Catalan cops link Google Pixel phones to organized crime

Cops in Catalonia, Spain, reportedly stay alert when they spot someone using a Google Pixel phone. Per the authorities in the region, Google's smartphones are apparently go-to devices for organized crime groups, especially with GrapheneOS installed.

GrapheneOS is flagged by the Catalan police due to the security and privacy-focused nature of the custom mobile OS. It can be installed on any Android phone with the bootloader unlocked, but developers of the ROM strongly recommend a Google Pixel device for "better security."

Recent models, such as the Pixel 9, have hardware memory tagging support, which offers a huge security improvement when GrapheneOS is installed. Another big security feature of this custom mobile OS is that it does full disk and metadata encryption. This helps keep the crime members' personal data away from the cops' reach to some degree.

Catalan cops further note that the Find My Device feature of Android phones is highly valued by crime groups. After all, it allows the user to remotely wipe or lock their devices, which is very handy when the phone is lost.

To counter these privacy-focused features, the Catalan cops often resort to infecting the suspects' phones with malware. This allows the authorities to gain access to the apps, documents, and other data that's stored in the phone, and while GrapheneOS has many security features, it's not immune to these attacks.

Now, while the Catalan cops flag Google Pixel phones with GrapheneOS, it's important to note that Google's smartphones and the custom OS aren't inherently malicious. The issue mostly revolves around how the criminal groups are exploiting the mod-friendly nature of the devices and security-focused features of GrapheneOS. You can learn more about the custom ROM from the video below.