![\"Fairphone](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Fairphone-Gen-6-in-hand.jpg\"\/ "\\"Fairphone")
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Paul Jones \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
TL;DR<\/p>\n
The team behind the GrapheneOS platform has criticized the Fairphone Gen 6 for apparent security issues.
\nThe team added that the Fairphone model sold in the US lacks \u201cbare minimum\u201d privacy and security protections.
\nEven the standard Fairphone Gen 6 was criticized for delayed software patches and the lack of a secure element.<\/p>\n
Update, July 18, 2025 (04:40 PM ET): We have just heard back from Fairphone in response to our inquiry. In a statement, the company explains:<\/p>\n
Fairphone and Murena have a strong, proud partnership that offers many users around the world a secure, sustainable, and modular smartphone alternative \u2013 with a clear focus on longevity and lasting value. We\u2019re committed to delivering operating systems that meet market-standard security expectations. While we respect that there are different approaches to mobile security, ours is rooted in following recognized standards like Android Enterprise Recommended (AER) and in pushing the industry forward by raising the bar on longevity.<\/p>\n
Original article, July 18, 2025 (04:36 AM ET):\u00a0The Fairphone Gen 6<\/a> is one of the best Android phones<\/a> to get if you want a repairable and sustainable smartphone experience. The device is also coming to the US with the Google-free \/e\/OS software instead of the conventional Android OS. However, it seems like you should think twice about getting this variant if you care about security.<\/p>\n The team behind the security-focused GrapheneOS Android platform has made some extremely concerning claims<\/a> about the Fairphone Gen 6 running \/e\/OS.<\/p>\n Is the US Fairphone Gen 6 a security nightmare?<\/p>\n Fairphone Gen 6 devices running \/e\/OS apparently lag \u201cvery far behind\u201d the Android Open Source Project in terms of OS and browser patches. Furthermore, the team alleges that \/e\/OS \u201cdisables or cripples\u201d important privacy and security protections.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the standard Fairphone Gen 6 wasn\u2019t immune to criticism, either:<\/p>\n Fairphone 6 does not keep up with standard Android privacy\/security patches and has no secure element to provide working disk encryption for typical users not using a strong password, among other flaws.<\/p>\n \u201cLack of secure element throttling for disk encryption means users with a typical 6-8 digit PIN or basic password will not have their data protected against extraction,\u201d the team explained. \u201cBrute forcing the PIN or password set by the vast majority of users is trivial without secure element throttling.\u201d<\/p>\n How does this compare to other phones? The team noted that Pixel phones<\/a> and iPhones have a \u201chigh-quality\u201d secure element while recent Samsung phones<\/a> have a \u201cbasic\u201d secure element.<\/p>\n However, the GrapheneOS developers alleged that \/e\/OS was worse than the standard Fairphone Gen 6 software as it \u201cmisleads\u201d users. More specifically, the team claimed that \/e\/OS changes the UI for the security patch level to \u201cmask\u201d what\u2019s really being provided. The alternative Fairphone OS also has an \u201cinaccurate\u201d security patch level as it ignores certain portions of security patches.<\/p>\n Furthermore, \/e\/OS is said to have \u201cmajor issues\u201d providing browser updates. That\u2019s a significant problem, as many apps default to the OS Webview, which effectively uses the system web browser. Finally, the developers claim that \/e\/OS has its own \u201cinvasive\u201d services and still uses various Google services despite the deGoogled claims.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve contacted both Fairphone and Murena (the company behind \/e\/OS) for comment on these claims. We\u2019ll update the article as soon as the companies get back to us.<\/p>\n