So my roommate has informed me that Android and Motorola donate to Republicans more than Democrats whereas Apple does not, claiming this as a reason that the iPhone is better than an Android phone. While I could find statistics confirming the fact about Motorola, I don’t even know what they were referring to when they mentioned Android and I tried looking for “Android” and “Android Foundation” and came up with nothing. If they’re referring to the fact that Android, while it’s an open sourced project, is maintained by Google, I’m already aware of that and would like to de-google my phone as much as possible (note: my phone is a Motorola Moto G Power (2022)). I however couldn’t find any stats to support the Apple claim and my roommate has yet to provide me with any sources.
In any case, for my next phone, I’d like to move to a more privacy-focused phone. I’ve heard about the Fairphone, but re this comment, I’m slightly dissuaded from getting one when it comes to the US. I got a Motorola phone in following the advice of this post regarding the safety of the hardware used, but I might want to switch off of the phone when it comes time to upgrade to a new one down the line.
I’m not sure what to go with, so feel free to give me tips on that. Also I’ve wanted to install an alternative OS on my phone but all the ones I’ve seen aren’t compatible with my phone at the moment.
Buy a used phone off eBay, then you aren’t supporting any manufacturer, and you can get whatever phone you want.
If you’re paying for any software on your phone (e.g., games or productivity apps) you’re still likely giving the manufacturer money.
If you use any apps on your phone (e.g., the web browser or email) they can still collect analytics on you and sell that data.
If you pay for subscriptions through any of those same apps, again more money going to them.
If you buy too old of phones you’ll be left without critical updates, either very soon or right away, that protect your privacy and personal/financial data.
These corporations still win and you still lose.
Unlocked bootloader and a custom ROM like LineageOS. I’ve never even seen an advertisement on my phone, much less pay to use software.
Then you can’t pick from any manufacturer. You have to get a phone that can only run android and can be rooted. That vastly narrows down your choices.