DeGoogle Yourself

I'm on a pixel 8 with 256 similar to your other reply. Graphene is supporting back to early pixels and has weekly updates so I don't think phone age makes a support difference, I just went with the newest reconditioned one I could afford.

I use signal, Lemmy (Thunder), NewPipe (for YouTube), Aegis auth, banking apps (but check forums on specific banks).

Losing Google Pay made me feel like a peasant for a while, I now have a case that carries cards and feel fine.

I switched from Vanadium to Iron Fox because I like the extensions, uBlock and Consent-O-Matic.

As far as I'm aware there shouldnt be any differences between the two. I'd say buy the phone your budget allows for. Personally I spent more by getting he 256gig model because the storage was worth it to me. So basically my advice is buy older but spend the difference on meaningful storage.

Depending on your threat model you may wish to buy second hand or buying with cash so the IMEI isn't tied to your name.

I initially struggled with the zero google because many apps didn't work. I ran a secondary profile with google services running for those. Recently, due to another comment here on Lemmy I retried those apps (with exploit compatibility on) and most of them worked. So I've ditched the secondary profile. My point being, that most apps will probably work but if they don't you always have the option of a secondary profile.

I went with the 9 ultimately - and recently - and am very happy so far. I was prepared for a buggy or difficult experience but grapheme is really smooth in my experience so far.

After months of trying to degoogle a Samsung running stock OS, finally having control and proper security is a relief.

I also went with the 256gb and would recommend spending on storage whatever model you go with. Personally i don't see much in the 9;pro that i don't already have in the 9.

Signal, Lemmy (Voyager), Mastodon, PipePipe etc all running smoothly.

Learning that many apps you can get on Aurora will work, but most apparently rely on Google Play services to send notifications. So it's annoying to not receive those or need to set up workarounds, but honestly think about that. The app is telling google every single item it wants to notify you and relying on google to deliver it. That really sucks as a strategy.

Thankfully Signal has its own way of delivering notifications

Many appa that seem to "need" Google Play Services to run will work without it, especially with Exploit Compatibility turned on in that specific app settings. Even worked for banking for me, no play services needed in that profile etc.

Banking apps, use browser

Checks are only issue there. Keep old device at home for that in Faraday bag of course

I'm on the 6A. Very happy. It does everything I need. I bank via browser.

My next phone will likely be similar.

My battery would usually be suffering by now. I'm assuming Android bloat was the issue.

Based on the latest AOSP missing Pixel device trees, binaries, and kernel source, GrapheneOS might be on the way out, or at least for newer phones and android versions. Still not sure what this means, but it doesn't look good, so I wouldn't recommend investing in Pixels as they are no longer open platforms like they or the Nexus line before used to be. I have a Pixel 7 Pro with GrapheneOS which works great, but it's likely my last Pixel. And I've been buying Nexus and Pixel exclusively since the Nexus One.