Reclaim your Privacy! Ditch Android & Apple!

Summary

In a world where digital privacy is constantly under threat, David Bombal introduces viewers to CalyxOS, a privacy-focused operating system designed to replace the standard Android on Pixel phones. This engaging walkthrough details the installation process on a Pixel 8 Pro, highlighting the OS's security features like Signal for messaging, Tor for anonymous browsing, and microG for anonymous downloads. Bombal also acknowledges Brilliant's support in promoting tech education, offering insights into strong password usage. The tutorial includes handy steps and checks for users interested in degoogling their phones, emphasizing the importance of personal data privacy.

Highlights

• Ditch Android and Apple to reclaim your privacy with CalyxOS 📱
• CalyxOS comes with built-in Signal and Tor for secure communication and browsing 🔐
• Thanks to Brilliant.org for sponsoring and educating on technology essentials 🔒
• Install CalyxOS on devices like Pixel 8 Pro using a user-friendly step-by-step PDF guide 📝
• Enjoy apps from the F-Droid Store and stay anonymous with microG replacements 🚫📊

Key Takeaways

• Escape the surveillance trap by switching to CalyxOS for enhanced privacy 📱
• Brilliant.org is a fantastic resource for learning about tech essentials, like strong passwords 🔒
• Signal and Tor are integrated in CalyxOS for secure messaging and anonymous browsing 🔐
• CalyxOS supports a variety of devices including modern Pixel and Motorola phones 📞
• Installing CalyxOS requires technical steps like enabling developer options and downloading USB drivers 🛠️

Overview

Are you tired of being spied on by your phone? David Bombal has the answer with CalyxOS, a privacy-centered operating system that helps you secure your digital life. Whether you own a Pixel 8 Pro or any other supported device, this operating system ensures your data remains yours and away from prying eyes.

Bombal's tutorial not only walks you through the step-by-step installation of CalyxOS, but also introduces you to its incredible features. With applications like Signal for safer chats and Tor for private web browsing, plus reduced Google service tracking thanks to microG, you're on a path to greater confidentiality.

