Privacy ratings
How private is each OS and phone? Our 0–10 privacy scores, app compatibility and install difficulty for GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/OS, Linux phones and more.
Operating systems
| OS | Privacy | App compatibility | Install | Runs on | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrapheneOS | 10/10 | Excellent — sandboxed Play | Easy — web installer, ~20 min | Pixels only (6 through 10 series, incl. 10a and Pixel Fold) | The hardening benchmark. If your phone can run it, run it. |
| CalyxOS | 8.5/10 | Good — microG | Moderate — official flasher | Pixels 6–9 + Fold, Fairphone 4/5/Gen 6 (beta), six moto g models, SHIFTphone 8 | Best set-and-forget defaults, and the only first-class OS for budget Motorolas. |
| /e/OS | 7.5/10 | Good — microG + own cloud | Easy installer, or arrives preinstalled | Hundreds of devices incl. Pixel 9s, OnePlus 13, Xperias — or buy from Murena | The gentlest landing. Privacy scores in its app store, iPhone-simple UI. |
| LineageOS | 7/10 | Good — no Google unless you add it | Advanced — fastboot/CLI | Hundreds of devices | The community workhorse. Privacy depends on what you install on top. |
| Ubuntu Touch | 8/10 | Limited — Waydroid for Android apps | Moderate — UBports installer | Volla phones, Fairphone 4/5, Nothing Phone (1) | True Linux. Wonderful ideology, patience required. |
| Sailfish OS | 7.5/10 | Fair — Android app layer | None — preinstalled on Jolla | Jolla C2, Sony Xperia 10 II–IV via Sailfish X | The polished European alternative with a real company behind it. |
| PureOS (Librem) | 9.5/10 | Limited — desktop Linux apps | None — preinstalled | Librem 5 | Hardware kill switches for radio, camera, mic. Maximum control, minimum convenience. |
| iodéOS | 7.5/10 | Good — microG + built-in tracker blocker | Easy — official installer app | 60+ devices: Pixels 5–8, Fairphones, Xperias, Motos, Galaxy S9/S10 | The quiet French contender — an adblocker baked into the OS, sold preinstalled too. |
| Nura (postmarketOS) | 8/10 | Limited — native Linux apps | Advanced — Linux tooling | PinePhone, Librem 5, OnePlus 6, and counting | A real Linux distro with a 10-year vision for phones, renamed from postmarketOS in Sept 2026. For tinkerers today. |
| Stock Android (hardened) | 4/10 | Everything works | Settings only — our hardening plan | Any Android | The fallback when the bootloader is locked. 80% less tracking, still Google's house. |
Phones that arrive private
Sold directly by the maker with a private OS preinstalled — links go straight to their store.
| Phone | OS | Privacy | Setup | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NitroPhone (Pixel) | GrapheneOS | 10/10 | None — arrives installed | Nitrokey: NitroPhone (Pixel) → |
| Above Phone (Pixel) | GrapheneOS | 10/10 | None — arrives installed | Above Phone: Above Phone (Pixel) → |
| Murena Fairphone (Gen. 6 / 5 / 4) | /e/OS | 8/10 | None — arrives installed | Murena: Murena Fairphone (Gen. 6 / 5 / 4) → |
| Librem 5 | PureOS | 9.5/10 | None — arrives installed | Purism: Librem 5 → |
| Jolla C2 | Sailfish OS | 7.5/10 | None — arrives installed | Jolla: Jolla C2 → |
| Volla Phone X23 / Quintus | Volla OS / Ubuntu Touch | 8/10 | None — arrives installed | Volla: Volla Phone X23 / Quintus → |
| SHIFTphone 8 | CalyxOS (optional) | 7.5/10 | Moderate — flash CalyxOS yourself | SHIFT: SHIFTphone 8 → |
| PinePhone Pro | Your pick of mobile Linux | 8/10 | Tinkerer — expect a weekend | Pine64: PinePhone Pro → |
Flash it yourself
Buy the hardware anywhere, install the OS yourself. Difficulty is the honest kind.
