DivestOS
DivestOS homescreen on a Fairphone 4
DivestOS homescreen on a Fairphone 4
DeveloperTad
OS familyAndroid (Linux)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Initial release31 December 2014 (2014-12-31)
Latest release"2023-08". / 8 August 2023 (2023-08-08)
Repositorygitlab.com/divested-mobile
Marketing targetPrivacy/Security-focused smartphones
Update methodOver-the-air (OTA) or locally
Package manager
PlatformsARM
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
LicenseGPL
Official websitedivestos.org

DivestOS is an operating system based on the Android mobile platform. It is a soft fork of LineageOS that aims to increase security and privacy with support for end-of-life devices. As much as possible, it removes unnecessary proprietary Android components and includes only free-software.

DivestOS builds are signed with release-keys so bootloaders may be re-locked on many devices. An automated CVE patcher is used to patch the kernels against many known vulnerabilities.

DivestOS includes few default applications. F-Droid is included with options for selecting several custom F-Droid repositories as well.[1][2] DivestOS supports using Orbot and Tor Browser as privacy-enhancing features.[3]

History

The DivestOS project began in 2014, with the first properly signed builds being released in 2015.[4]

The project is the work of one primary developer with contributions from numerous other developers.[2]

Public release of DivestOS was announced on F-Droid forums in June 2020.[5]

Supported devices

DivestOS primarily supports devices that have been supported by LineageOS.[6]

History

In February 2022, TechTracker.in said DivestOS is one of few custom ROMs focusing on security and privacy, with monthly and incremental updates.[7]

GNU/Linux.ch Linux and Freie Software News called DivestOS "relatively new and ambitious" and said it supports many devices, both newer and older.[8]

DevsJournal called DivestOS 18.1 one of the best custom ROMs for the One Plus One phone.[9]

DivestOS' Hypatia malware scanner for Android, and how to use their F-Droid repository, was reviewed by Gadget Hacks in March 2021.[10] In November 2021, the Kuketz Security blog said Hypatia was the only malware scanner without tracking libraries of several they reviewed, but said its functionality was limited.[11]

In March 2023, the 2022 Free Software Foundation Award for Outstanding New Free Software Contributor went to Tad (SkewedZeppelin), chief developer of the DivestOS project.[12][13]

In a review in June 2023, the Kuketz Security blog said DivestOS "is so far the only custom ROM that has managed to fully document all network connections – at this point they deserve a lot of praise for it", and DivestOS "leaves an extremely privacy-friendly impression." He stated  "DivestOS does not support Google Play Services," which must be taken into account, and the project is a "One-man army". He concluded DivestOS is not only for users with older devices, but also "those who value privacy and security (assuming they have an up-to-date device)".[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DivestOS Mobile". divestos.org. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 "About - DivestOS Mobile". divestos.org. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Privacy Policy - DivestOS Mobile". divestos.org. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "History - DivestOS Mobile". divestos.org. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "DivestOS: long term device support with enhanced privacy and security". F-Droid Forum. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Devices - DivestOS Mobile". divestos.org. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "DivestOS - best Android OS custom rom for privacy and security". Tech Tracker. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Freie Fahrt für freie Androiden!". 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Best Custom ROMs for OnePlus One (Bacon) - DevsJournal". 26 July 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "4 New & Noteworthy Indie Android Apps of the Week — March 26 Edition". Gadget Hacks. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  11. ↑ Kuketz. "Trügerische Sicherheit: Virenscanner-Apps sind schlichtweg überflüssig (Deceptive security: virus scanner apps are simply superfluous)". Kuketz IT Security.
  12. ↑ "Free Software Awards winners announced: Eli Zaretskii, Tad (SkewedZeppelin), GNU Jami — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Dee, Katie (20 March 2023). "The recipients of the 2022 Free Software Awards have been announced". SD Times. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Kuketz, Mike (1 June 2023). "DivestOS: Privacy-friendly and increased security – Custom ROMs Part 5 (DivestOS: Datenschutzfreundlich und erhöhte Sicherheit – Custom-ROMs Teil5)". Kuketz IT-Security. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
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