TLDR: Drug dealers in Catalonia have started to adopt GrapheneOS en masse leading to Catalan police suspecting anyone with a Google Pixel is a drug dealer
This is the best recommendation for a phone I’ve seen yet.
Thanks catalonian police
Feds in Catalonia, Spain think everyone using a Google Pixel must be a drug dealer
Submitted 3 days ago by icegladiator@lemy.lol to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-organized-crime-preferred-phone-3573578/
Comments
dastanktal@lemmy.ml 3 days ago
defaultusername@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Be wary since as of Android 16, Google no longer provides device source for Pixel phones.
dastanktal@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
I’ll keep in mind thanks
Aitolda@lemmy.world 3 days ago
This is a weird advertisement, but I kind of want grapheneOS now.
Zetta@mander.xyz 3 days ago
Been on it for ~2 years and never going back, fuck Google, fuck the government.
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
I’ve also been using it for like 2 years but I really want the hardware of something like the Fairphone. A fairphone or something similar with Graphene would be amazing
ITGuyLevi@programming.dev 3 days ago
Been on it for about 19 months now, it’s what Android should be.
hiramfromthechi@lemmy.world 1 day ago
billwashere@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I have an iPhone since the first one and I wanna try it to.
Yupa@ani.social 3 days ago
Sounds like a good recommendation.
Cethin@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
Yeah, this is legitimately an amazing ad, though Google may bot want it because they probably make more money off your data than you buying the device.
Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The police: ‘We’ve encountered a difficulty with out paid spying software. Welp it must be just the criminals.’
Gonzako@lemmy.world 3 days ago
pretty much. The original article says that if they have a pixel they have to ask for a warrant
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
This implies searching other phones don’t require warrants?
bathing_in_bismuth@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Without? Even with paid spying software is hard, as far as data forensics go. Going with Pegasus and the likes, you never know, just reboot every 2 hours if you don’t mind the hassle.
Redex68@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I’m pretty sure they just misspelled our as out
besselj@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
They’re mad they can’t use cellbrite to snoop on properly configured GOS phones and that they actually have to do real police work to catch drug dealers
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
Yes. They (cellebrite) don’t mention GrapheneOS support very loudly because it’s poor. They can’t decrypt one that’s BFU (Before First Unlock), not even by brute force if it’s a 6 digit passcode apparently. Don’t know if they can get data from an AFU GOS pixel. A year ago when their internal docs leaked, they also had no support for latest iOS at the time, but had brute force support for older versions as long as phone itself wasn’t too new and had AFU access without brute force for even older versions.
Moral of the story: if there’s a chance police might take your phone to investigate for a crime you hopefully didn’t even commit, shut down your phone completely - the 5x power button trick on iOS disables biometric unlock, but the device itself stays decrypted and thus more vulnerable. Also keep your OS up to date.
If you’ve got a phone that’s neither iOS nor GrapheneOS, it’s probably pretty much Swiss cheese anyway. IOS isn’t as good as GrapheneOS either, but it offers some protection against Cellebrite if up to date and BFU. But if they keep your phone for long enough (months, years), they’ll get it unlocked because you can’t install updates that would patch any newly discovered vulnerabilities and one day they’ll find a BFU unlock for it, probably.
Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 days ago
Grapheneos also has options to just disable data over the USB port when its locked. Or disable it outright.
Zetta@mander.xyz 3 days ago
Graphene OS in particular comes with a default feature enabled called Auto Reboot to protect against this. I think it’s set to 18 hours by default because that’s what mine is, but you can go as low as 4 hours.
realitista@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Does a full shutdown encrypt all contents on iOS? This is something that everyone entering the USA as I have to do annually needs to think about.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
“Feds”
checks Wikipedia page for Spain
Government: “Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy”
🧐
(Sorry for nitpicking lol 😅)
But serious tho:
I kinda hate these weird associations. Its like arresting people who wear glasses because intellectual rebels wear glasses? (Pol Pot?)
Like can’t someone just use a phone in peace? Most Pixel users don’t even use Graphene OS.
Hey you know what, drug dealers drink water. Lets arrest people who drink water!
