The release of the mobile platform /e/OS 2.4 is now available, focusing on user data privacy. The platform was created by Gaël Duval, the founder of the Mandrake Linux distribution. The project provides firmware for many popular smartphone models, as well as under the brands Murena One, Murena 2, Murena Fairphone 4/5, Murena Teracube 2e, and Murena Pixel 5/7, offering editions of OnePlus, Fairphone, Teracube, and Pixel smartphones with pre-installed /e/OS firmware. The platform supports 180 smartphones.
/e/OS firmware is developed as a fork of the Android platform (using developments from LineageOS), free from dependencies on Google services and infrastructure, which allows for compatibility with Android applications and simplifies hardware support while blocking telemetry transmission to servers Google and ensuring a high level of privacy. Implicit information transmission, such as requests to Google servers for network availability checks, DNS resolution, and precise time determination, is blocked.
To interact with Google services, a pre-installed microG package is included, allowing users to avoid proprietary components and offers independent alternatives to Google services. For example, a UnifiedNlp layer is used for determining location via Wi-Fi and cell towers (without GPS), capable of working through OpenWlanMap, openBmap, OpenCellID, lacells.db, and other alternative services. Instead of Google’s search engine, a proprietary meta-search service based on a fork of the Searx engine is offered, ensuring anonymity for submitted queries.
For accurate time synchronization, the NTP Pool Project is used instead of Google NTP, and the current provider's DNS servers replace Google’s (8.8.8.8). The default web browser includes an ad and tracking script blocker. A custom service for file synchronization and application data has been developed, which can work with infrastructure based on NextCloud. Server components are based on open-source software and are available for installation on user-controlled systems.
The user interface has been significantly redesigned and includes a dedicated environment for launching applications, BlissLauncher, an improved notification system, a new lock screen, and other stylistic enhancements. BlissLauncher features a specially developed set of automatically scalable icons and a selection of widgets (for example, a weather forecast widget).
The project is also developing its own authentication manager, allowing the use of a single account (user@murena.io) for all services, which can be registered during the initial setup. This account can be used to access your environment through the web or on other devices. Murena Cloud provides 1GB of free storage for storing your data, synchronizing applications, and backups.
By default, the suite includes applications such as an email client (K9-mail), web browser (Cromite, a fork of Chromium), camera app (OpenCamera), instant messaging app (qksms), note-taking system (nextcloud-notes), PDF viewer (MJ PDF), task planner (opentasks), maps application (Magic Earth), photo gallery (gallery3d), and file manager (DocumentsUI).
Key changes in /e/OS 2.4:
- Official support for the Google Pixel 7 smartphone has been provided.
- The ability to update the account management program through the App Lounge app manager has been implemented, similar to other applications. Additionally, App Lounge now supports self-updating.
- In the web browser, the ability to load filters for ad blocking from the self-hosted gitlab.e.foundation has been added. The browser engine has been updated to the Chromium 127 codebase.
- In the calendar planner, the ability to add ics-files containing information about multiple events has been provided.
- In the firmware for the Fairphone 5 smartphone, the use of the native camera application for this smartphone has become possible. The camera interface has been improved for the Murena Two smartphone.
- In the update delivery program, the stable and dev channels have been renamed to official and community.
- Fixes and updates from the LineageOS 20 platform have been transferred.
- The PDF viewer has been updated to version 2.2.1.
Source: opennet.ru
