Librephone is a new initiative by the FSF to bring full computing freedom to mobile computing environments. The LibrePhone Project is a partnership with Rob Savoye, a developer who has worked on free software (including the GNU toolchain) since the 1980s. “Since mobile phone computing is now so ubiquitous, we’re very excited about LibrePhone and think it has the potential to bring software freedom to many more users all over the world.”
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“Librephone is a new initiative by the FSF to bring full computing freedom to mobile computing environments.”
reading thru this release it I wondered right away if they were aligned with the EFF and poof they all presented at the conference being written about.
About the phone: stoked.
The FSF is a long existing organization.
Predates Linux. And EFF.
You might know some of their things though - such as a lot of GNU software (much of which makes up what you use in Linux, hence the “its GNU plus Linux” phrase) and the GNU General Public License or GPL.
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was that all R. Stallman’s baby at one point? (I don’t know linux history as I should)
Yes, the FSF was founded by Stallman.
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I really look forward a free mobile platform outside of the duopoly of Android- iOS.
Not so long time ago, I bought, ironically enough, a Google Pixel phone to deGoogle my mobile phoning. I thought I had future-proofed it for the next 5-6 year.
With the recent changes that Google is bringing about to AOSP and developer verification and so on, the future seems a bit bleak. I regret having given my money to Google.
Perhaps a Fairphone 4 or 5 with Ubuntu Touch would have been a better option. Perhaps.
I was assured by many pros that a Pixel is, is, strangely the best unlocked phone to degoogle on and I almost went the Graphene route myself.
I’ve seen a chart of best to worst de-googled Operating Systems and it was eye-opening. But not a single one was 100% google-free.
- I wonder what FSF is bringing to the table here? 2) can you shed all proprietary when it comes to phone hardware/software? Is it even possible?
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That is true. GrapheneOS is seemingly the most secure operating system for Pixel phones (6 and onwards). The focus of the project is first and foremost security. However, being based on AOSP and this latter being ultimately controlled by Google, you will always at the whim of this company an the changes they feel being appropriate to make for the platform.
I don’t know. The article doesn’t say much about this initiative. Perhaps they could team up with a manufacturer which subscribes to the idea of open hardware.
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more specifics:
“the initiative aims for an ambitious goal: minimize proprietary dependencies across the mobile supply chain (boot, firmware, connectivity, distribution, repositories, and app layers).
What to expect in practice:
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Auditable boot and firmware whenever hardware permits, with anti-lockdown policies.
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Distribution and store aligned with user freedom (transparent review, no contractual lock-ins, no intrusive tracking).
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Supported hardware pilot (to be defined) and reproducible toolchain.
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Open doors for collaborations with existing projects (free kernel, F-Droid, privacy OS), avoiding reinventing the wheel.”
Still a little vague but getting clearer I suppose
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I’m hoping this is something that will be successful. I tend to be a simple mobile user in general so as long as it can make calls I’m all good.
I wonder who would design the UI of this privacy OS, I would guess maybe GNOME as I always thought their UI looked perfect for tablets and phones. Of course any existing project could collaborate with their own input or designs.
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With GoS you are safe from the google Android shenanigans. Just install Apps from the source via Obtainium and be happy.
I’m hoping something good comes out too. I use my phone like you do: talk, text.
My article said launch was aimed at “2026” so that’s a lot R&D, prototypes, betas, sourcing manufacturers from chip to case etc until then.
That’s gonna take some dough $$$. If Bill and MS are funding this I will be sad, but maybe necessary but I’m just speculating.
It is a product I would be interested in all the same.
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There’s also Plasma Mobile
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Using Android in whatever shape and form you are never safe from Google’s shenanigans.
Google controls ultimately AOSP. Just look at the current situation where Google haven’t yet released the Android 16 QPR1 code and in practice halted the update and development for all Custom ROMs and GrapheneOS. GOS cannot start developing for Pixel 10 series without this code.
