DivestOS
Discontinued, open source, Android operating system
DivestOS was an open source Android-based operating system. It was a soft fork of LineageOS that aimed to increase security and privacy with support for end-of-life devices. It removed many proprietary blobs and pre-installed open source apps.
DivestOS builds were signed with release-keys so bootloaders may be re-locked on supported devices. An automated CVE patcher was used to patch the kernels against many known vulnerabilities.
DivestOS includes few default applications. F-Droid was included, as well as Hypatia, a "real-time malware scanner" and Carrion, a robocall blocker.
01History
The DivestOS project began in 2014, with the first properly signed builds being released in 2015.
Public release of DivestOS was announced on F-Droid forums in June 2020.
In December 2024, Tavi announced the discontinuation of DivestOS, its apps (notably the Firefox-based browser Mull) and XMPP Chatrooms. Whilst the mobile operating system was discontinued, the announcement elaborated that non-mobile Divest projects would continue to receive maintenance.
02Supported devices
DivestOS primarily supported devices that had been supported by LineageOS, with additional end of life devices receiving extended support. The entire list of officially supported devices was available on the DivestOS website.
03Reception
In February 2022, TechTracker.in said DivestOS is one of few custom ROMs focusing on security and privacy, with monthly and incremental updates.
GNU/Linux.ch Linux and Freie Software News called DivestOS "relatively new and ambitious" and said it supports many devices, both newer and older.
DevsJournal called DivestOS 18.1 one of the best custom ROMs for the OnePlus One phone.
DivestOS' Hypatia malware scanner for Android, and how to use their F-Droid repository, was reviewed by Gadget Hacks in March 2021.
In March 2023, the 2022 Free Software Foundation Award for Outstanding New Free Software Contributor went to Tad (SkewedZeppelin), chief developer of the DivestOS project.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “DivestOS”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- DivestOS.png by Midtsveen, CC BY-SA 4.0
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