A Year Using e/OS on The FairPhone

Just over a year ago, I made a decision that surprised some of those around me. Following a cracked screen, I switched from iPhone to FairPhone, running /e/OS instead of iOS. I’d been an Apple fanboy for a solid two decades. It wasn't an impulsive switch either, I’d been very wary of privacy and security in today’s digital world, and had already been a Proton customer before my iPhone fell out my locker at the gym and cracked it’s screen. There were three core reasons for switching:

1. Privacy concerns. I was increasingly wary of apps constantly ‘calling home’, feeding data to ad networks, and building profiles on my habits. Every app I installed on iPhone regardless of how ‘secure’ it was contained trackers, with only a small handful where developers didn’t collect any data. I don’t mind sharing anonymous usage patterns with a developer, but when other trackers including Google, Amazon, Meta get involved, that really puts me off and removed the choice of whether or not I wanted to share tracking information.
2. Geopolitics. At the time, there was a significant risk of US tariffs potentially affecting EU imports, adding hundred of pounds onto the cost of a new iPhone. I wanted hardware and software that wouldn't be at the mercy of trade disputes or supply chain fragility. The idea that my access to updates, parts, or even the device itself could be disrupted by political posturing across the Atlantic didn't sit well with me.
3. Cost. The iPhone ecosystem had become prohibitively expensive. I wasn't interested in paying a premium for a device that was potentially monetising my own data on top of the ticket price, which ties in with the above geopolitics reason.

I wanted something different and something that gave me more choice in what I do and don’t want to share. I looked at various other phones and operating systems, including Graphene OS with it’s hardened privacy. However, I felt given the geopolitical situation I wanted something UK or EU-based. I soon discovered a whole ecosystem of people in the same boat, looking to move to a digitally sovereign ecosystem (and supporting EU products and brands). It was almost anti-American but understandable given the fragility which the UK and Europe’s businesses and governments rest on…. a single USA outage could cause global issues (and on a few occasions it already did). I looked up some EU based operating systems, and discovered Sailfish OS - it almost had my custom, had it not been for it’s reliance on the use of older handsets. I wanted something up to date.

Enter the FairPhone 6 and /e/OS - a de-Googled mobile operating system focused on privacy, longevity, and repairability.

The FairPhone 6: Hardware Worth Talking About

Before I get into the software, let's talk about the phone itself - because the FairPhone does deserve its own spotlight.

FairPhone's mission is straightforward: build a phone that lasts, that can be self-repaired and doesn't rely on exploitation in its supply chain. The FairPhone (Gen 6 - let’s just use ‘FP6’ here) continues that mission. It's modular - so if the battery degrades or runs out, you can pop in a new battery within just a couple of minutes. No glue guns, solderers, no heat mats, no "genius bar" appointments - simply a small screwdriver and a spare part.

That repairability matters because nowadays most smartphones are designed to slow down or reach ‘end of life’, creating inconvenience or FOMO that makes you upgrade. FairPhone appears to flip that contract, so ideally you buy the phone once, and you keep it alive on your terms - supposedly considerably longer than Apple devices (I used to renew my iPhone every two years).

This is a phone you commit to: not one you simply discard/sell/recycle, and now that I’m a year down the line, so far I feel I’ve made the right choice. That said, at time of writing I am very intrigued by Commodore’s new Callback handset. But let’s focus on FP6 and /e/OS for now.

The Camera Hardware Switch

Here's a feature I didn't know I needed until I had it: a physical hardware switch that disconnects the camera and microphone.

Flip it, and the camera and mic are electrically disconnected from the phone. Not "disabled in software" - it’s physically cut off. No app, no malware, no exploit can override it. It's a hardware-level kill switch.

For anyone concerned about surveillance - whether that's corporate tracking, state-level monitoring, or just the creeping unease of knowing your phone has eyes and ears that are always present - this is a genuinely reassuring feature. It's the kind of thing that sounds paranoid until you realise it's the equivalent of putting a lid on your webcam (now normal once you think about it). But also helps prevent the anxiety of thinking that you’ve just been speaking about something no one else should know, but yet you see adverts for it dotted across the web just hours later. With this switch on, I’ve never seen this happening anymore.

The Camera Experience

The FairPhone 6 camera hardware is decent, and the user experience will feel instantly familiar to anyone coming from an iPhone. Apple's camera UI design clearly influenced the FP6’s camera app: the layout, the gesture controls, the simplicity of switching between photo, video, and portrait, pro modes. If you're migrating from iOS, you won't need to relearn how to take a photo.

