An introduction to CalyxOS

CalyxOS is a de-Googled, open-source Android distribution that aims to put privacy and security in the hands of everyday users.

Its main developer is The Calyx Institute, a non-profit that focuses on privacy awareness and that was founded by Nicholas Merrill – the first person to file a Constitutional challenge against the National Security Letters (NSL) statute in the Patriot Act. In 2004, Merrill received an NSL that demanded he hand over information on a user of a small internet service provider (ISP) that he owned and banned him from telling anyone about it. Merrill didn’t comply with the NSL, filed the Constitutional challenge, and after more than a decade, became the first person to have an NSL completely lifted.