How to use GrapheneOS: the basics
What GrapheneOS is, why people use it, and how to move around the phone once it is installed.
Read the guide →How-to Guides
New here? Pick a guide and follow the steps one at a time. You do not need to be good with computers. Every guide says how hard it is and how long it takes.
Easy
Just follow the steps. No special skills needed.
Moderate
A few more steps and some new words. Take your time.
Advanced
For people comfortable with settings and technical steps.
How to install an eSIM
Add the eSIM you bought from Juvega to your phone by scanning its QR code.
Read the guide →How to buy an anonymous eSIM
Get mobile data without handing over your passport or name, pay privately, and understand what an eSIM still reveals.
Read the guide →How to flash a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS
Install GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel using the official web installer, then set up a privacy-focused phone with recommended apps.
Read the guide →How to use profiles on GrapheneOS
Set up separate profiles so that a problem in one app cannot reach the rest of your phone.
Read the guide →How to download apps safely: official website, then F-Droid, then Aurora Store
What F-Droid and Aurora Store are, what each is used for, and the safest order to get any app: official website first, then F-Droid, then Aurora Store.
Read the guide →How to install apps on GrapheneOS
The safe places to get apps, how to use Aurora Store for everyday apps, and how to share apps with your everyday profile.
Read the guide →How to harden your GrapheneOS settings
A checklist of the settings that make your phone harder to attack, for the Owner profile and for every profile.
Read the guide →How to get a phone number without a SIM card (VoIP)
Use an internet phone number for calls, texts and sign-ups when your phone has no SIM card.
Read the guide →How to get private email without a phone number or real name
Open a private email account without giving your phone number or real name, and keep different parts of your life separate with aliases.
Read the guide →How to use free Juvega email addresses
Make receive-only email addresses from your Juvega account to get sign-up codes and verification links, without using your own email or phone number.
Read the guide →How to use a VPN on GrapheneOS
Send all of your phone's internet traffic through a VPN, with an always-on setting and a kill switch.
Read the guide →Why use a VPN router or dongle to prevent VPN leaks
Phones can leak your real internet address even with a VPN switched on. A small VPN Wi-Fi router in your bag is a simple way to stop that, and a real GrapheneOS bug shows why.
Read the guide →How to change your IMEI and spot fake cell towers with Blue Merle and Raypager
Set up a GL-E750V2 Mudi V2 travel router to change its IMEI with Blue Merle, and add Raypager to warn you about fake cell towers (IMSI catchers).
Read the guide →How to use Tor on your phone
What Tor is, why a phone is not the best place for it, and the safer way to use it.
Read the guide →How to stay safe on public Wi-Fi
Cafes, airports and hotels offer free Wi-Fi, but you do not know who runs it. Simple rules to protect yourself.
Read the guide →How to back up your GrapheneOS phone
Use Cryptomator to keep an encrypted copy of your phone's important files, in the cloud, on a flash drive or both, so only you can read it.
Read the guide →What to do if your phone is lost or seized
Prepare ahead, then follow a calm checklist if your phone is lost, stolen or taken from you.
Read the guide →How to manage passwords with KeePass
Keep all your passwords in one locked file, and only remember a few.
Read the guide →How to set up Aegis Authenticator for 2FA
Add a second lock to your accounts with Aegis, a free open-source 2FA app that works offline and keeps an encrypted backup.
Read the guide →How to set up Cryptomator with Nextcloud
Create an encrypted vault in Cryptomator and store it on a free Nextcloud account using WebDAV.
Read the guide →How to use OpenKeychain to PGP encrypt files and text
Create a PGP key, share your public key and encrypt or decrypt messages and files on Android.
Read the guide →How to use PGP to protect your files in any cloud storage
Lock your files with your own PGP key before you upload them, so the cloud company only ever stores scrambled data it cannot read.
Read the guide →How to use SimpleX Chat: the complete guide
Set up SimpleX Chat from scratch, connect with people, make groups, lock the app, hide your identity with incognito mode, and back up your chats.
Read the guide →How to use Stack Wallet to hold, send, receive and swap crypto
Create a wallet, back up your recovery phrase, and send, receive and swap coins with the open source Stack Wallet.
Read the guide →How to buy crypto without KYC (and why it protects your privacy)
What KYC is, how it lets someone follow your purchases on a public ledger, and how to buy Bitcoin from other people with RoboSats, Hodl Hodl or Peach.
Read the guide →What is Monero (XMR) and why does it matter?
Bitcoin shows every payment on a public ledger. Monero hides who paid, who was paid and how much. Here is why that matters.
