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arionmiles 10 hours ago

As much as I'd love to daily drive an OS like GrapheneOS, the risk of running into apps that use Google Integrity API thereby making it impossible to run those apps on Graphene is too much of an inconvenience.

I took a look at this curated list of bank apps[1] supported on Graphene OS and I'm glad that a large majority of them work on Graphene. However, just my luck that one of the banks I use on this list isn't supported.

In my country, the state is enforcing a lot of essential workflows to be digital-first (and in extreme cases digital-exclusive) and I dread to think needing these services at a critical moment and the choice of my OS making it impossible for me. This is more of a commentary on my government's choices but it's a reality for me.

In any case, I don't think it's practical to go cold turkey and switch to a privacy focused phone without testing waters first to see which of your of workflows break and then reason about the tradeoffs/workarounds.

I do admire folks who use GrapheneOS as a daily driver, I'd like to chat them up if I find them in the wild.

https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compa...

iamnothere 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> In my country, the state is enforcing a lot of essential workflows to be digital-first (and in extreme cases digital-exclusive) and I dread to think needing these services at a crticial moment and the choice of my OS making it impossible for me. This is more of a commentary on my government's choices but it's a reality for me.

If my country did this I would get a cheap used device for this purpose and keep it powered off. I refuse to carry a pocket spy for the sake of convenience. I find that it’s rarely an issue.

BLKNSLVR 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Another daily GrapheneOS driver here. I've kept banking apps off my phone anyway, and I do banking via desktop/website (I don't understand why people need to do banking 'on the go') and just use a physical credit card for tap payments when I'm out and about.

I do have older Android devices that I have run banking apps on, that I can revert to if necessary, but there's a fair bit of inconvenience I would be happy to endure to avoid being forced into that final option.

What I would recommend is a slow transition, and just start using it at home. If you have GrapheneOS on it's most paranoid settings (exploit protections) there will be exceptions you'll need to allow for a few apps.

crapple8430 2 hours ago | parent [-]

It's very country dependent. In the US, I don't think many banks do that, but I heard in Europe this is used a lot more, presumably due to more regulatory bs.

It's worth noting GrapheneOS with the locked bootloader will meet basic integrity, and that's what most apps need anyway. Strong integrity requires a whitelisted OS by Google and hardware to support it, but there are many older devices that do not meet it, so it will likely inconvenience too many people to be enforced for now.

delichon 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I worried about that too, but jumped in and it hasn't been an issue at all in two years. Including three bank apps. And it's usually so easy to reset to vanilla Android if you need to that it shouldn't be your moat.

dangus 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Also, there are almost always alternatives, like the mobile website.

Things like Apple/Google Wallet aren’t significantly superior to a contactless credit/debit card.

About the only bank thing I can think of that actually requires an app is check deposit, which is super rare.

zackify 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Same. No issues on any apps for me.

jstanley 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

As someone who daily-drives GrapheneOS, there isn't a single app that I want to use that is broken. I don't see any reason to use regular Android.

crapple8430 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I wonder if it would be feasible to build an automated phone-using robot, and access it remotely for any kind of apps enforcing that type of crap. There is really nothing they can do in terms of device attestation to prevent it.

closuregarden 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I run GrapheneOS as a daily driver and slowly removed all proprietary software from my device by looking for FOSS alternatives on F-Droid. Luckily, I'm able to access banking and government in a web browser on a dedicated profile.

I do have a second Android device with a stock ROM that I keep turned off in a drawer in case I ever need to use an app that requires Play Integrity in an emergency.

fylo 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I believe there is some support for the API although its not perfect.

andrepd 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You're blowing this entirely out of proportion. The vast vast majority of apps work without issue with sandboxed play services. Yes it's less plug and play than a stock os. No it's not a life-ending inconvenience.

mtone 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Just looked - Microsoft Authenticator doesn't appear to work. I might be able to get off of it but it will take some prep. My banks are supported so that's good.

andrepd 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Why would you use Microsoft Authenticator when there are hundreds of other apps that manage OTPs?

Use aegis https://f-droid.org/packages/com.beemdevelopment.aegis/

mtone 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Good question. That was for my MS account/licenses and some Azure stuff. I use Google Authenticator for most things.

Thanks for the link, I'll take a look. I might just move it to a secondary device first.

bossyTeacher 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Problem is that if the app that doesn't work is not fungible (see your gym app, your banking app, your community app, etc) then you are out. The best compromise is to have a backup phone for incompatible non-fungible apps

ignoramous 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> As much as I'd love to daily drive an OS like GrapheneOS

The Play Integrity shenanigans is mostly on app developers.

That said, good thing GrapheneOS will launch its own Android phone: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/27687-new-manufacturer-theo... / https://piunikaweb.com/2025/10/13/grapheneos-ending-pixel-ex... / https://www.androidauthority.com/grapheneos-phone-wait-or-bu...

Provided GrapheneOS is cleared by Google to launch it as an "Android" device. Given the kind of changes GrapheneOS packs, it may or may not meet Android's mandatory CCD (compatibility) requirements.

fuzzzerd 7 hours ago | parent [-]

> The Play Integrity shenanigans is mostly on app developers.

I completely agree, but as a user I'm the victim of the developers choice.

kgwxd 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is the app the only way to access what you need? I've never once install the app of any bank I've ever used (10ish) and never found myself wishing I had.

jazzyjackson 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Same, mostly, one bank I keep an account at to support Zelle payments which they only offer through their app

bossyTeacher 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

An increasing number of new services are app only or have a web interface with basic functionality. Dating apps and banking apps are commonly in this category especially if they are relatively new

Alex2037 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

but who says you have to limit yourself to one device? it's mildly inconvenient to carry more than one, sure, but the added benefit of an air gap between "serious business" and "personal life" is very much worth it, imo.

3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]
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bitwize 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I've seen a couple of apps try to use Play Integrity, get blocked by GrapheneOS, and keep on running. Maybe I'm being locked out of something, but it's not something I use anyway.

Note that I don't use banking or government apps. If I bank online it's via the web.

sfRattan 8 hours ago | parent [-]

It does seem like a lot of apps continue to function on GrapheneOS after the "Play Integrity" check fails (or at least after Graphene notifies the user that the Play Integrity API has been called). I suspect either:

A) These apps have implemented only the check so far, and will eventually refuse to run or limit functionality at some point in the future.

B) These apps have noted the failure and certain functionality, especially communicating with servers to load "protected" content, will fail even if the app otherwise continues to run.