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| | Ask HN: What is the most basic smartphone that will still run Signal? | |
2 points by nvoid on May 6, 2021 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments
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| My current phone (S9+) is just not cutting the mustard any more. It's too big and has too many features I never use. I wanted to switch to a dumb phone but from a security and privacy standpoint, it is not a great option. I am wondering what the most simple smartphone that will run Signal messenger since that is all I ever use my phone for, messaging and calling. I was thinking Nexus 5 but what experience do you have with other phones? |
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The Nexus 5 is 8 years old now. (The age is a particular problem given its lack of replaceable battery.)
You can find used budget smartphones from 3 - 4 years ago for about $20 and they will have far more performance and capability.
From a security and privacy standpoint, you should probably run a recent operating system. That's a tricky one with smartphones, Android is rarely maintained properly by the hardware manufacturer for long. A device supported by something like LineageOS or similar would be good to look for.
As a starting point, the budget Motorola series (Moto E, Moto G series) tend to have small screens, large batteries, and unlocked (or unlockable) bootloaders, often with maintained LineageOS ports.