It’s not only that, Google have changed their policy regarding release of the security patches to OEMs. You could find out via GrapheneOS’s social venues what that would mean for the security of Android devices.
My conclusion:
As long as you are using an Android device, with AOSP, custom roms, GrapheneOS, deGoogled, unGoogled or else, you are ultimately depending on Google and their decisions. They could close- source even AOSP if they wanted to. For now they have just decided that all the developments will be happening “behind the closed doors” before the code will be released to AOSP.
If I hadn’t “invested” my money into a new Pixel phone, which I deeply regret now and with each passing day use it with growing disgust, I would go for a device on which I could run a Linux mobile variant.
I was referring to your actual situation: You have allready a GOS supported device with GOS running. You could always decide to not upgrade and just use obtanium, so you will be safe for a time being. And Daniel Micay might be an autistic paranoid weirdo, but he uses his isues for exactly the purpose that we want: protecting us from these shenanigans as long and hard as he can. I have - at least for the time being - trust in GOS. Nothing has dramatically changed from what they are doing already: Cutting bad code out of ASOP and giving us a truly free OS.
There is one aspect no one is talking about currently, and that is a HUGE issue: The broadband and it’s firmware. This little thingy is really hard to contain…
Yes. I was also referring to my current situation. I am running a system which is ultimately depending on what Google decides to do with their code.
In the current state of the affairs, with this paper weight in my hand, I prefer to have GOS on it than any other alternatives. But the idea of ultimately being dependent on Google’s whim is more and more appalling to me.
As I said, had I known better and done a bit more research into the matter, I wouldn’t have given my money to Google in the hope that I would in some degree be free from their yoke to find out to my dismay that they are the ones that at the end calls the shots.
What would you do if/when Google decides to close the AOSP with your shiny new Pixel 9/10 Pro XL?
I tell you what:
Also Micay is no longer the lead developer of GOS. He stepped away from this role in 2023 and I am not sure about the extent of his involvement in the day-to-day work of development.
I own a 8pro, so I am kinda in the same boat, but the thing is: Current Linux Phones are not where I personally need them, not as a “productive driver”. Wasn’t the case when I bought the pixel, are not here now. If google decide to close down ASOP I am very sure that GOS will continue to exist. They are prepared for this.
Daniel is still very active in coding and doing the coding work, the so-called “step down” was kind of a media stunt to get him out of the worst fallout he created with his behavior. It worked, kinda, but he is still very much in control and active.
I wish I could share your optimism. This would mean to practically “fork” the entire code base of AOSP, maintain and develop it. How would they be able to port it to new Pixel devices now that Google have decided to not publish the device tree? Perhaps they could relax on their requirements and let GOS to be run on devices from other OEMs. I don’t know. But maintaining and developing an entire OS is a totally different ball game than practically getting all the code base for free and building your OS on top of it.
The situation is comparable to the relation of many Arch based distros and Arch itself. Imagine Arch stopped existing, just imagine, what would happen to EOS for example? Are they prepared for taking over the entire code and package base of Arch and go on as usual? Perhaps if many of the existing Arch-based distros teamed up, they could keep developing an OS, some OS. Perhaps.
Personally, I don’t know if GOS have enough resources (manpower and money) to keep going on developing in the event Google decides to shutdown AOSP.
That is why I have re-evaluated my requirements of a phone. I no longer wish or desire to have a personal computer at the palm of my hand. Nowadays, I just want to have a device, with which I could make phone calls, send and receive SMS plus navigating the web. Neither camera, video capability, nor other bling bling matter to me anymore.
But alas, I am sitting with this paper weight called Google Pixel in my hand. If I could flash a mobile linux on it, I wouldn’t waste a second. But unfortunately I haven’t found one yet which supports this doorstopper.
Yeah I agree with you all, we need a pure Linux based Mobile, but sofar we are not there yet this FSF fairphone or KDE Mobile has most potential but needs work and time to get good and to support a lot of devices.
Then I’m going to Linux Mobile same as PC.(Future EOS Mobile version would be cool 
)