We find that even when
minimally configured and the handset is idle these vendor-
customized Android variants transmit substantial amounts of
information to the OS developer and also to third-parties (Google,
Microsoft, LinkedIn, Facebook etc) that have pre-installed system
apps.
We assume a privacy-conscious but busy/non-technical user,
who when asked does not select options that share data but
otherwise leaves handset settings at their default value.
LineageOS sends similar volumes of data to Google as these proprietary Android
variants, but we do not observe the LineageOS developers
themselves collecting data nor pre-installed system apps other
than those of Google. Lineage is the 2nd best option they studied, e/OS is the best.
Note that they are testing LineageOS with Gapps added:
A. Hardware and Software Used
Mobile handsets: (i) Samsung Galaxy S9 (model SM-
G960F)/Android 10 (build QP1A.190711.020, One UI v2.0),
(ii) Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 (model M2003J15SG)/Android 10
(build QP1A.190711.020, MIUI Global 12.0.7 QJOMIXM),
(iii) Realme 6 Pro (model RMX2063)/Android 10 (build
RMX2063 11 A.38, realme UI v1.0), (iv) Huawei P10 Lite
(model MAR-LX1B)/Android 915 (build 9.1.0.372, EMUI
9.1.0), (v) Google Pixel 2/Android 10 (LineageOS build 17.1-
20210316, opengapps 10.0-nano-20210314), (vi) Google Pixel
2/Android 10 (eos build e-0.11-q-20200917). Rooted using
Magisk v20.4 and Magisk Manager v7.5.1.
LineageOS does not come with Gapps preinstalled, they had to add them manually. Why they seem to represent OpenGapps as being part of LineageOS is a head scratcher, especially when they also claim the following:
On LineageOS it is
necessary to install GApps to use the Google Play store, but
this is not necessary with /e/OS (which uses the open-source
MicroG re-implementation of Google Play Services and the
Google Play app).
This is not strictly true, many people who use LineageOS choose to use Aurora Store instead to access Google Play Store. Aurora Store does not require Gapps or Google Play Services. Additionally, it is just as possible to install microG on LineageOS as it is to install OpenGapps.
Tldr;
We find that even when minimally configured and the handset is idle these vendor- customized Android variants transmit substantial amounts of information to the OS developer and also to third-parties (Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Facebook etc) that have pre-installed system apps.
We assume a privacy-conscious but busy/non-technical user, who when asked does not select options that share data but otherwise leaves handset settings at their default value.
LineageOS sends similar volumes of data to Google as these proprietary Android variants, but we do not observe the LineageOS developers themselves collecting data nor pre-installed system apps other than those of Google. Lineage is the 2nd best option they studied, e/OS is the best.
Note that they are testing LineageOS with Gapps added:
LineageOS does not come with Gapps preinstalled, they had to add them manually. Why they seem to represent OpenGapps as being part of LineageOS is a head scratcher, especially when they also claim the following:
This is not strictly true, many people who use LineageOS choose to use Aurora Store instead to access Google Play Store. Aurora Store does not require Gapps or Google Play Services. Additionally, it is just as possible to install microG on LineageOS as it is to install OpenGapps.