OS official strongly refutes that police are easily linking Google Pixel and security-specialized OS 'GrapheneOS' to criminals

Police in Catalonia, Spain, have said that GrapheneOS , a security-focused operating system forked from Google Pixel and Android, is favored by criminals, leading to a strong rebuttal from GrapheneOS.

'Cada vez que vemos un Pixel pensamos que puede ser un narcotraficante'.
https://www.xatakandroid.com/sociedad/cada-vez-que-vemos-google-pixel-pensamos-que-puede-ser-narcotraficante-movil-perfecto-para-crimen-sencilla-razon

'Strong privacy protection features' also mean that 'even if you do something bad, it will be difficult to be discovered.' In the past, French security authorities issued an investigative report that made it seem as if using the encrypted messaging app Signal was a crime .

According to Catalan police and cybersecurity experts from the Catalan newspaper Diari Ara, the Google Pixel is popular with organized criminals because it allows users to install any operating system they want.

One of the most commonly used operating systems is GrapheneOS, a privacy-focused operating system. Criminal gangs are said to be using it in a way that wipes the device completely after multiple failed PIN attempts or remote reset attempts.

The encryption is impossible to crack, so police have resorted to using Trojan horses to break it, and police have reportedly begun investigating Pixel users because they believe the phones are often used by drug dealers.

Calvin Wankhede of the news site Android Authority, who used a GrapheneOS-equipped Pixel, said, 'GrapheneOS doesn't include Google services, but I was able to easily install the Play Store and most apps worked without any problems,' and described the experience of replacing the Pixel's OS with GrapheneOS as a 'transformative experience.' He expressed his discomfort at being seen as a criminal.

Cops say criminals use a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS — I say that's freedom
https://www.androidauthority.com/why-i-use-grapheneos-on-pixel-3575477/

GrapheneOS' official account also responded, saying, 'European authoritarian regimes and media supporting them have falsely portrayed GrapheneOS and Pixel as products for criminals, but GrapheneOS opposes the 'massive surveillance police state' that these forces are trying to impose on everyone.'

They accuse the company of attempting to 'mislead' users of GrapheneOS and Signal together.

According to GrapheneOS, government officials have publicly described GrapheneOS as being for criminals, misleading the media into thinking that the majority of users are criminals. GrapheneOS counters this claim by saying, 'The majority of criminals use iOS or Android, not GrapheneOS. The proportion of criminals in the user base may even be lower on GrapheneOS than on Android.'