I know that grapheneos has additional security measures compared to calyx, but does it include a similar app to datura firewall, which controls what apps are allowed network access, and I also like some of calyxos’ other features like including aurora store and the panic button, grapheneos feels very barebones, but I have not used either of them yet, so I don’t think I can make a definitive decision
Honestly: try both! Install them on your phone have fun. They have their pluses and minuses. I think graphene gives you a cleaner more pure experience, and calyx gives you a more curated ready to go experience.
Things I like in calyex that aren’t on graphene: being able to share your hotspot VPN connection. On a graphene phone you share the raw internet even if you have a VPN running.
But I very much appreciate graphene being crystal clean. And I can choose exactly what I want to run. Fairly easily. Full disclosure I’d donate to the graphene project monthly. So I may be biased because that’s where I’ve invested my time and money.
they’re both good. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with either
Theres a network toggle within each app settings to allow/disallow access so a dedicated app isn’t necessary, its really easy to add aurora store and the other third party apps you like, and idk what the panic button does but I’ll look it up. As for it being bare bones, thats kinda on purpose since its all about you being in control of what you want on the phone without compromising security, just customize it how you want. I say give it try, I did and don’t regret it.
Edit: searched what the panic button does and it seems interesting but it does only remove some data but not all of it so it seems kinda pointless to me imo. However people are asking for an improved version so depends on the development team and priorites
I never tried calyx, but graphene is great for me. As to your two comments:
- Graphene has network acess as a standard permission, so you can just deny network access by not giving permission
- Yes, graphene intentionally does not ship with anything but barebones apps so you can install the ones you like. I like this approach a lot more than having bloatware I don’t want pre-installed but it is a matter of preference
If you want more in depth control on google services, CalyxOS supports microg in various combos (https://calyxos.org/docs/guide/microg/#options-for-running-microg-in-calyxos). While it has some limitations compared to the official google services, it also allows better privacy control and is fully open source.