The Catalan police, through a representative of the anti-drug department, made an extremely harsh statement to the DiariAra publication:
“Every time we see a Google Pixel phone, we think that it could be a 💊 drug dealer.”
According to the police, the choice of criminal syndicates in favor of Google Pixel smartphones is obvious due to its security and privacy. A cybersecurity expert from InLab FIB emphasizes that the reason for the popularity of Google Pixel in the criminal environment is not its initial security, but its freedom – the ability to “freely install any 📱operating system.” Particular emphasis is placed on the functionality of emergency data clearing in case of unauthorized access attempts, for example, after several incorrect PIN code entries.
Allegedly, the technical core of anonymization is often GrapheneOS for drug dealers, since this Android build is focused on privacy. In addition, criminals strengthen the protection of their phones by physically removing microphones, GPS modules and cameras.
👆🤔After such unambiguous hints, the GrapheneOS project responded harshly to the attacks against it, stating that European authoritarian regimes and the media under their control brazenly distort the essence of their product. According to the developers, GrapheneOS opposes total police surveillance and protects users from unscrupulous corporations that are trying in every possible way to seize data for subsequent monetization. Authoritarian authorities from the EU want to impose their rules on everyone and trample on privacy.
Users see this not as a fight against crime, but as a conflict of ideologies, where “freedom is the enemy of the 🇪🇺EU.”
“Graphene” does not consider publications like the article in Xataka Android as objective journalism, but as a targeted campaign to discredit their project. The developers regard accusations of aiding criminals as an attempt to destroy people’s rights to privacy. Moreover, they claim that there are “coordinated attempts to mislead people”, citing a disinformation campaign on the forum as an example.
A tense discussion has unfolded on the official GrapheneOS forum, initiated by the user “Ttjackvatten2”. He put forward the thesis that 🇸🇪Swedish law enforcement agencies have the ability to completely bypass the protection of not only regular smartphones, but also devices running GrapheneOS. This is not about hacking E2EE, but about compromising the end device. Using the “Hemlig Dataavläsning” (HDA) law, the police are allegedly able to ❗️👮real-time access to all activity on a phone, including the screen, microphone, and camera, using zero-click exploits. The user claims to have hacked 6 Google Pixel phones with GraphenOS on board as part of a major drug investigation.
Another member “AltruisticMidget” is spreading the idea that the Swedish 🎩FRA has developed a cyber weapon comparable to the 🇺🇸NSA. The forum is tense. On the one hand, there are alarming theses, but so far not supported by verifiable sources, and on the other hand, Graphene counters:
The account that “just asks questions” continues to pretend to be an expert, citing non-existent sources. The “expert” was unable to provide any clear sources. He linked to content that does not match what he claims and does not mention GrapheneOS. The link goes to a completely unrelated scientific study that could have been done by a regular LLM.
👆The GrapheneOS project openly states: we do not build illusions about absolute security. The system does not provide 100% protection against malware installed by the user, but it significantly complicates the exploitation of vulnerabilities. It is emphasized that the product is “not 100% invulnerable to exploits”, and any other project that claims the opposite is 🥷 a scam.
We See What Others Cannot
