SWITCHING GUIDE
Switching from iPhone to GrapheneOS: What to Expect
Leaving the iPhone for GrapheneOS is one of the biggest privacy upgrades you can make, and easier than most people expect. Here's what changes, what doesn't, and how to move your things across.
What stays the same
- Everyday use. Calls, texts, the camera, maps, email and browsing all work as you'd expect.
- Most of your apps. GrapheneOS runs Android apps. Google Play can be installed as an ordinary sandboxed app if you need it, or left off entirely.
- Security. Like the iPhone, GrapheneOS gets fast security updates and strong hardware encryption.
What changes
- No Apple or Google account at the centre. Your phone works without signing in to anything.
- More control. You can deny an app internet access, let it see only the contacts or files you choose, and turn off its access to sensors.
- No iMessage or FaceTime. Move your conversations to an encrypted messenger such as Threema or Signal, and ask your regular contacts to join you.
- No Apple Pay, and no Google Wallet tap-to-pay. Carry a card, or check whether your bank offers another way to pay.
- Some banking apps. Many work, some don't support GrapheneOS. Read banking apps on GrapheneOS in Australia before you switch.
Moving your things across
- Photos and videos: copy them to a computer first, then onto the new phone.
- Contacts: export them from iCloud as a vCard file and import it on the new phone.
- Chats: most messengers have their own backup and transfer; check yours before you reset the iPhone.
- Two-factor codes: move your authenticator app's accounts across before you wipe the iPhone, or you can lock yourself out.
- Turn off iMessage: deregister your number from iMessage so texts from iPhone users reach your new phone.
Not ready to leave iOS?
If you rely on apps or features that only work on iPhone, an Encrypted iPhone gives you a hardened iPhone instead: the phone you know, with MDM-level controls enforced on the phone itself. Compare the two in GrapheneOS vs iPhone.
The easy way to switch
Our PF Secured GrapheneOS Device arrives set up and ready to use, with a private eSIM, Mullvad VPN and Threema included. See all our encrypted phones in Australia.
Privacy First is not affiliated with the GrapheneOS project or Apple.