If you value privacy and you use a smartphone, you have a problem. Both Apple and Google are constantly collecting data about you. For example, a study from Vanderbilt University showed that Android sends data to Google even though your phone is idle with Chrome running in the background at a speed of 340 times a day.
Murena and Mandrake Linux founder Gael Duval was tired of it in 2017. He wanted his data to be his data and he wanted open source software. Nearly five years later, Duval and his co-developers launched the Murena One X2. It is the first advanced Android phone using the open source / e / OS Android fork to hit the market.
The privacy heart of Murena One is / e / OS V1. There have been many attempts to create an alternative to Google-based Android and Apple’s iOS – Ubuntu One, FirefoxOS and Windows Mobile – but all have failed. Duval’s approach is not to reinvent the wheel of the mobile operating system, but to clean up Android for its squeaky Google privacy invading features and replace them with those that respect privacy.
To make this happen, Duval started with LineageOS – an Android-based operating system derived from the failed CyanogenMod Android fork.
It also mixes features from Android Open Source Project (AOSP) source code trees.
In / e / OS, most (but not all) Google services have been removed and replaced with MicroG services. MicroG replaces Google’s libraries with pure open source implementations without hook to Google services. This includes libraries and apps that provide Google Play, Maps, Geolocation, and Messaging services for Android applications.
In addition, / e / OS does its best to free you from higher-level Google services. For example, Google’s default search engine has been replaced by Murena’s own meta search engine. Other Internet-based services, such as Domain Name Server (DNS) and Network Time Protocol (NTP), use non-Google servers.
Above the operating system you will find Google-free applications. This includes a web browser; an email client; a messaging app; a calendar; a contact manager; and a map app that relies on Mozilla Location Service and OpenStreetMap. Although not here yet, Murena is also working on its own bid for Google Assistant, Elivia-AI.
You can also run many, but not all, Android apps. You can find these apps in the operating system’s App Lounge. The / e / app installer relies on a third-party application repository called cleanapk.org. Some progressive web apps (PWA) are also available through the / e / application installer.
With its focus on privacy, the app store also gives apps a privacy rating. It tells you about the app’s privacy settings and what information the app shares. It’s up to you to decide if an app’s utility is worth compromising on privacy. But with this information, Duval told me, “You can make an informed decision.”
There’s still one big issue: the App Lounge is still dependent on you signing in with your Google Account. In short, the App Lounge is essentially a gateway to Google Store apps. Munera assures me that the Lounge anonymizes your data – except if you use apps that require payment. Still, this is annoying for people who want to cut all their ties to Google.
The basic problem is this: Muena is doing everything it can to separate its operating system and applications from Google, but it can – yet – not replace Google’s e-commerce and software store system.
However, you can only download applications without a Google connection, but there are not many of them. If you take this path, you probably will not be able to use many of the apps you currently use every day.
By itself, / e / OS does not capture any user logs, app usage or track the user’s location. And / e / OS does its best to protect your accounts from Google’s snoopy ways.
For example, most apps rely on cloud backends for their services. So Muena replaced Google Cloud services with Murena Cloud instead. There you will find storage space, email and even an online office suite, powered by open source OnlyOffice. And unlike its corporate rivals, Murena promises that their cloud services (like its phone and operating system) put privacy first.
Murena Cloud comes with 1 GB of free storage; it also offers cheap storage plans starting at 20 euros a year for 20 GB of storage space.
If all you do is look at the hardware features, the Murena One is a good, but not unique, 4G LTE smartphone. It is powered by an eight-core MediaTek processor supported by 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. If you need more storage space, you can always add an SD card. It comes with a 6.5 inch screen.
The cameras are fine. On the screen side, you get a 25-megapixel camera for selfies. On the back are three cameras with 5, 8 and 48 megapixel resolutions.
The phone also has a dual SIM slot so you can enjoy two phone lines with a single phone. As someone who returns to make a lot of international business trips, this is a very convenient feature. Murena One is compatible with European carriers and most US and Canadian carriers.
Murena One launches in June in the US, Canada, Europe, the UK and Switzerland at a price of $ 369.
If you want an alternative phone, Murena works with Fairphone, the social enterprise that designs sustainable phones. Gigaset, Teracube and other phone refurbishers also offer a range of Murena smartphones with / e / OS, with medium to high-end specifications for all budgets.
You can also possibly download and install / e / if you have one of these 240 different smartphone models. This includes phones from Google, HTC, Motorola, OnePlus, Samsung and Xiaomi. It is not available from any phone OEM or operator at present. The operating system is free.