Recently, I was introducing /e/ to various friends and acquaintances. The feedback I got was quite diverse, but overall very positive, but as well a lot of unexpected questions were raised and some critical feedback. I decided to write-up a few things - as a basis for further discussion with the community - and as input for the /e/ team.
Personally, I do not share all of the remarks but maybe they are of help to understand what kind of quesions might come up with the publication of /e/ 1.0.
I am aware, some of the issues were already raised elsewhere in this forum - apologies for that.
The feedback I got was very positive: âGeat ideaâ, âvery much neededâ. It was considered positive that all apps tried out - even the ones from Google (i.e. gMaps) - just worked.
An immediate criticism was articulated about the look & feel. Some quotes: âIt looks a bit like IOSâ but âit feels more bulkyâ (an iPhone user), âThe installed apps, seem just somehow assembled but have no homogeneous designâ, the Widget page âlooks really ugly after having installed some more widgets, it has no homogeneous appearance at all like for instance IOSâ, âthe system is far too slowâ (referring to the Bliss launcher - before last update), âThe system doesnât have to be extremely feature-rich, rather the contrary, but it should look like one built, working smoothly and quickâ.
/e/ settings
*" Why isnât there in the Settings a sub menu for all /e/ settings?"
- "In the Settings is written that the phone is running Lineage OS. What is Lineage OS? Why there are no clearer references to /e/?"
- "In the âafter first boot dialogueâ the phone may be registered with /e/, thatâs where on other phones you register with Google. Thatâs good to have a similar process. But I did log in to /e/ at the moment. At a later moment I didnât know where this could be easily caught up. Why isnât there an option â/e/ Settingsâ in the Settings menu as you have that with the Google subfolder in the Google phones?
- "What is MicroG, do I need that?"
- "Will I be able to prevent the installation of apps and to lock Settings (in order to use an /e/ phone as a first phone for kids?)"
My conclusion: A sub-menu in the Settings with all privacy related issues wouldnât be a bad idea. Maybe hide what people may confuse (the MicroG menu) or embed it in a way that it becomes better understandable what that is?
/e/ and privacy issues (et al)
- âI like the idea that /e/ protects my data, but I donât feel unsafe with my current phone.â
- âI donât understand what /e/ actually does.â
- âI like the idea of /e/ but I donât understand what it actually distinguishes from other phones. It would be good to get a manual or a dedicated website explaining to normal people what /e/ actually does and how we can protect us even further.â
- "Will /e/ come out of the box fully protected with built-in ad-blocker and antivirus?"
- âGoogle is free because I pay with my data, but why is /e/ for free?â âWhatâs their business modelâ, âWho is behind /e/? Just an NGO? They want to compete with Google for clients???â
- âWho is actually financing /e/ foundation?â, âHow I can I be sure that they wonât be sold to on of the major Internet giants tomorrow?â
- "Will I still be able to log-in into my Google account on /e/?"
- "How to I move my data to /e/, will I need to/will I be able to erase my data efficiently with Google?"
- "I understand that /e/ helps to get rid of Google but will /e/ prevent as well the leakage to Facebook and others?"
- "How do I get apps that cannot be found in the future /e/ app store, can I still install Google Play store?"
- "Do I need to register with /e/? or is it optional", "May I register with my current email address or do I need a new one from /e/?", "May I register with a Gmail address?"
- "What does /e/ do to protect my private data that are uploaded into their cloud?"
- "Where are the /e/ cloud services based? What jurisdiction?"
My conclusion: In terms of privacy, most people I was talking to were less concerned about the possibility of being spied out but rather about the dimensions of leakage of private data. I felt as well that people were concerned about this leakage but thatâs more a dodgy gut feeling without really understanding how that lwkag actually concretely happens on a standard Google phone. I think it could be good to accompany the publishing of /e/ 1.0 with a campaign or/and publications on the /e/ website (addressing non-geeks) explaining the status quo and what /e/ is doing differently. It could be good as well to provide Android users with some simple tools to test their current phone/installation - i.e. by installing tools like Blokada or Exodus - in order to let them get a feeling for how the system and the installed apps are calling home. Furthermore, it could be of use if you (/e/) are able to explain who you are, what drives you, how you are financed and what your business model is/will be.
How to get /e/ and how will it be maintained?
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"Why is /e/ only available for outdated phones?"
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"Why /e/ is not offered for small phones?" (raised by an iPhone SE user)
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"Will /e/ phones be available in shops?"
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âIf I get /e/ installed on my newly bought Samsung S9, will I have warranty issues in case there will be some trouble with the phoneâs hardware?â
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"Where will a phone with /e/ be available for sale? If it will be, will there be a guarantee that comes with the software, too? Where will I get help if I get stuck?"
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âFor how long will functionality/maintenance/upgrade being guaranteed for the /e/ for a certain device? I donât want to buy a phone that wonât be supported anymore from tomorrow onwards!â (This question came up when I explained that /e/ is based on Lineage OS and phones like the Redmi Note 5 Pro are not (anymore) supported by Lineage OS).
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"Do we need a support contract for using /e/? Will it be possible to get one - at least for professional users?"
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âWill we have access to a phone hotline in case Iâd have problems with /e/?â
My conclusion: My impression is that thereâs a straightforward transparency needed how long a phone will be supported - ideally, by setting clear minimum (maximum?) dates for each and every phone. Just a vague reference to âthis depends not on us but on Lineage OSâ will probably not be enough. Moreover - but this seems to be planned already - it would be good to have various options to chose from how to get hold of /e/ - through self-installation on existing phones, assistance with installing it and options to buy new phones with /e/ preinstalled. It would be perfect if recognised stores or online stores would sell them too.
As a final conclusion Iâd sayâŚ
(1) âŚthat once /e/ is ready to ship v1.0 it is important that /e/ will be easily available through different channels (home install, supported installation on existing phones as well as buying phones with /e/ preinstalled - at least in some test markets.
(2) Much more important than a sleek design I feel will be that the launch of /e/ will be embedded in a well made awareness raising campaign on privacy lacks and the skale of leaking - of course in the language that people natively speak.
(3) And finally (linked to that latter point), to make tools available that allow any smartphone user (before installing a new ROM or thinking about buying a new phone) to test their current phones and make the extent of their current data leakage easily visible - a kind of privacy meter app, ideally downloadable from Play Store.
(4) Personally, I liked as well very much the idea of a mother who was quite exited about the idea to get an /e/ as a first phone for her young adolescent - not exposing her right a way to Google: A low budget /e/ phone for smartphone newbees as one of /e/'s target groups. What do you think?
Now, I am happy to leave this collection of feedbacks for further discussionâŚ