The release of the /e/OS 1.8 mobile platform is introduced, aimed at preserving the privacy of user data. The platform was founded by GaΓ«l Duval, creator of the Mandrake Linux distribution. The project provides firmware for many popular smartphone models, and under the Murena One, Murena Fairphone 3+/4 and Murena Galaxy S9 brands, it offers editions of OnePlus One, Fairphone 3+/4 and Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphones with /e/OS pre-installed firmware. In total, 209 smartphones are officially supported.
The /e/OS firmware is being developed as an offshoot of the Android platform (using LineageOS developments), freed from being tied to Google services and infrastructure, which allows, on the one hand, to maintain compatibility with Android applications and simplify hardware support, and on the other hand, block the transmission of telemetry to Google servers and ensure a high level of privacy. Implicit sending of information is also blocked, for example, accessing Google servers when checking network availability, resolving DNS, and determining the exact time.
To interact with Google services, the microG package is preinstalled, which eliminates the need to install proprietary components and offers independent analogues instead of Google services. For example, to determine the location by Wi-Fi and base stations (without GPS), a layer based on the Mozilla Location Service is involved. Instead of the Google search engine, it offers its own metasearch service based on a fork of the Searx engine, which ensures the anonymity of sent requests.
To synchronize the exact time, the NTP Pool Project is used instead of Google NTP, and the DNS servers of the current provider are used instead of Google DNS servers (8.8.8.8). The web browser has an ad blocker and script blocker enabled by default to track movements. To synchronize files and application data, a proprietary service has been developed that can work with NextCloud-based infrastructure. The 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 its own environment for launching BlissLauncher applications, an improved notification system, a new lock screen and other styling. BlissLauncher uses a set of automatically scalable icons and a selection of widgets (for example, a widget for displaying a weather forecast) specially developed for the project.
The project also develops its own authentication manager, which allows using a single account for all services ([email protected]) registered during the first installation. The account can be used to access your environment via the Web or other devices. In the Murena Cloud, 1GB is provided free of charge for storing your data, synchronizing applications and backups.
By default, the package includes applications such as an email client (K9-mail), a web browser (Bromite, a fork of Chromium), a camera program (OpenCamera), an instant messaging program (qksms), a note-taking system (nextcloud-notes), PDF viewer (PdfViewer), scheduler (opentasks), map software (Magic Earth), photo gallery (gallery3d), file manager (DocumentsUI).
Major changes in /e/OS 1.8:
- For speech synthesis, the picoTTS package is used (previously used eSpeak).
- A new no-google mode has been added to the App Lounge app manager, which only offers apps from the Fdroid catalog and standalone web apps (PWAs). In addition, the App Lounge provides a display of permissions (the Exodus API is used to determine it), the size of the button to go to the installation is limited, and the installation of the application is restarted if the device is rebooted.
- The browser has integrated support for the search engine Mojeek. Removed WebGL settings for sites. The browser engine has been updated to Chromium 108.0.5359.156. Added an option to change the User Agent string.
- Separate buttons have been added to the advanced privacy widget to enable blocking of movement tracking, hiding the IP address, and sending fake location data to applications.
- Significantly updated PDF viewer, solved many problems when using the dark theme.
- A new button for two-factor authentication has been added to the AccountManager.
- In the mail client, the "Load more" button has been added to the mail folder with incoming letters.
- Improved interface of the note-taking application.
- The update installation manager now checks available disk space before installing and updating.
- The design of the photo gallery has been redesigned.
Source: opennet.ru