Leaving Apple & Google: next /e/ release and what features are in the pipe

/e/OS Foundation & Community Announcements
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We’re working on stabilizing the current /e/ beta so that we can release a V1.0 on early 2019.

It will include an /e/ application repository that will let users install most Android applications, in two clicks. It will show a privacy score for many applications, and unveil the number of trackers and required permissions.

We are also re-valuating default installed applications and some may change in the V1. Most default apps will also have the capability to be uninstalled.

We are also working on the infrastructure, so that we can welcome more users and let people self-host their online services (drive, calendar, mail…). Stay tuned for more information soon!

And what’s next?

The project is only one year old ! It’s just the begining of the story and we have a long list of features to be implemented in next releases. In particular, after V1 we will be focusing on:

– revamping all the user interfaces to reach full consistency between the /e/ operating system settings, /e/ default applications, and /e/ online services

– bringing more privacy features and security features. We will be introducing a system of profile that will get you into different levels of privacy and security depending on your needs

And many more! This project is awesome and has a great potential to give back their data privacy and freedom to users. And the more support we receive, the more we can do, for all.

/e/ devices

/e/ beta2 is now supported on 53 different devices! We have just added support for Samsung S9 / S9+, LG G3 (International) and HTC 10 (download, flash and test here). Do you want more supported devices? Tell us here about the devices you’d like to see. And we are also looking for maintainers to port to recent devices.

However, we know that most /e/ supporters are waiting for an /e/ device. We are working on having a limited number of devices available preloaded with /e/ at the V1 launch. As many people would like to have the Fairphone loaded with /e/, we’re working on a limited set of /e/-FP2 preloaded. We’d also like to offer choice for another device, but it’s not chosen yet.

Support /e/!

It’s VERY important to contribute if you want /e/ to succeed and shape a more ethical IT world, with an open-source and privacy-compliant mobile ecosystem.

In one word: contribute as a developer, lend some servers on Internet, spread the word about /e/ in Internet forums, social media, email, retweet our posts with #eFoundation hashtag… Act now:

Sincerely,

Gaël

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Will all the app present on the /e/ repository be tested as being /e/ compatible and functional ?

I ask that because i face quite a few non /e/ functioning apps on existing repositories

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That’s a good Idea/feature to add besides privacy and energy consumption badges.
What do you think @patrick @GaelDuval @Manoj ?

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@Pistou @Julien ironically I was thinking something similar as to how we can ensure that all apps on the upcoming /e/ repository can be confirmed as being /e/ device usable. There is a problem with this idea… we are supporting 57 devices. This number will continue to increase. The number of apps in the repository would be in thousands if not more. So to say that app A works on device X, y ,Z will need the /e/ team to physically install and test each app. That would be impossible give the multiple combinations that are possible. Maybe we can add a device rating which the user will give based on his/her own experiences while using the app on his /her device. Like I have a Xiaomi MiA1 . I download app A from the repository and try to run it and see that it does not work. I give a rating of 0 / 5 to the app for my device. Some other user has a different phone and for him it works perfectly and he rates it 4/5 for his device. Collecting and aggregating the ratings at a device level that is another issue but I think this may be a way to incorporate this suggestion from @Pistou

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I agree with that ! :slight_smile:

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Hi, we need to have simple and efficient approaches.
/e/ is supposed to run any Android app. Therefore, our first goal is to make this happen.
Now, the biggest showstopper for this is the “Safenet” feature of Google, but we are on good track to have it enabled.
When it’s achieved, there should be very few apps that do not work with /e/, and we will add a link to each app like “report this app”, where user can warn us about an app (unappropriate, doesn’t work, …) and we can take action to remove it or fix the issue.
Of course that’s middle term, don’t expect all this to be ready for V1.

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Sounds good to me.
Agree on the fact that App should be /e/ compatible by default.
Thanks for your efforts

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Currently when an app crashes there is a dialog with options to reopen or close the app. Can there be a third option to report a crash, with the ability to add a text description? I know this is getting into “tracking” territory but if it is optional and up front it may be helpful. Or could it automatically create a new post in gitlab which has data automatically formatted in the body?

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That’s a good idea :slight_smile:

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Guess this option as suggested by

takes care of this requirement to some extent :slight_smile:

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@GaelDuval Hello, can you check the code for this OS? Because it would be good to investigate it and add functions of that OS. Thank you very much in advance. Best regards.

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@Emanuel are there any specific features that you like in Copperhead OS? You can make those suggestion on the forum and if found good we can always have that implemented at a later stage. At /e/ we do listen to the users. It is based on user feedback and suggestions that most of the updates and changes in the upcoming v1 have been added .

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Hi, thank you very much. What I like most about that code is the security it implements.
Best regards and I’m very grateful to /e/ for creating an OS designed for users who don’t want google to monitor their lives.

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So, early 2019 is when?

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Guess it… when we will be ready :wink:
Thanks for your support and your commitment to the project.

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@Eelo if you have been tracking the updates in the change logs of each builds you may have noticed we have been packing a number of features and enhancements with each build. This is slightly pushing out our release schedule. That being said the build as it is, is perfectly usable on a daily driver. I have been using /e/ on my daily use phone for the last 4 months ( if not more) without change and have not had any issues. Still let me assure you the development team is working on coming out with the release at the earliest.

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I have bought a pocophone and as soon as it comes in i will download eelo and flash it on the phone. Next to that i will contribute money to you guys for your hard work and effort!

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Hi,
What is the apps privacy score based on ? Are the ratings given by the users ?
Also, Will you support /e/ for Samsung s5 ? (so that I could test it :wink: )
Thanks & good luck for the project

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Hi @amaurino here is an article published about this which gave a brief outline of the app repository.