I am currently considering the use of a custom ROM for my Google Pixel 8 device, primarily to reduce Google’s influence and control over my personal device. I have identified two potential alternatives: Graphene and Lineage.
However, I have some concerns regarding the compatibility of certain applications with modified ROMs. Specifically, I have come across reports indicating that some apps, particularly banking applications, employ deep software checks within the operating system, making them intentionally difficult to use on custom ROMs. Surprisingly, this issue extends beyond banking apps to include various other services such as McDonald’s and some shopping apps.
I would appreciate your insights on how best to deal with this situation. Should I rely on Magisk to potentially resolve these compatibility issues with my banking apps, or would it be more prudent to seek alternative services that do not require root access? Your advice and experiences would be greatly valued.
I would personally avoid having anything to do with rooting, as it screws up the security model very badly.
Fwiw I run Graphene on a pixel 6a with Google services installed and have run into only one or 2 apps that I couldn’t use, and those ones were ones that I never used before anyway so I wasn’t feeling a great loss. My 2 banking apps work fine with the exception of the one complains that I’m using a 3rd party keyboard
I agree with @Chess and would recommend against rooting your device, even with tools like Magisk, as it can compromise security and may not even resolve compatibility issues with certain apps, particularly banking ones. Instead, consider checking compatibility lists such as Techlore’s Plexus or this specific list for banking apps on GrapheneOS .
This should help you determine which apps will function well on a custom ROM before making any changes.
Update on GrapheneOS:
After listening to the advice and reading several guides, I finally finished the process of installing GrapheneOS, without rooting, and trying out my previous apps.
So far the experience has been very good, without major crashes or failures. I was also surprised by the sandbox feature for Play Services.
All of my banking apps surprisingly work perfectly as of now; I have logged into all of them and tried them for several minutes. I wasn’t expecting that.
However, I faced a very big disappointment when I discovered that Authy seems to block ROM users. I firstly panicked because I thought I had lost all of my 2FA codes, however I was lucky enough to be able to login using my cellphone number on an older phone, and I spent an hour transfering my 2FA codes one by one (yes, authy does not allow me to export them all at once).
I advise all of you guys to ditch Authy and find a better alternative, as they seem to be worse than I thought. I have currently opted for Aegis, which I found on the Aurora Store.
I personally use Aegis too , but another good alternative to Authy is Ente Auth, which supports backup and sync like Authy, with the difference that ente is e2ee and it’s way easier to export your codes from (so I’ve heard) if you decide you don’t like it.
, but another good alternative to Authy is Ente Auth, which supports backup and sync like Authy, with the difference that ente is e2ee and it’s way easier to export your codes from (so I’ve heard) if you decide you don’t like it.