Lastly, Bombal's recognition of Brilliant.org underscores the need for solid tech education, especially in understanding important aspects like strong passwords. Thanks to this video, you're equipped with the knowledge to degoogle your phone and reclaim your privacy effortlessly.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Privacy and CalyxOS The chapter introduces the concept of privacy related to smartphone usage, specifically focusing on the option to use CalyxOS to avoid being spied on. It discusses the pervasive surveillance of data that occurs when using standard smartphones and suggests 'degoogling' your phone as a solution, which involves switching to CalyxOS. The chapter emphasizes that while everyone needs a phone, not everyone wants to compromise their privacy, and thus, CalyxOS offers a way to reclaim it. It mentions that the chapter will provide instructions on how to install CalyxOS on devices like the Pixel 8 Pro and acknowledges the support of the sponsor, Brilliant.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Sponsorship Message: Brilliant The chapter titled 'Sponsorship Message: Brilliant' discusses the importance of strong passwords in the digital age. It highlights an interactive course offered by Brilliant that educates users on the significance of strong passwords. The chapter stresses that many people still use weak passwords, which is a considerable risk. Through Brilliant's training, users can learn interactively about password protection by understanding concepts such as password length and resistance to hacking attempts. The course poses questions such as whether an eight-character password is secure enough, promoting deeper thinking and awareness about cyber security.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Understanding Password Security In this chapter titled 'Understanding Password Security,' the discussion focuses on the complexity and importance of strong passwords. It begins with a thought-provoking question about how long it would take for a potential malicious actor to guess an eight-character password using automated scripts. The answer is revealed to be millions of years, highlighting the effectiveness of strong password security. The chapter underscores the significance of continually educating oneself on such security matters, with a nod to Brilliant.org for providing educational resources and supporting the author's educational efforts.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Supported Devices for CalyxOS The chapter titled 'Supported Devices for CalyxOS' discusses the different smartphones compatible with CalyxOS, emphasizing the modern devices mainly from the Pixel series like Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as Fairphones 4 and 5 and some Motorola models. It highlights extended support available for older Pixel devices, including the Pixel 3, and mentions that some devices, such as those from OnePlus, are no longer supported. The chapter also touches upon some features of CalyxOS.
• 02:00 - 02:30: CalyxOS Features Overview CalyxOS comes pre-installed with Signal, an encrypted messaging app, enhancing user's privacy compared to traditional SMS messaging.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Beginning the Installation Process This chapter covers the beginning steps of installing CalyxOS, highlighting privacy-minded alternatives to using Google Play services for application downloads. It introduces the concept of using an alternate account for increased anonymity and privacy instead of a Google ID. The chapter prepares readers to start the installation process by directing them to the CalyxOS website and guiding them to initiate the installation by clicking on specific links.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Device Preparation for Installation The chapter 'Device Preparation for Installation' begins with choosing the device model for installation. It emphasizes the importance of identifying the device, demonstrated by navigating to the phone's settings, scrolling to 'about phone,' and confirming the device model as a Pixel 8 Pro. The narrator also mentions intending to install software using Windows. Despite receiving criticism for using Windows when advocating for privacy, the narrator clarifies that they use Linux, Mac OS, and Windows across different instances.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Downloading Necessary Software The chapter focuses on the process of installing CalyxOS using a Windows computer. The narrator usually prefers a different operating system but opts for Windows to cater to a wider audience. They emphasize the creation of a PDF guide, available via a link, which details all necessary steps for the installation. This approach is designed to assist a broader range of users, particularly since more people tend to use Windows over Linux.
• 05:00 - 06:30: Flashing the Device This chapter provides a detailed guide on flashing a device, using a Pixel 8 Pro as an example, though the steps remain similar for other devices like the Pixel 6A. It includes comprehensive screenshots to assist in the setup process, including steps such as turning off the phone, removing the SIM card, and enabling developer options. The guide offers a more thorough approach compared to resources like the CalyxOS website, which only briefly mention the steps without detailed explanations or images.
• 06:30 - 07:30: Finalizing Installation and Initial Setup The chapter titled 'Finalizing Installation and Initial Setup' guides users through enabling developer options on a Pixel 8 Pro phone. It starts by swiping up, accessing settings, and navigating to 'about phone'. The next step involves scrolling down and tapping the build number seven times to enable developer options. After entering a password, the user gains developer access. Following this, the chapter instructs to enable USB debugging. It focuses on completing the initial setup and finalizing the phone installation.
• 07:30 - 08:30: Exploring CalyxOS Applications In the chapter titled 'Exploring CalyxOS Applications', the focus is on engaging with developer settings to prepare for advanced operations. The process begins by navigating to the system settings and scrolling to enable developer options. It emphasizes the importance of ensuring that both 'OEM unlocking' and 'USB debugging' are enabled. The narrator confirms enabling OEM unlocking and then proceeds to allow USB debugging, signifying readiness for further application explorations or modifications within CalyxOS. This setup is integral for users looking to explore or modify system operations.
• 08:30 - 09:30: Advanced Features: Work Profile and Security The chapter covers advanced features such as setting up work profiles and enhancing security on devices. The process begins with preparing the host computer by downloading necessary USB drivers, specifically for a Windows OS. The example provided involves downloading the Google USB driver. Users need to agree to the terms and conditions to proceed with the download. The chapter also mentions organizing files by creating folders, as demonstrated with the example of creating a folder named 'cCalyxOS2' due to previously completed steps.
• 09:30 - 10:00: Conclusion and Call to Action In this chapter, the author guides the reader through the process of installing a driver for CalyxOS on an Android device. The steps are described in detail, beginning with unzipping the necessary files and right-clicking on the 'android_winusb.inf' file to install it. Although a prompt indicates that the publisher is unknown, the author notes the file is a verified Microsoft Windows publication. The author assures that though the installation prompt did not appear during the demonstration due to previous installations, a typical prompt for installing the Google device driver is expected.

