An Android mobile OS without Google services might soon become a reality with the release of eelo by Mandrake Linux creator Gael Duval.
Tech Giants
Google Android and Apple iOS control nearly 99 % of mobile operating system, while Microsoft and BlackBerry tried to challenge but failed. The significant market share means that consumers usually end up being locked to either Google or Apple. For those looking for an different to these two tech giants, there is a operating system based on Android which going to be launched by this year.
Privacy
Linux pioneer Gaël Duval is working on an easy-to-use, Google-free, pro-privacy Android clone for your smartphone.
Duval
'Duval thinks, "Apple, Google, Facebook etc., business models are harmful for our economical and social environments."'
We often find someone complaining about data privacy issues on modern smartphones and computers. While it may sound completely pointless, it is not ethically right on the part of these tech giants to feed on user’s private data in the name of ‘improving the user experience’.
Eelo
EELO is supposed to have a major focus on privacy and extreme reliance on open-source apps.
Kickstarter
eelo’s Kickstarter campaign has already garnered almost $60,000 from backers
While this sounds exciting initially, it raises one major question related to users’ data — what about data security? We have experienced several threatening cyber attacks in 2017 and most of them were based on vulnerabilities on open source software. While Google’s software solutions are data-hungry, they are investing in the infrastructure to keep the ecosystem secure. Open source software is more vulnerable to cyber attacks from malicious minds looking to gobble on data. It will be notable if EELO also addresses its concern over data security and strives for a strict ecosystem like Apple’s iOS.