Google removed device trees from Android 16, making it harder for GrapheneOS and others to build private, de-Googled phones. These trees were crucial for adapting Android to real devices—now developers must reverse engineer it all.
GrapheneOS is biting the bullet to make this happen despite this challenge. I donated $5,000 to support their work and encourage you to do the same: grapheneos.org/donate
There are few ways to use a phone privately today—and Google is making it harder. The future of private Android depends on supporting open-source alternatives.
Google removed device trees from Android 16, making it harder for GrapheneOS and others to build private, de-Googled phones. These trees were crucial for adapting Android to real devices—now developers must reverse engineer it all.
GrapheneOS is biting the bullet to make this happen despite this challenge. I donated $5,000 to support their work and encourage you to do the same: grapheneos.org/donate
There are few ways to use a phone privately today—and Google is making it harder. The future of private Android depends on supporting open-source alternatives.
Right now the digital security needs of Russians and Ukrainians are very different, and they lead to very different caveats about how to mitigate the risks associated with using Telegram. For Ukrainians in Ukraine, whose physical safety is at risk because they are in a war zone, digital security is probably not their highest priority. They may value access to news and communication with their loved ones over making sure that all of their communications are encrypted in such a manner that they are indecipherable to Telegram, its employees, or governments with court orders. Under the Sebi Act, the regulator has the power to carry out search and seizure of books, registers, documents including electronics and digital devices from any person associated with the securities market. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had carried out a similar exercise in 2017 in a matter related to circulation of messages through WhatsApp. Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Durov wrote that Telegram was "increasingly becoming a source of unverified information," and he worried about the app being used to "incite ethnic hatred." "This time we received the coordinates of enemy vehicles marked 'V' in Kyiv region," it added.
from ms