| Phone | OS | Privacy | Install difficulty | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixel 6–10 (any) | GrapheneOS | 10/10 | Easy — 20 min in a browser | Amazon: Pixel 6–10 (any) → |
| Fairphone 5 | CalyxOS | 8.5/10 | Moderate — official flasher | Fairphone: Fairphone 5 → |
| moto g 5G (2024) / g45 / g34 | CalyxOS | 8.5/10 | Moderate — official flasher | Amazon: moto g 5G (2024) / g45 / g34 → |
| OnePlus 13 / Xperia 1 V / Poco F5 Pro | LineageOS | 7/10 | Advanced — fastboot, an evening | Amazon: OnePlus 13 / Xperia 1 V / Poco F5 Pro → |
| Samsung (international, older S/A) | /e/OS or LineageOS | 7/10 | Advanced — model-number roulette | Amazon: Samsung (international, older S/A) → |
| Locked phone (US Samsung, iPhone…) | Stock, hardened | 4/10 | Settings only — hardening plan | Run the wizard: Locked phone (US Samsung, iPhone…) → |
How the ratings work
Every operating system and phone on this page gets three ratings: a privacy score, an app compatibility note and an install difficulty. They’re editorial ratings, set from each project’s official documentation and our device research, and they’re the same numbers you’ll see in the checker, the directory and on product cards across the site. The current scores were set on September 1, 2026.
Privacy score, 0 to 10
The privacy score rates how much tracking exposure a system has as it ships, before you install anything yourself. Higher is better.
- 10, GrapheneOS: the benchmark. No Google services at all unless you add sandboxed Google Play, which runs without special access to the system.
- 9.5, PureOS on the Librem 5: hardware kill switches cut the radios, camera and microphone. It loses a little for how hard it is to live with.
- 8.5, CalyxOS: strong defaults, a built-in firewall and microG in place of Google services.
- 8, Ubuntu Touch and Nura (formerly postmarketOS): mobile Linux systems with no Google layer. Volla phones, which ship Google-free Volla OS and can run Ubuntu Touch, also score 8.
- 7.5, /e/OS, iodéOS and Sailfish OS: very good, but tuned for comfort and familiar features over maximum hardening.
- 7, LineageOS: a clean base with no Google, but its privacy depends on what you add on top.
- 4, hardened stock Android: the fallback for phones with locked bootloaders. Our settings plan removes much of the tracking, but Google’s software stays on the phone.
A phone’s rating usually matches the system it runs. A few phone and OS combinations are rated on their own, so check the phone table rather than assuming the OS score carries over.
App compatibility
This is a plain-language note rather than a number, because it depends on which apps you rely on. “Excellent” means nearly everything works, including most banking apps. “Good” usually means microG, where most apps work but the strictest banks may refuse. “Limited” means a Linux system where Android apps need a compatibility layer such as Waydroid, or aren’t available at all.
Install difficulty
Four classes, shown as colored pills everywhere on the site:
- None: the phone arrives with the private OS installed.
- Easy: an official web installer or installer app, about twenty minutes for GrapheneOS.
- Moderate: an official flasher tool with more steps, such as CalyxOS.
- Advanced: command-line fastboot, Linux tooling, or unlock hurdles like Xiaomi’s waiting period.
What the ratings don’t measure
The scores don’t rate camera quality, battery life or price, and they aren’t based on lab measurements. They also don’t include the apps you install later. A GrapheneOS phone full of ad-supported apps still leaks data, so pair any system with private replacements for Google’s apps.
Using the ratings
If your phone can run GrapheneOS, that’s the top score and one of the easiest installs. If it can’t, see what your exact model supports and pick the highest-rated system that fits it. For the trade-offs behind the numbers, such as banking apps, notifications and tap-to-pay, read the question-by-question OS table. The device database behind these ratings is re-checked every quarter.