Why should I trust any other OS over google?

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Hoping to get my hands on a FP5 soon without spyware/tracking/bloatware etc.

How can I trust any of the other OS?

Also it is possible/practical to install a linux distribution alone and use phone apps or dual boot linux and android?

What are my options?

Thanks in advance.

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If you donā€™t you can have a look at the source code and build them yourself. Most are open source.

Donā€™t think itā€™s possible. Regarding Linux you might at least hope for a sailfish port. Thatā€™s afaik the closest one.

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for the fairphone 5 currently Iā€™m only aware of /e/ OS. DivestOS and CalyxOS are in development but itā€™ll take a while.

I donā€™t think there is a ā€œpureā€ linux distribution in development for the FP5. The FP4 has a somewhat working port of ubports (ubuntu touch) and sailfish OS.

The other OSes are open source. There is an ongoing german blog of a security professional who tests custom roms for privacy and security: kuketz blog custom roms. Check that if you want to know more about the details and differences, although some entries are old might already be adressed. There is also a post in this very forum reagarding alternativ OSes, I suggest checking that too:

OSes for fairphones

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From my understanding, a ā€œreal linuxā€ would be postmarketOS - Wikipedia

Looking at the pages for FP4 and FP5 you wonā€™t be able to use all features/sensors, though
https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Fairphone_5_(fairphone-fp5)
https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Fairphone_4_(fairphone-fp4)

Edit: and thereā€™s just no dual-boot with smartphones

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Volla Phone 22: Multi-Boot-Smartphone with Volla OS, Ubuntu und Manjaro.
Old Googles Nexus could Multiboot with MultiROM Manager

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You shouldnā€™t without research, and some are worse than others.
See:

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There are a number of what sound like fairly well-trusted third-party platforms available, in case thatā€™s the main focus of the original question. I hear e/os mentioned plenty here, for sure.

My last experience with Android was on an ancient Samsung, and at that point I didnā€™t notice that Google was absolutely pervasive through the whole thing. I was disappointed on this new phone to discover that I had to log in or create a Google account before I could even see the desktop.

Having said that, Google at least pretends to offer the choice of ā€˜opting outā€™ of some things. Itā€™s not clear how much they actually honor that, but I havenā€™t seen any evidence that they donā€™t.
Personally, Iā€™m going to stick with the very stable stock OS for at least a number of years. I run a Linux desktop, and would love to jump all the way in with my phone, too, but it seems foolish to do that on a brand new device. I am much more comfortable with regular computer config stuff, and the fact that I could end up with a very expensive paperweight seems like reason enough to be patient.

But thatā€™s just me.

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I donā€™t have a Fairphone 5 to check, but you should be able to skip this part in the initial setup.

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I use it without a Google Account, so yes you can skip it

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Youā€™re right, yes. I guess I meant that it was asking for that at such an early point, along with a warning about not having access to some things without it.
I would like to go the full open-source route, but it feels like itā€™s smarter to wait. I did already have the account to link as well.

Thanks for clarifying on my behalf.