Mobile OS

Phone operating systems that replace the Android or iOS your phone came with, from de-Googled Android to Linux. For a de-Googled phone, we look for open-source code, regular security updates and no Google services unless you choose to add them.

Our top picks: /e/OS, de-Googled Android from the non-profit e Foundation, which you can install on many phones or buy preinstalled on a Murena phone. And GrapheneOS, hardened, open-source Android from a donation-funded non-profit project, with monthly releases; the trade-off is that it only installs on Google Pixel phones, so your phone money still goes to Alphabet.

How we choose: each system is checked against the 6 principles in our manifesto: who owns it and how it makes money, what it collects, how it treats people, honesty, openness and staying power. We last checked them on 13 October 2026.