Ditch BigTech w/ the most affordable smart phone running the most secure and private mobile operating system available

Ever get the feeling your phone is spying on you throughout the day or that your information is being shared with 3rd parties without your knowledge? Well, if you are running Google Android or on an iPhone, IT IS.

Our team spent the time researching and testing to find an affordable "smart" device that would allow those of us who actually value our freedom and privacy to keep our data private and out of the hands of BigTech or any other 3rd party trying to track and monetize our every move.

We also tested which apps are compatible and ideally suited to keep you as productive as possible, because here at MARK37 we need to be as productive as possible too!

Google Pixel (3, 3a, 4, 4a, 5, 5a) w/ GrapheneOS

Our conclusion was that the Google Pixel, with the open source operating system GrapheneOS, was the perfect combination. Ironically, yes, Google Pixel devices are among the most secure and private phones available. This is especially the case for Pixel devices prior to the Pixel 6, as Google began imbedding their own custom hardware onto the device starting with the Pixel 6 and we simply don't trust that they did not also embed their own spyware within said hardware.

GrapheneOS took the base Android Open Source Project, and prioritized security above all else. Although you may lose some of the creature comforts of Google's version of Android or Apple's iPhone, the vast majority of the standard Android features are present. The larger question you need to answer for yourself is this, "What is the price of convenience?" If you value a few creature comforts over your own personal freedom and security, well, then this phone, and this website, definitely isn't for you.

Apps to Keep you Productive

There are hundreds of apps available from various app-stores you can leverage to explore the world of open source. In fact, we encourage you to do so!

Below, however, is a list of the apps we have pre-loaded onto the phone so you can remain productive throughout the day:

• F-Droid – Your Free and Open Source (FOSS) app store.
• APKPure - Alternative app store with most apps found through the Google Play Store.
• Brave – One of the best web browsers currently on the market. Brave currently has the only fully independent web search engine not based on Google or Microsoft’s search indexes.
• FFUpdater – An open-source browser repository... essentially an app store for browsers.
• OsmAND+ - a maps app. (Will take some getting used to. Not as convenient as Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze, etc but gets you to were you need to go.)
• Magic Earth - another maps app.
• Weather – An open weather app. (Need to register an account at http://openweather.org to receive a free API Key to work.)
• ProtonMail – One of the better privacy respecting email providers currently available on the market. ProtonCalendar can also be downloaded from the app store if needed.
• K-9 Mail – An open source email client.
• Simple Calendar Pro – An open source calendar app.
• Jitsi Meet – An open source video conference app.
• Collabora Office – An open source office app providing the ability to open MSFT Office and LibreOffice files.
• RadioDroid – An open-source internet radio app.
• Voice Recorder – An open source voice recorder.
• Joplin – An open source note taking app.
• NewPipe – An open source media player and YouTube video parser.
• Telegram FOSS – An open-source Telegram client.
• Truth Social – Trumps social media app.
• Odysee- A first amendment respecting block-chain based video platform. The best YouTube video platform on the web. Superior to Rumble, in our opinion, although Rumble has a larger user base.