Reclaim your Privacy! Ditch Android & Apple! Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 so you've got two choices in life you can be spied  on constantly all your data monitored or you could   decide to degoogle your phone and stop the spying  I like what it says here on the CalyxOS website your   phone should be private everyone needs a phone not  everyone wants to be spied on reclaim your privacy   with CalyxOS so if you want to start your journey  towards privacy have a look at CalyxOS I'm going   to show you this video how to take a pixel 8 Pro  running standard Android and replace it or flash   it with CalyxOS I really want to thank Brilliant for  sponsoring this video do you know how technology
• 00:30 - 01:00 works as an example how strong passwords work  Brilliant has this interactive course that shows   you how strong passwords work this is really  important in today's world and unfortunately a   lot of people still use weak passwords so let's  look at password theft what I really like about   Brilliant's training is it's very interactive  so as an example do you know the answer to this   question the password you choose was at least  eight characters long if it takes a hack of 5
• 01:00 - 01:30 seconds per guess how long do you think it would  take them to try every possible eight character   password few hours a few months or millions of  years what do you think answer is millions of   years they could use a script to automate the  password guessing now you can try everything on   Brilliant for free for 30 days use my link below  https://Brilliant.org/DavidBombal you'll also get 20%   off an annual premium subscription you can really  change your life through education and I really   want to thank Brilliant for doing that but but also  for supporting my channel now the first thing you
• 01:30 - 02:00 need to check is which handsets or phones are  supported so on the CalyxOS website if I scroll   down we can see modern devices such as the pixel  phones so notice pixel 8 Pro pixel 7 Pro etc we've   got Fairphones so four and five we've got various  Motorola phones those are modern devices extended   support is available for these pixels so notice  even down to a pixel 3 we've got a shift phone   these phones are no longer supported such as the  OnePlus etc Calyx then shows us some features on
• 02:00 - 02:30 their website and I'll quickly just go through  some of them as an example signal is installed   by default so rather than using SMS's which are  ain't secure when you talk to someone the idea is to   use Signal much better privacy focused encrypted  messaging application Tor is built- in as well   so if you want to browse anonymously you can use  Tor built into the Operating System you can also   as mentioned download your favorite apps from the  F-Droid Store or the Aurora store microG replaces
• 02:30 - 03:00 some of the functions of the Google Play services  while maintaining much more anonymity and privacy   completely optional so the idea here is rather  than giving Google your Google ID where they   can track you we'll use another account and then  be able to download the applications anonymously   okay so that's enough talking let's get started so  first thing on the CalyxOS website I'm going to click   Get CalyxOS scroll down here I'm going to install it  on my phone so I'm going to click install we need
• 03:00 - 03:30 to choose the device model so obviously you need  to make sure which device you're using so on this   phone I'll go to settings and I'll scroll down and  go to about phone and you can see this is a pixel   8 Pro so that's the phone that I'm going to use so  pixel 8 Pro and I'm going to install the software   using Windows now in previous videos I got a lot  of flack from people saying oh you want to use a   privacy phone but you're using Windows now just  notes I use Linux I use Mac OS and I use Windows
• 03:30 - 04:00 typically I only use Windows for demonstrations  just because it reaches a broader range of people   so I'm going to show you how to install CalyxOS using a Windows computer even though that's not   typically what I use that's just to make it  available to a broader audience because more   people use Windows than perhaps Linux now to make  it easier my team and I have created a PDF which   you can download using the link below that shows  you all the steps on how to get CalyxOS installed
• 04:00 - 04:30 in this example we were using a pixel 6A for the  creation of this PDF but I'm going to demonstrate   using a pixel 8 Pro steps are basically the same  but we've done a lot of work creating screenshots   showing you how to set this up and includes all  the screenshots showing you what you need to do   as an example turning your phone off and removing  the SIM card as the first step and then enabling   options such as developer options so that's a  lot more detailed than they've got on the CalyxOS    website as an example they just tell you to do  this enable developer options but we're showing
• 04:30 - 05:00 you visually how to do that again I don't have a  SIM card installed on this phone so just to show   you the full process I'll swipe up and I'll go to  settings scroll down about phone you can see it's   a pixel 8 Pro what we're going to do is scroll  all the way down and press build number seven   times to enable developer options I have to put  in my password and notice we are now a developer   so first step enable developer options next thing  we need to do enable USB debugging and enable
