Iodé not open source why?

Hi all
Iodé OS is not open source like Lineage / or /e/OS… why ?
Thanks to share any info you have about that

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Hi,
iodé is based on LineageOS and partially open source (iode · GitLab).
We’re a still a young project with original features such as the built-in adblocker we’re developping, and we’re trying to find an answer to the following question: is it possible to live from this activity/passion? That’s why we’re extremely cautious about releasing what makes our difference, are still thinking about the global strategy, but may open source the entire code in 2022.
We are slowly open sourcing though, each month adding code to our repos, and we will soon publish most of the modifications we made on common LineageOS repositories.
If you want our project to develop and survive on the long-term, please patient a bit more :wink:

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Yes I will be patient because your phone devices offer interests me and your approach too. Thank you for taking the time to explain this point.

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I shall wish the iode team all the best in their efforts to make a living from their activities!

It is fully understandable that they are cautious about their competitive advantage, I think. They should be!

Maybe think about selling it as an app on google for other phones, if that is technically an option?

I can’t imagine that you can simply install the iodé app on any smartphone, since it is deeply embedded in the system. It’s also the only app you can’t delete from iodéOS via the preinstalled app manager.

I think the most important thing is to increase the awareness of iodéOS massively. Then at some point, quite automatically, enough smartphones will be bought in the iodé store or donated to use iodéOS.

I hope that iodé will quickly become known and wish them the best possible success! :slightly_smiling_face:

internationally too because for now where I’m I can not buy any iodé device where few other degoogled OS already do …

I would agree, more awereness is always good and even critical. But that does not release you from the need to have a working business model. And I am not shure that selling phones of other brands will hold up long term. This maybe working on a small customer base of enthusiasts. But consider larger amounts of “normal” customers and having to deal with their demands in respect to customer support, let alone legal requirements that have to be met over years, for example for warranty claims.

I would think that iode might need a second or even third way to monetize their work. And going open source might not be the best route to go here.

I see you all perfectly understand our situation, good.
No, our blocker requires system modifications, so it cannot be provided in other ways than through a full ROM.
And yes, the business model is not completely defined yet, we think a lot about it, it will probably evolve, and that’s why in the meantime we have to delay open sourcing the heart of our developments.

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Nevertheless I think we can trust you :wink:
Guys, you’re doing a great job :+1:

Keep on running…

Trust or not trust, that’s the question :slight_smile:

Can an unofficial rom grabbed from xda be trusted ?
Can an official lineage build be trusted ? Probably more than the previous one, but how can we be sure that no one introduced some malicious code in the build, even internally at lineage ?
Can a personal build be trusted ? Probably more that the two previous ones, but did you check the millions of lines of code you compiled ?..

At least, some audits could be performed independently of us, for example to check the network communications with tools like pcap, wireshark, …

And well after all, if some dishonest things would be revealed, there is an existing company, registered in France, that would be responsible before the law for that…

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Have you considered deals with companies? Like providing them with iodeOS phones. Samsung etc has such deals, so what speaks against doing that too? :smiley:
Or is it some stupid law that makes it extremely hadd for smaller companies to do that?

This is very important to me (not just about privacy but much more about freedom), important enough that I switched to another ROM after finding out that you did not release your software under the terms of a free/libre software license. I do get your point, though. I opened an issue about this on GitHub which also includes some suggestions on how to make money with free software. It certainly is not as easy as making money with non-free software, but there are some examples (Nextcloud, etc.). In order to have some time to get larger you could put your changes under a copyleft license. (I do not recall any large AOSP-based ROM using one.) Using a copyleft license like the GPLv3-or-later (an upgrade path is important) would actually be an improvement as it would require ROMs including parts of your source code to release theirs as well. This guarantees that you can always use their code based on yours as well.

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It’s a pity, but I hope we can welcome you again when the time comes…