looked into FairOS and I don’t know how ‘free’ it really is.
2 Likes
FP has to pay a licensing fee for unlocked bootloaders, but that would also apply to other open OSes.
4 Likes
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but:
- /e/ is not fully de-Googled: E.g. it uses microg, which accesses the Google services. So if you really want to be livingwogoogle Lineage OS without microg is better suited.
- /e/ is in beta stage. Version 1.0. has yet to be released.
- The userbase is definitely smaller than Lineage OS
8 Likes
They already use it for OSINT. Even recruiters use it these days (illegally, but OK).
If it is private information, a government can request it. Google publishes in its transparency report how often a country requests such information. Other companies, I don’t know. This is why you should not host your private data without E2EE (ie. only you have the unlock key).
A government could do the same with such a foundation. Due to GDPR, you can ask companies what information they got on you, too.
1 Like
I know microG will remain pre-installed after v1.0. but this may change in the future, and still it seems that it can be disabled as per user needs easily (as per their community forums).
LineageOS is definitely more popular, but runs on volunteer effort which means support for any given device may stop overnight and without prior notice. This happened to me twice already.
This is just my opinion, but if /e/ can prove they are up to the task, as a company I would put my trust (and money) in them rather than a project like LineageOS. Specially if they can focus on maintaining fewer devices if they find a hardware manufacturer like Fairphone 
I really hope this happens!
2 Likes
That is true, but for now /e/ is completely dependent on Lineage OS, so if Lineage stops support so will /e/, right?
I think the opposite is the plan.
Well maybe but if LineageOS drops support for a given device /e/ could still maintain it, but I suspect that using their codebase is a way to get things up and running quickly. In any case, I’ve been doing some reading about Open OS and it sounds like is already Google-free, isn’t that what /e/ is trying to achieve? Does OS work only with Fairphone or is it portable to other devices as well?
1 Like
If LineageOS drops a device (as they do very often, especially when they decide to move to a new Android version!) then /e/ will usually continue to maintain it. For example, LineageOS moved on from Nougat, to Oreo and then Pie; /e/'s main base is Oreo and they are prototyping Pie, and all the Nougat devices are still maintained as well. This because they don’t see the Android version as critical to providing /e/ OS (which I agree with). Ultimately they say they will move away from being based on LineageOS and this is certainly true now for Nougat-based devices as they are not maintained by LineageOS anymore AFAIK. Whether or not they will support new devices which LineageOS doesn’t support is another question which we have yet to find the answer to.
However, /e/ is not very clear about which devices are officially supported and which are community supported. The vast majority are community supported but are built on /e/ infrastructure and updates deployed to phones automatically, so from an end user perspective there is no difference.
5 Likes
Any ETA of lineage OS support?
I estimate it will be ready in two weeks time.
I will be wrong, of course, because there will not be any ETA.
4 Likes
Very useful reply
1 Like