MangoCats@feddit.it 3 days ago
If she floats, she’s a witch and we’ll burn her at the stake.
leftzero@lemmynsfw.com 3 days ago
It’s supposed to be kind of sort of federal(ish) (federalish enough, in theory, to keep Catalonia and Euskadi happy enough that we won’t want to leave). “States” are called autonomías (autonomies) and have their own government, laws, and institutions, though they still have to obey the Spanish government and most of its laws. It isn’t really working.
The article is still wrong when it uses “feds”, though, because the cops doing this are the mossos d’esquadra, the Catalan autonomic police, not the “federal(ish)” policía nacional (the Spanish police proper) or guardia civil (despite the name, the military Spanish police, a relic from Franco’s dictatorship, like most of the country and its institutions).
Part4@infosec.pub 3 days ago
Police are not the brightest in any society.
So I guess somebody needs to tell them that they need to focus their efforts a little better if ‘anyone with a Google Pixel is a drug dealer’.
Can I suggest they start with the people with drugs, rather than the people with the – not uncommon - google phones in their search for drug dealers?
kadup@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Police are not the brightest in any society.
It’s a literal job requirement. If you’re smart, you’re not going to blindly follow orders. Police cognitive testing literally discards candidates that perform well in intellectual tasks. This is not a conspiracy or a joke, it’s how police works.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Reminds me of getting a notice in Middle School, decades ago, about how a pager was considered “drug paraphernalia”
icegladiator@lemy.lol 3 days ago
Everything I hear about Bloomberg make me question how he ran as a democrat, and then I remember he fits the democratic party better than anyone else…
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 2 days ago
NYC’s greatest act was tricking everyone into thinking it’s a progressive city. I am interested in Mamdani at least.
M0oP0o@mander.xyz 2 days ago
Well I do use a Pixel (for lineage OS) and I do make my living selling drugs… wait wait this is a bad example.
dangercake@feddit.uk 2 days ago
Well in that case two marijuanas please
M0oP0o@mander.xyz 2 days ago
As long as you are in my province then sure! Gotta obey the law after all.
SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
Gotta some of that good ket?
M0oP0o@mander.xyz 2 days ago
No not a veterinarian, sorry.
toynbee@lemmy.world 2 days ago
midtsveen@lemmy.wtf 2 days ago
Update, July 3, 2025 (11:45 AM ET): The crew behind GrapheneOS is understandably none too pleased about their good name being dragged through the mud, and members are speaking out about these reports from Spain. Over on X, the official GrapheneOS account posts:
>>European authoritarians and their enablers in the media are misrepresenting GrapheneOS and even Pixel phones as if they’re something for criminals. GrapheneOS is opposed to the mass surveillance police state these people want to impose on everyone.Security is a tool, and can be wielded just as much for good as it can for bad. While some people may see this as an indictment, we’d say it’s more the inevitable consequence of GrapheneOS just being very, very good at what it does.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 days ago
I’ve used Samsungs for years, but they have gotten too expensive for what I need, so I went for a Pixel this time around. I got issues with it, but mostly because I’m so used to the Samsung universe. Still way better than an Apple.
I guess I’m a Spanish drug dealer now.
PraiseTheSoup@midwest.social 1 day ago
You went from the biggest name in non-apple phones to the second biggest name in non-apple phones. You’re so brave.
isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
What’s your point?
mkwt@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Doesn’t a Google Pixel device come with its own OS image by default, independent of Graphene OS? Is there some kind of step that we’re missing here?
TheBat@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Yes. Cops are idiots. Duh.
Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world 3 days ago
It does, but a lot of people but the pixels specifically to put graphene on it because graphene they’re compatible and graphene offers better privacy and security. What I’m getting here is drug dealers are using graphene to dodge digital narcs and it’s becoming common enough that the Venn diagram skews heavily to drug dealing.
brbposting@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
You can buy them with either stock Android, or Graphene. Meaning you don’t need to re flash the device or anything.
gravitywell@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
You cant buy grapheneos preloaded on anything and doing so would be pretty foolish since it could be backdoored. GraphenOS is aimed at people who value security and privacy, you dont let some rando flash your phone if you value those things.