• 05:00 - 05:30 OEM unlocking so go back here go to system scroll  down go to developer options you can see we've got   developer options enabled here we going to scroll  down and make sure that OEM unlocking is enabled   so if that's not enabled we want to enable that  option so I'm going to allow OEM unlocking and   we want to allow USB debugging so I'll select that  option as well well and click okay okay next thing
• 05:30 - 06:00 we need to do is prepare the host computer so we  need to download USB drivers for Windows in this   example once again I'm using a Windows computer so  I'm going to download the Google USB driver so on   this page I'm going to click download the Google  USB driver zip file you have to agree to the terms   and conditions and then click download to download  it so what I'll do here is I'll create another   folder I've already done this previously so I'll  just call this cCalyxOS2 coz I've already changed
• 06:00 - 06:30 one phone to CalyxOS but I'll install that driver  there and as you can see once again in the PDF all   those steps are shown okay so what I'm going to  do now is unzip the file so extract all the files   and then I'm going to right click on this android_winusb.inf file and click install we're told that   it's an unknown publisher I'm going to click open  and you can see the verified publish is Microsoft   Windows File is installed now this didn't show  in my recording because I previously installed   it but you'll get a prompt like this would you  like to install this device driver from Google so
• 06:30 - 07:00 we're downloading this driver from the android.com  website so from Google Google is the publisher so   you need to install the software and then click  okay so very basic installation okay scrolling   down we need to download the device flasher so  download device flasher to the folder okay so in   my CalyxOS directory I've got the device flasher  and what I'll do is open up CMD prompt directly
• 07:00 - 07:30 here so if I type DIR you can see that the device  flash. exe file is in that directory now this will   depend on your phone in this example I've got  a pixel 8 Pro in the document we were using a   pixel 6A so the hash of the file is different  because it's a different file so on this phone   I'm going to use this command to check the hash so  copy that paste that in here you can see the hash   starts with 111 ends in in 70a3 that's  the hash that they've given us so you could check
• 07:30 - 08:00 the entire hash to make sure that it matches this  is once again a unique digest of the device flash   if it doesn't match you may have a corrupt file  or incorrect file so if it's not the same file   redownload the file and make sure that it's the  correct one for your phone next thing we need to   do is download the CalyxOS Operating System so  I'm going to click save to save that now this   is a 2 gig file so it's going to take a while to  download so now is a good time to perhaps get a   coffee while that downloads obviously depends  on your internet speed now we're told this will
• 08:00 - 08:30 only work for Pixel 8 Pro Husky I've downloaded  the file for my specific phone the one that you   download will be a different one you need to make  sure that it's the right software otherwise it may   break your device now fortunately when I was  testing this I actually used the wrong image   with a phone and CalyxOS blocked me so it didn't  allow me to install the wrong image on the phone   but just be careful when you're flashing a phone  you do run the risk of breaking it or killing your   phone so that's a risk that you need to take for  yourself when flashing a device like this okay
• 08:30 - 09:00 we told do not extract or rename the zip file  simply download as it is and once downloaded we   can verify the image again you want to make sure  that everything matches correctly that you've got   the correct files okay file is now downloaded so  if I open up my directory we can see it there what   we now told to do is check the hash of the file so  I'll copy this command paste it in and you can see   that's the hash starts with 627 ends in 687 and  that's the hash that we want so that looks good now
• 09:00 - 09:30 if you really want to make sure that the file  is correct you can download the signature file   but we're not going to worry about that here now  we need to run the device flasher and Flash the   device so you need to make sure that both the  CalyxOS image and the device flash are in the   same directory so if I clear my screen and type  Dir flasher and file are in the same directory so   that's good and now we can run the device flasher  by double clicking on device flasher to run it now
• 09:30 - 10:00 just before I do that notice antivirus may flag  this as infected because the program was written   in the go language you can have a look at the  FAQs if you want more information we also told   that we may need to unlock the Bootloader okay  so what we need to do is connect the computer   to the phone so I'll connect this via USB cable  okay so that's now connected I now need to double