That said, the /e/OS default camera app could be better. It works, but compared to what Apple ships or even what you'd find on a standard Android with Google's camera software, it lacks polish. Low-light performance in particular can be grainy and inconsistent, and there aren't as many shooting modes or fine-grained controls as you might be used to. It's not a dealbreaker for me though as the hardware captures good images but it's one of those areas where you feel the absence of a billion-dollar software team. It’s this sort of thing which you are reminded that the /e/OS team is very small - they’d barely be able to cover a full Apple Store. Something to remember - and then when you realise what you’re holding in your hand you realise the great job they’ve done considering their size.

There are third-party camera apps available too which supposedly improve the experience, and I'd expect /e/OS to continue refining this over time. For now, it's a "good enough" situation rather than "great."

The FP6 camera app itself is the go-to for me. All you need to do is look up the hashtag #shotonfairphone online and you’ll soon see what the quality is like.

The Really Good Stuff

Proton Ecosystem Integration

As a long-time Proton user, I was genuinely pleased by how smoothly everything migrated. My email, photos, notes, files, calendar, and even my Bitcoin wallet all synced up immediately on /e/OS through Proton's native apps. No clunky workarounds, no data loss, no awkward transition period.

For anyone already embedded in the Proton ecosystem (if you care about privacy, I really recommend subscribing), the move from iOS to /e/OS is about as frictionless as a migration of data could get. This was the thing I was most nervous about, and it turned out to be the easiest part, especially with Proton Drive, all my previous photos from my iPhone were there and new ones I’d taken on the FP6 were there too, all with the correct dates.

Signal as My Messenger

Signal runs really well on /e/OS. End-to-end encrypted, no metadata retention, no tracking. If you're serious about privacy, this should be your default messaging app regardless of what OS you're on. My only critique is that even with the volume up loud, the other person seems quiet on a Signal video call. Same issue with the ‘Molly’ app - a fork of Signal (which is arguably more private and definitely worth checking out).

The Tracker Report

Here's the killer feature. The one that changed how I think about my phone and WILL change how your approach to your digital life.

/e/OS shows you what trackers are trying to reach out to Google, Meta, Amazon et al. Every single app and every single time they attempt to "phone home” to report data on what you’ve been doing in app. Here’s what this has looked like for me across the last year…. the red bars around a year ago believe it or not were when I was experiencing issues with MyFitnessPal - I couldn’t log in as it wasn’t behaving properly with the trackers all blocked. Eventually I gave up and sought another app, now on Garmin Connect for this data, still works great).

You get a live dashboard showing which apps are requesting location data, accessing contacts, or attempting to call servers abroad, and it and then blocks them. You can unblock certain trackers if you choose to. I've seen hundreds of tracker attempts blocked in a single week. Apps I trusted were quietly reaching out to analytics firms I'd never heard of, trying to build behavioural profiles (which ultimately end up in the hands of the likes of Google/Meta and their subsidiaries).

Most phones let you install ad blockers or privacy tools. /e/OS has this on by default this into the operating system. You don't need to configure anything. You don't need to know what a tracker domain is. You just look at the report and decide what to allow, if anything.

This is the feature I show people when they ask me why I switched. It usually shuts down the conversation about "what's the big deal, I have nothing to hide?”.

App Migration Was Surprisingly Smooth

Coming from iOS, I was worried about app compatibility. It wasn't a problem. My app setup translated almost directly. Banking apps worked. Social media? Still there if you want it. Music streaming? Works. The transition took a few hours, not days, and most of that was just logging back into accounts. Banking apps required a specific setting (default links) to be active in the App Settings, but otherwise it was a really pain-free transition, there are, to date, only two apps which aren’t working properly for me. They are MyFitnessPal and Seatfrog.

The Trade-offs

Nothing's perfect, and I'll be upfront about the compromises because pretending they don't exist is how you lose trust, and trust is the whole point of this phone and it’s OS. We need to remember, it’s not an iPhone and it’s not iOS.

No Android Auto (Without Google Apps)

If you use Android Auto in your car, you'll need to either install Google Apps on /e/OS (which is a bit ironic being a de-googled system) or leave it off entirely. I chose to leave it off — I don't need it enough to compromise the privacy setup. Bluetooth audio still works fine for music and podcasts, so the car isn't a dead zone. But if sat-nav integration on your dashboard display is essential to your commute, this is a genuine drawback to weigh, and you may be better purchasing a little dashboard holder so you can view your route on an EU-privacy respecting Map app such as ‘HERE WeGo’ (which I use).

