GrapheneOS

GrapheneOS is an open-source mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It is designed around defense in depth, attack-surface reduction, stronger application isolation, and user control over permissions and connectivity. Unlike conventional Android distributions, GrapheneOS does not include Google applications or services by default. Users can optionally install a sandboxed implementation of Google Play through the system App Store, allowing Play-dependent applications to function without granting those services the privileged system-level position they normally have on Android devices. The project began in 2016 as Android Hardening, an effort associated primarily with developer Daniel Micay and focused on improving the security of Android. It was connected to the earlier CopperheadOS project, but a dispute over software licensing and control at Copperhead Limited resulted in Micay leaving the company in 2018. Android Hardening was subsequently renamed GrapheneOS and publicly presented in 2019 as the continuation of the security-focused work. The project is independent of Google, although it initially concentrated on Google Pixel hardware because Pixel devices provide hardware-backed security features and a sufficiently open bootloader and firmware-support model. GrapheneOS combines operating-system hardening with user-facing privacy controls. Its features include per-application network permissions, sensor controls, contact and storage scopes, randomized Wi-Fi MAC addresses, configurable USB data restrictions, automatic Bluetooth and Wi-Fi disabling, duress wiping, PIN scrambling, and automatic rebooting after a period of inactivity. The latter is intended to return a device from the after-first-unlock state to the more strongly protected before-first-unlock state, removing encryption keys from memory and restoring hardware-enforced unlock throttling. The project develops several integrated components. Vanadium is a hardened Chromium-based browser and WebView implementation with additional sandboxing and exploit mitigations. Auditor uses hardware-backed attestation to help verify the authenticity and integrity of device firmware and operating-system software. Hardened memory allocation, stronger compiler and control-flow protections, and extensive use of ARM Memory Tagging Extension on compatible devices form part of the underlying security model. GrapheneOS also maintains privacy-preserving substitutes or proxy services for selected location functions and provides applications such as Secure Camera and Secure PDF Viewer. The nonprofit GrapheneOS Foundation was established in Toronto in March 2023 by Daniel Micay, Dmytro Mukhomor, and Khalykbek Yelshibekov. The foundation provides organizational support, infrastructure, development, and fundraising for the project. It has received substantial donations from supporters including Vitalik Buterin and Jack Dorsey. GrapheneOS has no telemetry mechanism, so its user base can only be estimated indirectly from update-server access logs. The project reported approximately 400,000 active users in April 2026, although that figure is explicitly an estimate. GrapheneOS remains primarily a software project rather than a conventional consumer-electronics brand. Installation is available through a browser-based WebUSB installer or command-line tools on supported computers and Android devices. As of March 2026, official compatibility remained limited to Google Pixel devices. The foundation has also announced a partnership with Motorola Mobility intended to support future devices meeting GrapheneOS requirements for secure boot, hardware-backed key storage, update longevity, wireless privacy, and control over USB and debugging interfaces.

GrapheneOS originated in 2016 as Android Hardening, a project focused on improving the security of Android through changes to low-level system components, memory handling, application sandboxing, and permissions. Its principal developer, Daniel Micay, had previously co-founded and worked on CopperheadOS. After a 2018 dispute at Copperhead Limited involving software licensing and control, Micay continued the work independently. Android Hardening was renamed GrapheneOS and announced publicly in April 2019 as the successor to the earlier CopperheadOS effort. The project developed around the Android Open Source Project rather than creating a separate mobile platform from scratch. This approach allowed it to retain broad Android application compatibility while changing the trust model and strengthening security boundaries. Google services were excluded from the default installation, but GrapheneOS created a sandboxed method for installing Google Play Services, the Play Store, and dependent applications as ordinary sandboxed applications. This distinguished the project from distributions that rely primarily on microG as a replacement for Google Play Services. GrapheneOS initially concentrated on Google Pixel phones because the platform's bootloader, verified-boot implementation, secure element, update process, and hardware-backed security capabilities aligned relatively well with the project's requirements. The foundation's hardware standards include rollback-protected verified boot, relockable bootloaders using custom signing keys, StrongBox support, hardware key attestation, secure unlock-attempt throttling, controllable USB interfaces, wireless identifier randomization, and long-term firmware and driver support. These requirements have limited the range of officially supported devices but are central to the project's security claims. In March 2022, GrapheneOS released Secure Camera and Secure PDF Viewer through Google Play and expanded support around Android 12L on Pixel devices. Secure Camera is intended to limit metadata exposure, while Secure PDF Viewer uses a sandboxed rendering environment to reduce the risk posed by malicious documents. Other major components include Vanadium, a hardened Chromium browser and WebView, and Auditor, which performs hardware-backed verification of firmware and operating-system integrity. GrapheneOS expanded its organizational structure in March 2023 when the GrapheneOS Foundation was founded in Toronto by Micay, Dmytro Mukhomor, and Khalykbek Yelshibekov. The nonprofit supports engineering, infrastructure, releases, and fundraising. Publicly reported donors have included Vitalik Buterin and Jack Dorsey. Because the operating system does not collect telemetry, the foundation estimates usage through update-server access patterns rather than direct user counting. Security work continued to develop around modern hardware features. In November 2023, GrapheneOS added support for ARM Memory Tagging Extension on compatible Pixel hardware. In 2024, the team reported that this feature assisted in finding a serious memory-corruption vulnerability in an Android Bluetooth Low Energy component, later tracked as CVE-2024-23694 and fixed by Google. In July 2025, the foundation announced that it was seeking a major Android OEM partner to produce devices meeting its security and support standards, including future Qualcomm-based hardware. In March 2026, Motorola Mobility was publicly identified as the partner. At that point, Pixel devices remained the only officially compatible hardware, while the first Motorola-supported devices were expected no earlier than late 2026 or early 2027. The project therefore remained both a mobile operating system and a broader research and engineering effort aimed at making secure, privacy-preserving Android hardware more widely available.

