Rebel Tech AllianceMobile OS alternatives
Alternatives to: Android, iOS
Google and Apple hoover out a massive amount of metadata from your phone 24/7. Stop feeding into their surveillance business model by switching to a 'De-Googled' Android phone. These are secure and completely private.
Your easiest option is to buy a phone directly from one of the organisations below, with their software preinstalled. However, you can 'flash' these custom OS onto your old phones too. We've made a list of phones that are easy to install (phones not on this list are possible but the process is pretty knarly) further down this page.
| App name | Open Source | Structure; Business model | Features | Country of origin | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrapheneOS | Yes | Free Open Source | Excellent security; Only works with Google Pixel phones | Canada | GrapheneOS.org |
| e/OS/ | Yes | Nonprofit; Free with paid hardware or flash to your device yourself for free | Available on various brand devices; Based on LineageOS; Parent company Murena has an integrated docs Workspace with email | France | E Foundation |
| iode | Yes | Non-profit; Free with paid hardware or flash to your device yourself for free; Premium tier | Privacy mobile phone OS to replace Android; Based on LineageOS | France | iode.tech |
| Lineage | Yes | Nonprofit; Free open source product | Privacy mobile phone OS to replace Android | USA | Lineage.org |
| Jolla | No | Private company; Paid products | Bundles their Sailfish OS with hardware so no need for install; Based on Linux/Android; Company born out of Nokia | Finland | Jolla.com |
| CalyxOS | Yes | Non-profit; Subscription | Bundled with hardware so no need for install; [currently not being maintained] | USA | CalyxOS.org |
| Phosh | Yes | Nonprofit; Free open source product | Linux-based mobile phone OS to replace Android | Germany | Phosh.mobi |
| PureOS | Yes | Private Company; Paid product | Bundled with hardware (Liberty Phone) so no need for install | USA | Puri.sm |
RTA's choice
One of us is using GrapheneOS and the other is using e/OS/.
The Easy list
Here is the list of all the phone models that work with an easy online installer. Your best option is to download our spreadsheet (from here) because you can keep a copy and filter the list, but for quick reference here's a screen grab of it:
If your phone is not on the easy list, it still might be supported, it's just that you'll have to manually flash it. Each OS website, from the links in the table above, will show if your phone is listed, and the instructions for flashing it. If you cannot find your phone on any of the first three OS sites, then it's quite likely that LineageOS will support it. LineageOS installs are all the hard way, however; there is no easy installer.