• 10:00 - 10:30 click the device flasher double click on that file  now we told that there's a problem with this file   Windows Defender stopped it but for this to work  you need to run this anyway so you need to make a   decision whether you want to run that file or not  I'm going to allow USB debugging okay so there's   various things that we told here like connect  to Wi-Fi network and ensure that no SIM cards   are installed enable developer options we've  done that enable USB debugging we've done that   enable OEM unlocking in the same developer  menus option so you could just make sure that
• 10:30 - 11:00 that's done so notice OEM unlocking is enabled  you can see USB debugging is enabled and we've   enabled developer options on the phone so I'm  going to press enter to continue now it tells   us devices to be flashed is husky in this case  so it's detected the right phone previously when   I connected the wrong phone and tried to do this  it told me that the phone wasn't found so now I   press enter to continue now this process is going  to take a while notice the phone is rebooted you
• 11:00 - 11:30 need to be patient now while it installs the  software it may take a while to go through all   the steps but we are told here please use the  volume and power keys on the device to unlock   the bootloader so we can see it says do not  unlock the bootloader I'm going to use the   volume buttons to unlock the bootloader and then  the power button to select it okay so that's been   done now and notice now it starts flashing you  just need to wait for it to happen so there was
• 11:30 - 12:00 quite a pause between me unlocking the bootloader  to the software flashing the device it's now doing   various things notice the phone is turning  on and off multiple times you literally now   just need to wait for quite a while while it's  flashing the phone rebooting the phone and so forth so here's an example you can see  fastbootd you can see that it's sending   large files to the phone again  just wait for this process to
• 12:00 - 12:30 complete okay so now we're told please use  the volume and power keys on the device to   lock the bootloader so it was blank for a while  but now the following is displayed so I'm going   to lock the boot loader using the volume buttons  and then power to select it so boot loader is now locked okay so the command prompt or terminal  window on my Windows computer is now closed   and you can see that the phone is now booting and  there you go it says welcome to CalyxOS now in
• 12:30 - 13:00 the documentation on the website it says you've  now got the phone running but in the PDF we now   show you the steps to get it set up so bunch of  screenshots here that can help you get it set up   so first thing I'll do is say start select where  I am which is the UK click next now you'll need   to enable WiFi if you want to install apps in  the upcoming steps so in this document we show   you how to install various apps so you'll need to  connect to the Wi-Fi network for that to work so
• 13:00 - 13:30 what I'll do here is unplug the USB cable and  then I'll connect it to the Wi-Fi network okay   so I've connected to the Wi-Fi network we now  told that a SIM card is missing I'm okay with   that so I'm going to say next date and time is  shown I'm going to say next we can restore apps   if we want to I'm not going to do that here  so I'm going to click skip now you may want   to enable location services as an example if you  want to use the maps app you're going to to need   location services to see where you're at so I'm  going to say next specify a pin you could set up
• 13:30 - 14:00 a fingerprint I'm not going to do that now this is  what's interesting here we are using microg which   is an open source replacement for Google services  so we get access to Google services without all   the tracking so we're going to allow that and say  next now you can install additional apps here I'm   going to install all of them because I want the  Aurora store as an example so I want to install   that there's also other useful software here like  the Calyx VPN we have a Google Maps replacement we
• 14:00 - 14:30 can also get rid of exf data on our photos we may  also want to install the Tor Browser so I'm going   to say install to install all of that software  this again is what's really nice about calx OS it   gives you a degoogle phone but with a whole bunch  of applications ready to go out of the box very   easy to get up and running with this now you can  choose your theme you might want to go for dark   I prefer that or light but just to be consistent  with the video I'll select light you can specify
• 14:30 - 15:00 your preferred navigation method I'll just go with  the default and say next and then say start and   there you go I've now got CalyxOS installed with  a bunch of applications okay so if I scroll up you   can see various applications here including the  Aurora store including the F-Droid store so as an   example if I go to the Aurora store I can choose  various options I can click next choose various   installations I'm just going to go with a session  installer say next go with a system default say   next you could enable various app links I'm not  going to do that say next and then say finish so