That's the real trade-off of de-Googled life: you regain control over your data, but you lose some convenience features. For me, that's a fair swap. For you, it might not be. But it’s something to remember if you’re going all-in on this ecosystem.

Payments: The Honest Headache

This is the one area where the de-Googled life genuinely bites.

Out of the box, /e/OS doesn't have a native contactless payment system. Google Wallet is technically available, but if you're running /e/OS to escape Google, installing Google Wallet defeats the purpose. I'd rather steer clear entirely.

There's Curve Pay, which works if you open an account with them. It's an option, and it does enable NFC payments on the phone. But it's another account, another service, another entity standing between you and your money. Depending on your appetite for that, it may or may not be worth it. Curve appear to have a high risk-appetite as not everyone gets accepted for an account.

I tried FOSS Wallet which is an open-source option, but it only handles passes and QR codes, not bank cards via NFC. Useful for boarding passes, event tickets, loyalty cards.

Here's the thing though: I don't miss it as much as I expected. My Garmin watch handles Garmin Pay for contactless transactions - gym, coffee shops, wherever. And I carry a physical bank card and my gym pass in the FairPhone 6's wallet case. It's a step back from the all-in-one convenience of Apple Pay, but it's manageable. Old school? Maybe in some ways. But it works, and I'm not handing my transaction data to Google (or Apple) in the process, though there is an argument about where Garmin Pay’s data ends up but we’ll not open that can of worms here today.

If you're someone who relies heavily on phone-based payments apping for everything from coffee to trains — this is the adjustment that'll take the most getting used to - the wallet attachment basically screws over the battery cover so it doesn’t take up much room at all and has lasted me 12 months with no issues already.

No AI Agent or Virtual Assistant

iOS comes with Siri. Android comes with Gemini. There are now countless other virtual assistants and AI Agents that come preloaded or are available to download to phones nowadays.

/e/OS abolishes this. Whilst you can still install the likes of Gemini and ChatGPT onto your FairPhone, as a Proton subscriber I have unlimited access to Lumo - Proton’s own private AI chat assistant. It works really well for anything I need it for, and it’s completely private and end-to-end encrypted.

MicroG: The Middle Ground

/e/OS uses MicroG, which provides Google service compatibility without tying you to Google's data collection. Many apps require push notifications or certain services to function properly — MicroG fills that gap - but does it anonymously, which is key here.

Sure, it's not a pure de-Googled experience like GrapheneOS can be. Purists might argue that any Google service compatibility is a compromise too far - and that’s a fair point. That said, MicroG operates without sending identifiable data back to Google's servers, and it allows everyday apps to run while keeping the privacy protections intact.

A Year In: The Verdict

One year in, I'm not regretting it. I have better peace of mind knowing my digital footprint isn't being auctioned off to advertisers every minute of the day 😂. I get insights into what's happening behind the scenes that most smartphone users will never see, and once you've seen it - you can't unsee it. The tracker report is like looking behind the curtain and realising the wizard has been taking notes the whole time.

The FP6 continues to hold up well. It’s camera & mic hardware switch gives me peace of mind I didn't know I was missing. The repair-ability means I'm not planning to replace this phone anytime soon, and when something eventually wears out, I'll fix it myself. That said, I have mentioned the Commodore Callback handset which is now in production at time of writing, and uses SailFish OS. A hark back to the days of flip phones with T9 predictive text is something I never figured I need. But it seems like Commodore are capitalising off the back of numerous Social Media bans for children, as their inaugral phone completely blocks all social media. Sounds good to me! I’ll update my Kronicles if I get one.

Are there trade-offs using /e/OS? Of course - NFC payments need a workaround unless you are accepted onto Curve Pay. Android Auto is absent and the default /e/OS camera app needs work. But these are known quantities, not surprises. You go in with your eyes open, and you adapt.

The privacy wins are permanent. The conveniences you lose are replaceable — or you learn to live without them and wonder why you needed them in the first place.

If you're sitting on the fence, my advice is simple: try it. /e/OS is available to download to your phone: https://e.foundation/installer/! Download it, run it for a week alongside your current setup. See what you notice. See what the tracker report tells you. Then decide 🙂