On 24 Jul 2017, at 4:03 AM, Joseph Lira saitdude@hotmail.com wrote:

Hello

So I read in one of your updates about the raspberry zero phone, it sound really cool and for some time i wanted to get a smartphone but i see that they all have sort shelf lives meaning you buy the lastest samsung and it will get maybe updates for 2 years which at that point its viewed as obsolete, not to mention all the lock downs from the vendor/manufacture. I have looked at copperhead os but they still have the issue with shelf life 3 years tops, so im wondering what phone do you guys use? I just want a phone that let me listen to my music, use the gps without any ties, control the camera, some apps, that i can keep updating and patching until its truelly obsolete and all will still respecting my privacy, does such a phone exist?

Hi Joseph,

to my knowledge, your best option might be to purchase a second-hand Samsung Galaxy II, III, or Note 2 and install Replicant OS (http://www.replicant.us/) on it.

Unfortunately, that won’t completely cover your requirements, as GPS won’t be available unless you use non-libre software.

Also, if you want to use WiFi then you will need to use an external USB adaptor such as:

https://tehnoetic.com/tehnoetic-wireless-adapter-gnu-linux-libre-tet-n150 https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-usb-adapter-gnu-li...

Protection of privacy is another completely different question. How you view the privacy offered by a phone and the system it interacts with (advertisers, nation-state actors, etc.) depends on your threat modelling as well as the information you have available to you about that system.

Libre software and hardware allows for a higher degree of trustworthiness but does not specifically provide any additional security or privacy advantages over proprietary systems. Although the more eyes on something principle generally valid (greater opportunities to find flaws), the nature of security and privacy engineering is such that they are a highly specialised disciplines and just having information available in the public domain does not necessarily mean that the few specialists capable of improving libre systems to make them more secure or more private are free, able, and willing to do so.

- Bluey

On Sun, Jul 23, 2017 at 9:03 PM, Joseph Lira saitdude@hotmail.com wrote:

i can keep updating and patching until its truelly obsolete and all will still >respecting my privacy, does such a phone exist?

No. Mobile networks require closed-source firmware by law and gps requires proprietary software too. Personally as long as the phone does not use the camera or the microphone without my permission it's fine by me, since the technology underlying it means the network company will be able to track you anyway when you make calls. I'm using an LG G3 which from a durability point of view has been stellar. Been using it for exactly what you described more or less, dropped it from the first floor with no protective case multiple times, still works flawless. Additionally, and unfortunately this is not granted these days it has removable battery. With a new battery it can easily last an entire day, after 2.5 years it still lasts a day if you don't stress it much. With 4g open and web browsing it will die after ~4-5h. Listening to spotify via 4g with the screen turned off still lasts 8+h. Charging is relatively fast. A bit of overheating issues if you stress it though. I haven't done it myself but there are ways to flash it, so you are not stuck with the default lg skin. Just don't accept the legal notice at boot so the lg apps won't launch and hog your battery.