DivestOS

"2023-08". / 8 August 2023; 8 months ago (2023-08-08)Repositorygitlab.com/divested-mobileMarketing targetPrivacy/Security-focused smartphonesUpdate methodOver-the-air (OTA) or locallyPackage manager

• APK
• F-Droid (open source App Store)

PlatformsARMKernel typeMonolithic (Linux)LicenseGPLOfficial 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][self-published source]}

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][self-published source]}

See also

• Comparison of mobile operating systems
• List of custom Android distributions
• Security-focused operating system
• Tor Phone

References

External links

• www.divestos.org