To those users following the saga of Revolut on a Fairphone booting e/os, i received a reply to a polite email. Basically this:
“To help protect your account and personal information, our app no longer supports devices that are rooted or have an unlocked bootloader . These types of modifications can bypass critical security controls, increasing the risk of malicious attacks—such as camera injection threats and others.”
I completely understand this position. I emailed a reply and await a response:
If I can provide some evidence that this phone is not rooted and the bootloader is locked, would this make a difference? What evidence would be required?
“I’d appreciate your help here because I want to stay as a customer.”
As far as I can determine this Fairphone 5 is not rooted. Does this mean that the bootloader is locked?
Let’s not kid ourselves: Nobody wants users to have control over their devices. Except for a handful of users themselves, like all of us here with /e/OS.
The standardized smartphone is an electronic shackle, an instrument of control and censorship. With the help of Apple, Google, Microsoft & Co, those in power have even managed to make users pay the highest prices for their own surveillance devices.
Edward Snowden described over 10 years ago how the secret services are laughing their heads off that people are so stupid as to even pay for their own surveillance.
Even companies (such as Revolut) prefer to rely on Google’s software rather than doing their own security work. This synergy between companies and Google means that users who opt out of this architecture are unable to use some applications.
Nope, still open and I saw now you even replied in it .
@Shakatus I see it the same as you and yet we have users who want to make it happen, I mean Revolut. This is a community support forum, some of us are just trying to do actually that even if they don’t see why. Is it the common nominator? (Me not native english) It is still /e/OS and not everything else.
I’m having the same issue on my Fairphone 5 running the official /e/OS 2.9 build – my financial app (Revolut ) refuses to start and shows the warning about custom firmware not being supported.
What’s surprising to me: The exact same app works perfectly fine on my Fairphone 4 with /e/OS 2.5 (official build). I will upgrade today.
So now I’m wondering:
Is it something new in the FP5 build, or could this be due to changes in security checks or firmware flags?
If anyone has found a workaround – or knows whether this might improve in future updates – I’d really appreciate your input!
Thank you for your reply!
Yes, it`s an old installation.
I’m curious about your second point – would you mind sharing why you feel that way about the bank or the app?
I’m genuinely open to reconsidering my choices and would appreciate your perspective.
Sometimes we don’t have all the background information, so it’s helpful to hear from people who have looked into it more deeply.
By the way, I tried using the Curve app as an alternative, but unfortunately, it doesn’t solve the problem. When linking a card, the original bank app is still required for verification, and even the web access can only be enabled via the official app.
That alone is a strong argument for saying goodbye to this bank.
Well if something is free, usually you are the product. I know Revolut has also paid plans. But regarding Revolut, on a test of ‘neo banking’ apps on the Kuketz Blog (German who blogs about data privacy as far as I know) they had the worst result regarding data privacy.
In the end it is everyones choice, real data privacy only works if we drop the smartphone entierly or someones builds a whole new eco system.
Thank you for the insightful message — I completely agree with your point: “If something is free, you are the product.”
I’m absolutely on the same page with you here.
I’m still quite new to all of this — both when it comes to privacy and the broader IT world — but my gut tells me that a lot more of my personal data is circulating out there than I’m comfortable with. That’s what motivated me to start exploring alternatives.
Do you happen to have a recommendation for a privacy-friendly bank that’s available in the European region but not regulated by BaFin? Or a suggestion where to find out more information about it?
Also, I’d really love to take a closer look at the Kuketz blog (thank you for mentioning it!) — and if you happen to know any other reliable sources for learning more about data privacy, I’d truly appreciate the tip.
Thanks again for sharing your experience — this is incredibly helpful for someone just starting to get involved in this topic.
Hmm, to be honest I use a neobank (app only) which originated in Switzerland. They started with a free version and meanwhile packages with some included benefits for monthly fee. Back then I wasn’t that much aware about tracking and everything but the app worked on an unlocked /e/OS phone and it still works. I even had to go thru the customer process again. I didn’t even need to allow anything in TrackerControl (explained below) I guess they were open minded, since they also had a Harmony OS app. I am not perfect privacy rolemodel as you can see…
Most what I read and knowledge I get here from the other users here from the Forum when they point out, articles and what not. Maybe time to say thank you .
Hey you started, that is the first huge big step. How deep you will continue is up to you but it takes time and it is difficult sometimes to drop old habits.
TrackerControl (TC): This is an app which works a bit different than Advanced Privacy (AP). It blocks connections to servers before the app connects. You have to allow then the connection, sometimes to even make the app useable. You can use TC together with AP. I only use Tracker blocking in AP without GPS or IP option. TC therefore uses up the VPN option, you can have only one VPN open at the time, but you get a bit more control of the tracking actually made. I used TC before AP was released and I just sticked to it.
Last tip, ask on this Forum if you have questions But try to research a bit beforehand on this Forum if you have the time, almost anything was asked here before, sometimes a long time ago. Good luck with your journey
"I really appreciate your patience here. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are currently dealing with an upsurge in demand that has resulted in some messages going unanswered.
Unfortunately, the Revolut app will not work on custom ROMs or devices which are rooted. This is due to Google’s Safety Net . Safety Net check is performed by Google and it decides what device and firmware are compatible.This check cannot be disabled. You can also use the Safety Net checker to verify your device."
And finally, some resolution, although not a positive one for me.
Me: "I used the Root Checker app as recommended and it indicated to me that the phone is not rooted but that it fails the Google Safety Net. However, I also noted that Google has deprecated Safety Net Attestation API by Jan 2025. I understand Play Integrity API is now being used instead.
If this is the case, is there a reason why the Revolut app does not conform to the Play Integrity API if available from the Play Store and the device (Fairphone 5) has both not been rooted and has a locked bootloader?"
They came back to me asking to clear Google Play Store’s cache(!) and I indicated that e/OS/ does not use this and so we are now at the stage of:
“I know that this is not what you have expected. In this case, you will not be able to use the Revolut app on this device. I would request you to try on a device with Android or iOS and if you still face any issues, kindly reach out to us.”
) refuses to start and shows the warning about custom firmware not being supported.
The exact same app works perfectly fine on my Fairphone 4 with /e/OS 2.5 (official build). I will upgrade today.
but it takes time and it is difficult sometimes to drop old habits.
