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Is it worth sacrificing convenience for privacy?
Murena is a French company dedicated to "de-googling" Android smartphones for the sake of privacy. For five years, the company has been doing this as a non-profit foundation, but in recent years it has also opened a commercial division that sells devices running on an alternative OS without tracking.
The company uses the open mobile OS "/e / OS " on a variety of new or refurbished smartphones, including devices from the ethical manufacturer Fairphone. Murena can even sell you a "de-googled" Pixel from Google, which will also be stripped of the usual Google services.
Instead of the usual Google services with tracking, the user will find a set of their own Open Source Murena applications-a browser, applications for messages, cameras, contacts, etc. Maps are an exception, there is a third-party "Magic Earth" application pre-installed.
The main promise of /e / OS is no data transfer to Google or other third parties by default. The user can be sure that the system itself is blocked from surveillance.
However, even smartphones running on /e / OS can't completely give up communication with Google. The problem of popular third-party applications makes a complete rejection of the services of the corporation of good a commercial suicide. Therefore, a compromise occurs when the OS asks users to log in to their Google account. This is a workaround for accessing paid Google Play apps.
The app store in /e / OS is not Google Play, but an alternative from Murena called App Lounge. It offers Open Source applications and progressive web applications. However, access to paid apps requires logging in to a Google account and having Google Play on a separate Android device to make a purchase through this account before uploading to Murena.
Thus, the dream of fully "de-googling" Android turns into a series of compromises.
/e / OS has useful privacy tools, such as app privacy rating, tracker blocker, ability to change geolocation and hide IP address. But some performance and usability issues are unavoidable with them.
Overall, /e / OS provides a conventional and utilitarian smartphone experience. It cannot be called truly private because of the need for compromises. But for a certain audience concerned about privacy, it can be an interesting alternative to the mainstream.
Murena tries to facilitate the transition from ubiquitous services such as Gmail by offering a variety of tools for transferring user data. The company has also developed its own cloud services to replace Google Docs, Calendar, and other popular products.
Despite all the efforts, /e / OS is still a "gray" solution from the point of view of Google's policy. Using a workaround to access apps from Google Play may result in your account being blocked, although Murena claims otherwise.
Competing with the Google and Apple ecosystems is difficult. The main advantage of /e / OS remains its focus on confidentiality and open source code. But this is not enough to attract a mass user who is used to more advanced functionality and ecosystem services.
Therefore, it is too early to say how promising the idea of a "de-googled" Android from a little-known European company is. Only time will tell how big the demand for such alternative solutions is in the mobile device world dominated by Google and Apple.
Would you like a similar "de-googled" smartphone? Or are you not concerned about potential corporate surveillance?
Murena is a French company dedicated to "de-googling" Android smartphones for the sake of privacy. For five years, the company has been doing this as a non-profit foundation, but in recent years it has also opened a commercial division that sells devices running on an alternative OS without tracking.
The company uses the open mobile OS "/e / OS " on a variety of new or refurbished smartphones, including devices from the ethical manufacturer Fairphone. Murena can even sell you a "de-googled" Pixel from Google, which will also be stripped of the usual Google services.
Instead of the usual Google services with tracking, the user will find a set of their own Open Source Murena applications-a browser, applications for messages, cameras, contacts, etc. Maps are an exception, there is a third-party "Magic Earth" application pre-installed.
The main promise of /e / OS is no data transfer to Google or other third parties by default. The user can be sure that the system itself is blocked from surveillance.
However, even smartphones running on /e / OS can't completely give up communication with Google. The problem of popular third-party applications makes a complete rejection of the services of the corporation of good a commercial suicide. Therefore, a compromise occurs when the OS asks users to log in to their Google account. This is a workaround for accessing paid Google Play apps.
The app store in /e / OS is not Google Play, but an alternative from Murena called App Lounge. It offers Open Source applications and progressive web applications. However, access to paid apps requires logging in to a Google account and having Google Play on a separate Android device to make a purchase through this account before uploading to Murena.
Thus, the dream of fully "de-googling" Android turns into a series of compromises.
/e / OS has useful privacy tools, such as app privacy rating, tracker blocker, ability to change geolocation and hide IP address. But some performance and usability issues are unavoidable with them.
Overall, /e / OS provides a conventional and utilitarian smartphone experience. It cannot be called truly private because of the need for compromises. But for a certain audience concerned about privacy, it can be an interesting alternative to the mainstream.
Murena tries to facilitate the transition from ubiquitous services such as Gmail by offering a variety of tools for transferring user data. The company has also developed its own cloud services to replace Google Docs, Calendar, and other popular products.
Despite all the efforts, /e / OS is still a "gray" solution from the point of view of Google's policy. Using a workaround to access apps from Google Play may result in your account being blocked, although Murena claims otherwise.
Competing with the Google and Apple ecosystems is difficult. The main advantage of /e / OS remains its focus on confidentiality and open source code. But this is not enough to attract a mass user who is used to more advanced functionality and ecosystem services.
Therefore, it is too early to say how promising the idea of a "de-googled" Android from a little-known European company is. Only time will tell how big the demand for such alternative solutions is in the mobile device world dominated by Google and Apple.
Would you like a similar "de-googled" smartphone? Or are you not concerned about potential corporate surveillance?
