GrapheneOS says most banking apps run, about a dozen banks now permit it
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
GrapheneOS says most banking apps run on its OS and about a dozen banks now permit it.
About 10% of banking apps still block non-Google-approved systems, so compatibility varies.
Background
GrapheneOS is a free operating system that replaces Android on Google Pixel phones, ships without Google's apps, collects no usage data, and has been developed since 2014 by a Canadian non-profit foundation. The banking-app question surfaced in a thread about a Jolla phone setup failure: buyer Benedikt Ritter returned the device after its Sailfish OS setup required a Jolla account before delivering updates, and said he was considering a Pixel 10 running GrapheneOS instead. The official GrapheneOS account then replied in that thread with specifics on which banking apps work.
How it unfolded
- Aug 2026Revolut rejected systems lacking Google's certification, according to the article's reference to its earlier piece on Revolut and GrapheneOS.
- Oct 20, 2026Pasqualepillitteri.it published a piece on GrapheneOS legality covering France, police and Google, which answers the banking-app compatibility question.
- Oct 24, 2026LavX News published its report on the Jolla setup failure and the GrapheneOS banking-app discussion.
- recentlyThe official GrapheneOS account replied in the thread, saying most banking apps run, about 10% block non-Google-approved systems entirely, and roughly a dozen banks now permit GrapheneOS.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The official GrapheneOS account says most banking apps run on the OS, that many contain memory corruption bugs and faulty anti-tampering code handled via per-app exploit protection compatibility mode, and that a crowd-sourced list at privsec.dev tracks verified apps.
- Support
- Thread participant Maya said GrapheneOS skips account demands entirely, with users installing F-Droid and Aurora Store themselves, and often fixes poor security controls that banks deploy.
- Caution
- Pasqualepillitteri.it said whether banking apps work depends on the app, with some rejecting systems that lack Google's certification.