Read the guide →How to keep your Bitcoin private: the basics
Bitcoin is not anonymous. Learn what a public ledger reveals, the habits that protect you, and when to use Lightning or Monero instead.
Read the guide →How to swap one cryptocurrency for another with Fujn Swap
Use swap.fujn.com to exchange one coin for another, without an account, and avoid the common mistakes.
Read the guide →How deleting really works, and how "deleted" data is recovered
Why pressing Delete does not erase things, and how deleted messages can still be found on a phone or computer.
Read the guide →How to shred files with BleachBit
Use the free, open-source BleachBit to permanently erase files on Windows and Linux, and what to do on a Mac and on SSDs.
Read the guide →How to remove metadata from photos and files
Photos and documents carry hidden details about where, when and on what device they were made. Learn what metadata is and how to strip it before you share.
Read the guide →How to use Oblivion to remotely lock and wipe a device
Set up Oblivion so your phone can be locked or wiped from a panic button, a secret remote message or after a period without being unlocked.
Read the guide →How to use FakeTraveler to set a mock GPS location
Choose a place on a map and make apps on your Android phone believe you are there, without root.
Read the guide →How to set up Google Maps on GrapheneOS
Install Google Maps on GrapheneOS with Aurora Store in a separate profile, set the location server to the GrapheneOS Proxy Server, and keep permissions tight.
Read the guide →How to send large files privately
Send big files with a link. The file goes straight from your device to theirs, encrypted the whole way, and is never stored anywhere.
Read the guide →How to send a self-destructing private note
Send a password or private message as a link that works once and then deletes itself. No account needed.
Read the guide →How to open a password-protected PGP message
Someone sent you a block of text starting with BEGIN PGP MESSAGE and a password? Here is how to read it, and how to make one yourself.
Read the guide →How to remove location data from photos before sharing
Photos from your phone can show where you live. Clean them in your browser in seconds, without uploading them anywhere.
Read the guide →How to install the Juvega Android app
Put Juvega on your home screen as a real app. No Google account and no trackers.
Read the guide →How to remove yourself from data broker sites
People-search sites sell your name, address and phone number. Here is how to find your listings and get them removed, step by step.
Read the guide →How to use Blue Merle v2 on the GL.iNet Mudi 7
Blue Merle v2 makes the Mudi 7 travel router harder to track: it can change its IMEI, Wi-Fi name, MAC addresses and more, and helps you swap SIM cards safely.
Read the guide →Why use a Faraday bag: stop tracking, and protect your bank cards and car keys
A Faraday bag blocks every wireless signal. Your phone cannot be tracked while it is inside, and contactless cards and car keys cannot be read or relayed.
Read the guide →How to encrypt your devices, and delete files for good (updated for today)
Full-disk encryption keeps your data safe if a device is lost or taken. Here is how to turn it on everywhere, and why "shredding" files no longer works on modern devices.
Read the guide →How to stop websites tracking you: cookies, scripts and fingerprinting
Websites follow you with cookies, scripts and "fingerprints" of your browser. Here is how tracking works today, and the simple settings and browsers that stop most of it.
Read the guide →Should you use Tor with a VPN? Explained simply
Tor and VPNs both hide your IP address, in different ways. When combining them helps, when it does not, and why Tor bridges are often the better choice today.
Read the guide →How to keep your identities separate online: lessons from people who got caught
Encryption rarely fails. People are usually identified by small habits: a reused username, an old post, the times they are online. How to keep separate identities truly separate.
Read the guide →What is a cold boot attack, and how to protect your computer
An encrypted computer that is switched on, or asleep, keeps its keys in memory. How memory attacks work, and the simple habits that protect you.
Read the guide →How to check a download is genuine: checksums and signatures
Fake downloads are a common way to plant malware. How to check a file really comes from its makers, with a checksum or a signature, in plain English.
Read the guide →How to cross a border with a clean phone, and get your SimpleX chats back after
Back up SimpleX, encrypt the backup with PGP, wipe your phone or profile before a border or high-risk area, then restore everything once you are safe.
Read the guide →How to use Tails: a private computer on a USB stick
Tails turns almost any computer into a private one: it runs from a USB stick, sends everything through Tor and forgets everything when you shut down.
Read the guide →How to use Qubes OS: a computer split into safe compartments
Qubes OS keeps your work, personal life, banking and risky files in separate, isolated compartments, so one infected file cannot reach everything else.
Read the guide →How to run Android apps on your computer with an emulator
Run a private, Google-free Android phone inside your computer, to try apps safely, keep an app off your real phone, or use phone-only apps on a big screen.
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