How to install GrapheneOS on a Pixel smartphone

If you want to limit the data that tech giants such as Google harvest from your smartphone, installing GrapheneOS is a great solution. Unlike Google Android, this privacy-focused Android distribution doesn't require you to connect a Google account to access core features and has numerous hardening features that limit third-party access to your data.

Installing GrapheneOS is quick and easy and you can flash it on to your phone in less than 10 minutes. Simply follow the steps in the post to install and start using GrapheneOS.

What you'll need

• A computer that's running the latest version of Windows, macOS, Arch Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, or ChromeOS and has the latest version of a Chromium-based browser (Brave, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Chromium etc) installed
• A Pixel phone with at least 50% battery that's running the latest version of Google Android, supports GrapheneOS (this page lists the Pixels that have official production support from GrapheneOS) and isn't a carrier variant (carrier variants often disable bootloader unlocking and prevent alternative operating systems from being installed)
• A USB cable that connects your computer to your Pixel phone (USB-C to USB-C for computers with USB-C ports, USB-C to USB-A for computers with USB-A ports)
• At least 2GB of free memory and 8GB of free storage space on both devices

Installing GrapheneOS

1. Connect your computer to your Pixel phone with the USB cable.

2. Check that your computer's operating system (OS) and the Chromium-based browser you'll be using for the installation are up to date.

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