• 15:00 - 15:30 I literally just went with the defaults and notice  here you could log in using a Google account or an   anonymous account or a Anonymous insecure account  so I'm going to choose anonymous because I want to   log in and get access to Google apps but not using  my Google ID now you may have issue sometimes with   doing this you may have to try this multiple  times but I'll just show you one example let's   I want to install Instagram I can do that and  notice the installation is happening here and
• 15:30 - 16:00 I can click install to install it notice the  application is downloading okay now I can press   open and there you go I've got Instagram running  on this CalyxOS phone so again if I scroll up   there's Instagram you can use the Aurora store or  you can use F-droid this comes out of the box once   again with CalyxOS makes it very easy to install  applications especially if you're not used to a   operating system so what I'll install here is Termux  so Termux terminal emulator so I'll download that
• 16:00 - 16:30 press install Termux is now installed and I can  press open to open it I won't allow notifications   but notice there I've got Termux installed uname - a shows us that we're running Linux now on the CalyxOS website once again in their documentation they  have a lot of really useful information they talk   about App stores such as F-Droid and Aurora so  if you need more information about what these
• 16:30 - 17:00 stores actually are then have a look on the CalyxOS documentation they show you the applications   that are included so once again you've got a  VPN you've also got the Tor browser so that's   built- in straight away so I can just start the  tour browser they also have Signal so private   messaging available right away organic Maps allows  us to use maps so I'm going to allow it to find my   you need to download the world map and then you  need to enable location settings which I've done
• 17:00 - 17:30 and then I can specify my location okay so app  locations I'm going to change use location and   then I can specify my location and it can find  me and I won't zoom in here but notice you can   see that I'm in the UK what's also very nice  is it has a built-in firewall so you can decide   what permissions you give an application so  for Instagram as an example we can decide are   we going to allow Instagram to have background  network access allow it to use Wi-Fi data mobile
• 17:30 - 18:00 data allow it to use VPNs Etc so you can simply  turn off options here for various applications   so last app let's look at scrambled Exif data now  Exif data allows people to find out where you are   when you upload photos to various sites a lot of  social media sites will strip that information   but that doesn't mean that those sites don't have  that information so you could strip your Exif data   before you upload a photo to some photo sharing  website one more really nice feature is it has
• 18:00 - 18:30 this work profile option so the idea is is that  you can set up two versions of the phone if you   like or two phones one for work one for personal  or one for personal one for another use so notice   you I have to go through the entire process  once again and download the applications that   I want to use so in this example I'll just skip  the applications so notice here personal I have   Instagram but on work there's no Instagram  very few applications are shown here again
• 18:30 - 19:00 personal Instagram work profile no Instagram  so you can have two different profiles or two   settings that are separated from one another so  applications in one profile don't get access to   the other profile as an example if I take a  photo in the work profile so I'll just take a   photo of that keyboard as an example if I go  to Gallery notice I can see those two photos   but if I go to my personal profile and go to  Gallery notice no photos are found so in the
• 19:00 - 19:30 personal profile no photos are found in the work  profile my photos are found so separation of the   applications between two different profiles okay  I think that's enough I've now shown you how to   install CalyxOS on a pixel phone process is  very similar whether you're using a pixel 6   as an example or 7 or8 all the instructions are  available on the CalyxOS website for specific   phones and once again I have shared a PDF that  shows you how to do this step by step if you
• 19:30 - 20:00 want to use that but what do you think do you use  CalyxOS do you use Graphine what's your preferred   degoogle operating system or are you just stuck  on standard Android I think it's really important   to be aware of the tracking that's taking place  these days more and more companies are tracking   more and more data Microsoft recently just  announced recall which I think is a crazy idea   where they are taking screenshots of your computer  every few seconds and then feeding that to an AI   I think this tracking this monitoring of us needs  to stop you need to start taking back your privacy
• 20:00 - 20:30 stop allowing companies tracking everything that  you're doing please put in the comments below your   thoughts about CalyxOS graphine or perhaps other  deg Googled operating systems if you enjoyed this   video please like it please consider subscribing  to my YouTube channel and clicking on the Bell   to get notifications I'm David Bombal and I  want to wish you all the very best [Music] oh