For those worried about online privacy and data sovereignty, Motorola unveiled just the thing for them: a new handset running the privacy-focused software GrapheneOS. The operating system is a so-called fork of the Android operating system that runs 72 per cent of mobile phones worldwide. Behind GrapheneOS is a Canadian non-profit foundation founded a decade ago to strip back Android, owned by Google, to its origins as a sleek, privacy-respecting open-source operating system. `Personal security’Though active online, GrapheneOS team members have learned to be cautious with their public profiles after their lead developer stood aside in 2023 amid repeated harassment. And though the software is popular among online tinfoil-hatters, GrapheneOS developers insist their main aim is to create an operating system that returns a smartphone to full ownership of you, its user-owner.

Source: The Irish Times March 20, 2026 02:08 UTC