SirMaple__@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
I think this is incorrect but I could be wrong.
You can not buy a Pixel device preloaded with GrapheneOS. They only come from Google with their standard Android and it’s up to the end user to install GrapheneOS
racemaniac@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
Isn’t it likely the police is kind of right?
I mean, how many people in that community used grapheneos phones before the drug dealers figured out how good they were for their purposes? So in that community, it’s indeed very likely that a grapheneos user is in a drug gang.
Does that mean that grapheneos is an issue, or bad? Not at all. But i see a lot of digs at the police here at how dumb they are. But if literally most grapheneos users there are drug dealers, is it dumb? It’s just a plain observation that’s pretty correct.
And it’s kind of logical that proper open source tools that are not full of spyware are better for also such purposes. Doesn’t make these tools a problem. If a politician would now start a crusade against such operating systems, that i would agree is dumb.
But i don’t see an issue with police somewhere realizing that drugdealers use a specific tool, and focusing on that. Of course sucks for the couple of regular users there that just do it to have control over their device…
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
That really depends on what they do with that information. If people get arrested for having a pixel, that’s a huge issue. If someone merely gets a closer investigation if they’re suspected of another crime, that’s fine.
The article is light on details.
icegladiator@lemy.lol 2 days ago
I think most of the criticism towards police is because they are discriminating based on Google Pixels, which is a completely normal car that you can install GrapheneOS on. It would be like targeting anyone driving a Kia because of the Kia Boys
elucubra@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
Pixel has a market share of 1.5%, so they kind of stand out. Also, there is no such thing as “federales” in Spain. Spain is not a federation. If they are talking about National Police or Guardia civil, they go through a pretty hard entrance exam, and then have a minimum of one year instruction. Executive ranks must have a university degree. Generally reasonably competent. Mossos (regional) and local police are another story. They are quite a bit less competent.
Flockwit@lemmy.nz 2 days ago
Reminds me of when the US tried to fight “terror” by kidnapping people and shoving them in Gitmo because they were wearing Casio watches, which is apparently a brand favoured by terrorists.
SonOfAntenora@lemmy.world 2 days ago
There was a guide to craft a timed bomb with the f-91w and other common materials. Uploaded by the terrorists. It worked
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Guess they’re gonna throw my kid into Gitmo then…
Bluewing@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Glances at my new Pixel, Welp, I guess I ain’t ever goin’ to Catalonia. Not that I was planning to go there anyway.
***Tinfoil conspiracy: Maybe this a scare tactic to keep the British out of Spain.
AlexLost@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Can confirm. Own pixel, deal drugs.
Darleys_Brew@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
But do you live in Catalonia?
FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 days ago
Merci per la idea de negoci.
TherapyGary@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 days ago
I was was very confused why I could read this without knowing what language it was lol. Catalan is interesting
nroth@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Hey, the security is nice, but I really like the detailed control over notifications, GMS prompts, and network access. When I used PixelOS, my phone did things I didn’t want it to, and it was hard or impossible to make it stop. On GrapheneOS, the defaults are a pretty good experience. I even recommend it to non-techies since they can use it with the Google apps and its still a more respectful experience, even if they don’t need or want the level of control that I like.
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 3 days ago
Spain? Federal? Must be the victim of that American “education”.
Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Solid cop logic. Of the exact level you’d expect.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 days ago
TLDR: Drug dealers in Catalonia have started to adopt GrapheneOS
Gonna guess that’s probably a lie.
Amberskin@europe.pub 2 days ago
Feds??? WTF!
kikutwo@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Spain can get fucked. They hate tourists and air conditioning too.
arc99@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The cops quite obviously don’t think owning a Pixel makes somebody a drug dealer. But if they arrest or detain a suspect then owning a Pixel flashed with GrapheneOS isnt exactly a sign of innocence. Even if nothing could be extracted from the phone, I’m sure a judge and jury could be convinced what they were doing if they have such a device in their possession.
