Its better to just go through the settings yourself then rely on arkenfox. This just adds a middleman into the process of keeping your settings updated.

Not sure where your getting your information but the Pixel 5 has not gotten Android updates or security updates in over 7 months.

There are tons of examples of exploits being used to target EOL phones as its common for people to not care about these updates, or be misinformed, so they are easy targets.

If OP or anyone else wants to use an EOL phone that’s fine but, don’t pretend its a smart security practice. Although even if I were to use an EOL phone, LineageOS doesn’t have the greatest background and isn’t really degoogled

I am not sure if there is an example of that specific situation as it would be pretty odd for a phone to be receiving security patches but not firmware updates.

Anyway its not super relevant as the Pixel 5 does not receive firmware or security patches anymore.

OP also seems to be inferring he suggested to his friend to use a very specific security / privacy OS that does not recommend using that model phone anymore for the exact reasons I mentioned. Plus the model is only receiving partial support as a stop gap for users to have time to get a newer model and won’t be supported much longer anyway.

Its always better to try and get firsthand knowledge through the FAQ then rely on, possibly inaccurate, Lemmy users. I would also seek answers on their official forum over Lemmy as well.

Did you try reading through the FAQ?

Pixel 5 is end-of-life and shouldn’t be used anymore due to lack of security patches for firmware and drivers.

I understand if your friend is on a budget and simply can’t afford a non EOL phone but, they should really consider a 6th gen Pixel or better if they care at all about their data security.

That’s not how end to end encryption works.

Your scared of a slide to the right but already falling for their propaganda to undermine privacy by destroying encryption.

Do this all the time with video games. Pirate to try before I buy. If I really like the game I buy it in the hopes it creates an incentive to make more games like the ones I like.

There are legitimate versions of windows that are hard to get as a non enterprise consumer. Such as some of the IOT versions that have much longer security support.

Here you go:

“Google makes the most secure phone. Including for securing your phone against Google.”

Its better then explaining you rather risk your data security then buy a phone from Google.

I like grapheneos the product.

The staff is super abrasive and they constantly attack other privacy projects. See the recent attacks on Jonah from privacy guides, or the attacks on calyx, or the bs with rossman that forced micay out of the spotlight.

They need to hire an outside professional to manage their PR. The way they communicate is their biggest flaw.

FYI- Its not a ROM.

EDIT: for the person down voting a fact - https://x.com/GrapheneOS/status/1588599635337445377

The bar for torrenting is super low. If all you want to do is avoid DMCA notices pretty much any VPN will do as long as you bind it to your torrent client.

In terms of Windscribe they have become a much more respectable VPN if you also want some privacy protections and DNS protections but there are better options.

They used to be a bottom dweller VPN selling off lifetime memberships for $30 in the mid 2000s but have really become a strong privacy advocate over the last few years.

Problem for me is a lot of news and journalists are still only on Twitter.

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The app was bought out 9 months ago by some mystery company, isn’t actually open source, and you have not switched or made backups? I’m sorry, this is as much a user error as an issue with Raivo.

Something can be shady and not a honeypot. It’s much more common. Its like people forgot this and now anytime anyone feels something is sus this type of post appears.

Let be honest, If your threat model is truly to escape the NSA you probably shouldn’t be risking being on social media.

I think part of the reason people dismiss the idea that someone could have that big of a threat model is in most cases it would be unbelievably bad opsec to risk talking about your threat model on social media or something like the privacy guides forum.

I really appreciate privacy articles that talk about threat modeling as it seems like its the biggest part of privacy people miss.

I was in middle school and I saw my friend had all the episodes of ATHF (aqua teen hunger force) and I wanted to be able to get free episodes of stuff. Silly but true.

You can therefore blame the mooninites for my piracy.