• 2026

  Motorola Mobility partnership disclosed

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  Motorola Mobility is identified as the OEM partner for planned future GrapheneOS-compatible devices.

• 2024

  CVE-2024-23694 identified with help from memory tagging

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  GrapheneOS developers report using hardware memory tagging to help uncover a Bluetooth Low Energy memory-corruption vulnerability.

• 2023

  GrapheneOS Foundation founded

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  A Toronto-based nonprofit is established to support the project's development and operations.

• 2023

  Android Auto support added

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  Android Auto becomes installable through the sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer.

• 2022

  Secure Camera and Secure PDF Viewer released

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  The project releases two security-oriented applications and adds Android 12L support for Pixel devices.

• 2019

  GrapheneOS name announced

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  Android Hardening is renamed GrapheneOS and presented as the continuation of the CopperheadOS security work.

• 2018

  Daniel Micay leaves Copperhead Limited

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  A dispute over licensing and control leads Micay to continue the Android-hardening work independently.

• 2016

  Android Hardening begins

  [1]GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org

  The project that later became GrapheneOS begins work on strengthening Android security and reducing its attack surface.

An independent, security-first and privacy-first alternative to stock Android, emphasizing defense in depth, minimal default trust in Google services, hardened application isolation, and user-controlled permissions.

• Mobile operating system · 2016

  GrapheneOS

  The core product is a free, open-source Android-based operating system for supported devices. It modifies AOSP with hardened system components, stronger sandboxing, expanded permission controls, memory-safety mitigations, hardware-backed verification, and privacy-preserving defaults. Google applications are not included in the base installation, while compatible users can add sandboxed Google Play components.

• Web browser and WebView

  Vanadium

  Vanadium is GrapheneOS's hardened Chromium-derived browser and WebView implementation. It incorporates process and site isolation, automatic updates, additional compiler and exploit mitigations, tracker and advertisement blocking, and a default-disabled JavaScript JIT configuration intended to reduce attack surface.

• Security and attestation application

  Auditor

  Auditor uses hardware-backed attestation to verify the authenticity and integrity of a device's firmware and operating-system software. It can also perform scheduled remote checks through the project's attestation service and notify users when verification does not occur within a configured period.

• Compatibility layer

  Sandboxed Google Play

  This optional package allows Google Play Services, the Google Play Store, and dependent applications to run as sandboxed applications rather than privileged operating-system components. Users can control their permissions and use features such as push notifications, payments, location services, and Android Auto.

• Privacy application · 2022

  Secure Camera

  Secure Camera is designed for safer image capture and includes privacy-oriented handling such as automatic removal of selected EXIF metadata. It is distributed as part of the GrapheneOS application ecosystem.

• Document security application · 2022

  Secure PDF Viewer

  Secure PDF Viewer opens documents in a sandboxed PDF.js environment within the hardened WebView, reducing exposure to potentially malicious PDF content compared with a broadly privileged document viewer.

• 2025

  Pursuit of an official Android OEM partnershipStrategy

  Background

  GrapheneOS required hardware with secure boot, robust secure-element support, controllable interfaces, and long-term vendor maintenance. Official compatibility was therefore concentrated on Pixel devices.

  Action taken

  The foundation announced work with a major Android OEM to engineer flagship devices meeting its hardware and support requirements.

  Aftermath

  Motorola Mobility was identified as the partner in March 2026; a device list and commercial availability remained forthcoming.

  Source

• 2023

  Android Auto compatibility through sandboxed Google PlayProduct launch

  Background

  Users wanted access to Android Auto while retaining GrapheneOS's model of treating Google services as sandboxed applications.

  Action taken

  Android Auto was made available through the App Store and given granular compatibility permissions for wired and wireless connectivity, audio routing, and calls.

  Aftermath

  Users could use Android Auto without making Google Play Services a privileged system component.

  Source

1. 1GrapheneOSen.wikipedia.org
2. 2GrapheneOS official websitegrapheneos.org
3. 3GrapheneOS features overviewgrapheneos.org
4. 4GrapheneOS installation guidegrapheneos.org
5. 5GrapheneOS security documentationgrapheneos.org