Also, regardless of the security the OS claims to have, most criminals are not the brightest and I bet some can be squeezed to hand over the key or the phone can be unlocked with a face id or fingerprint. It also motivates the cops to do what they’ve done in the past where they have compromised supposedly secure operating systems or apps and installed backdoors.
match@pawb.social 3 days ago
How’s Catalan independence going
nomotetoads@lemmings.world 2 days ago
What’s wrong with drug dealers?
NoodlePoint@lemmy.world 2 days ago
How it used to be old GSM phones like those from Nokia that were then the thing for the underworld.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Basically, if you don’t have a phone the cops can easily backdoor, you must be a criminal.
“What do you have to hide?” taken to it’s logical conclusion.
rottingleaf@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Humans are apes desiring power, there’s no excuse under which you can give it to them. They’ll invent authority giving them right to judge you and think they are in the right.
Also why I absolutely despise the Silicon Valley - it’s many such people who think they are the elite now. I want that place detroited as soon as possible. Zuckerberg prosecuted for all the murders he’s committed (I’m certain there are plenty, a person with ASPD with such power just can’t be anything else) which are now unknown, Brin and other jerks playing “cooperating with legal elected authorities” while giving them something with no mandate whatsoever feeling themselves powerful - prosecuted for high treason, all these playing censorship and recommendation - prosecuted for scams on the scale of billions, yadda-yadda.
Cops saying this should be immediately sued for inciting hate or defamation or whatever against people who don’t want to be backdoored.
I have a right to not be surveilled, they don’t have a right to surveil me.
Anyway, I might all the time fly a weird trajectory between various ideologies, but they are all anarchist and Silicon Valley bosses are all thieves.
MangoCats@feddit.it 3 days ago
Nothing is ever absolute, but Silicon Valley has been going in a consistently bad direction for 20+ years now.
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 3 days ago
… and if it’s an obscenely expensive one.
Normal people either can’t afford these devices or don’t have time for all the hassle of installing and using a rare operating system on a phone.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Pixels are mid range if you buy a generation back. I have 6a and paid $250 two years ago.
IllNess@infosec.pub 3 days ago
Minimum wage in Spain is €1,300 per month. A Pixel 9a is under $500 and under €550 and currently on sale for $449 and €500. A couple of hundred can get you a Pixel 9. What exactly is a not obscenely price for a flagship phone to you?
And I don’t even understand your second comment. People spend over an hour a day on social media alone.
So the normal person in Spain could buy this phone and the normal person in Spain does have the time to figure out how to install a “rare” operating system. A “rare” operating system that’s free and easily copied.
Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
You can buy a Pixel with Graphene already installed, and they’re by no means obscenely expensive.
AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 3 days ago
You can install Graphene from the browser, it’s really not a huge hassle to install especially if you do it right when you get the phone.
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 3 days ago
🤔
icegladiator@lemy.lol 3 days ago
GrapheneOS is most used on old Google Pixels which are anything but “obscenely expensive”
Benaaasaaas@group.lt 3 days ago
Pixel 9 pro with 512Gb is obscenely expensive. Pixel 8a, with minimal storage is pretty affordable. 7a dare I say cheap.
spamspeicher@feddit.org 3 days ago
Interesting, at least four people in my closer circle aren’t normal people. Including myself.
TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The refurbished pixel 8 I bought cost a fraction of what I’d have paid for a new phone and the installation took 5 minutes.
Elextra@literature.cafe 3 days ago
The A series lines have been the best value smartphones generation after generation. I would not say theyre expensive. I have bought each current gen for about $350 or less (excluding tax), no trade in.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
I paid $350 or so for my Pixel 8 refurb. New wasn’t that much more.
Pixels are way less than top phones, like iPhones or Samsungs.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Had a friend who was getting by on $2k/mo and got herself a $1400 top of the line iPhone, because her carrier gave her a reduction in her monthly payment plan (for an obscene amount of debt and locked-in service on the back end). Her brother jail-broke it for her and did the normal “cleaning off all the bloatware” due-diligence.
This is just something we all put up with in the modern day. “Normal people” have a harder time navigating the bullshit, but its a lake we all have to paddle through.