GrapheneOS' rewritten Messages app is released
323 points
• 3 days ago
• Article
Link
GrapheneOS Messaging 应用的第 13 版是一次全面重构,弃用了旧有界面,采用基于 Jetpack Compose 和 Material 3 的现代设计。所有界面均已重写以提升性能与可用性,引入更完善的会话控制并增强了对大屏设备的支持。此次更新还修复了多种技术问题——包括持续崩溃、通知错误和消息处理不一致等——并大幅强化了安全机制。
界面在外观与功能上都有重大改进,采用更具表现力的 Material 3 设计与自适应应用图标。大屏设备新增双栏布局,并改进了对刘海、打孔屏和系统栏的处理。引导流程也更清晰地说明了 SMS 隐私、系统权限与默认应用设置。会话列表现在更易管理,支持置顶、自定义时长的免打扰,以及滑动归档或删除。快速操作与重新设计的多选工具让日常使用更顺手,新加入的视觉提示可更直观地显示未读状态、已置顶会话与工作配置文件。
在单个会话中,消息气泡进行了重新设计,收件人选择器也做了优化,支持字母排序并以更清晰的格式展示联系人。附件与媒体体验得到现代化改造,新选择器整合了 Android 内嵌的照片工具,音频录制功能也更完善。分享与转发流程更灵活,选择器允许在发送前编辑内容并选择 SIM 。另新增的全屏消息详情查看器可透明展示时间戳、投递状态和 SMS 分段计数等元数据。
安全与隐私仍是本次发布的核心,采取了多项主动防护措施以保障用户数据。 YouTube 链接预览改为可选功能,应用已拒绝不安全的文件 URI 和私有应用文件。多种解析流程加入了资源配额限制以降低潜在利用风险,且修复了与消息同步、数据库插入和 widget intents 相关的大量崩溃。更新还明确提醒用户 SMS 为明文传输,建议对敏感信息使用端到端加密。
此次更新还大幅提升了无障碍性,例如统一的屏幕阅读器标签和对发送消息等操作的详细音频反馈。对多账户或工作配置文件的用户,通知现在能更清晰地展示相关内容并区分不同配置文件。最后,平台已迁移到更新的依赖项,提升了 SDK 目标并更新了 Kotlin 与 Gradle 构建,确保应用与最新 Android 标准兼容。通过扩展测试与静态分析,此次发布体现了对稳定性和代码库长期可维护性的重大投入。
Version 13 of the GrapheneOS Messaging application represents a comprehensive overhaul of the platform, replacing the legacy interface with a modern design built on Jetpack Compose and Material 3. Every screen has been rebuilt to improve performance and usability, resulting in the addition of robust conversation controls and improved support for large-screen devices. This update also addresses a variety of technical issues, including persistent crashes, notification errors, and message handling inconsistencies, while significantly tightening security protocols.
The user interface has received a major aesthetic and functional update, featuring an expressive Material 3 design and adaptive app icons. Users will notice a new two-pane layout for large screens and improved handling of display cutouts and system bars. Onboarding processes have been refined to better communicate SMS privacy, system permissions, and default-app setup. Additionally, the conversation list now allows for more intuitive management, including pinning, snoozing for custom durations, and swiping to archive or delete. Quick actions and redesigned multi-select tools further streamline daily interactions, while new visual indicators help users track unread status, pinned conversations, and work profiles.
Within individual conversations, message bubbles have been redesigned and the recipient picker has been enhanced to include alphabetical sorting and clearer contact formatting. The attachment and media experience has also been modernized with a new picker that integrates Android's embedded photo tool and improved audio recording features. Sharing and forwarding have been simplified through a more flexible picker that allows users to edit content and select SIMs before sending. Furthermore, a new full-screen message details viewer provides transparent access to metadata like timestamps, delivery status, and SMS segment counts.
Security and privacy remain a primary focus of this release, with several proactive measures implemented to protect user data. YouTube link previews are now an opt-in feature, and the app has been updated to reject insecure file URIs and private app files. Allocation limits have been added to various parsing processes to mitigate potential exploits, and numerous crashes related to message synchronization, database inserts, and widget intents have been corrected. The update also clarifies the nature of SMS communication, explicitly reminding users that standard text messaging is unencrypted and suggesting end-to-end encryption for sensitive data.
The update also includes extensive accessibility improvements, such as consistent screen-reader labeling and detailed audio feedback for actions like sending messages. For users with multiple accounts or work profiles, notifications now provide better clarity by displaying relevant content and distinguishing between profiles. Finally, the platform has been migrated to more current dependencies, including higher SDK targets and updated builds for Kotlin and Gradle, ensuring the application remains compatible with the latest Android standards. This release reflects a significant investment in stability and the long-term maintainability of the codebase through expanded testing and static analysis.
251 comments • Comments Link
• GrapheneOS 优先支持高安全性的硬件,明确指出由于缺乏安全元件和糟糕的安全更新周期,不支持 Fairphone 设备。
• Fairphone 最近的一些商业决策(例如与 /e/OS 的合作,以及在固件和操作系统安全回溯上的滞后)表明其优先级与 GrapheneOS 所要求的"以安全为先"准则存在分歧。
• 新的 GrapheneOS 消息应用的开发集中在替换过时的 AOSP 组件,以提供更现代、更稳定的用户体验,特别是在准备扩展到非 Pixel 硬件(如 Motorola 设备)时。
• 由于 RCS 的复杂性和中心化特征,加上项目严格的安全要求,RCS 的实现对 GrapheneOS 仍然是重大技术挑战。
• 关于新消息应用设计的讨论暴露了用户偏好的分歧:有人赞赏 Material 3 风格的现代化外观和改进的触控目标,而另一些人则认为这是浪费空白空间、降低了界面密度。
• 用户指出新消息应用 Alpha 版本中的回归问题,例如复制一次性验证码时出现的问题,这引发了关于 Alpha 测试是否应免于严厉批评的争论,尽管项目方声称使用了先进的评审工具。
• 缺乏视觉文档(例如项目 README 中的截图)仍然困扰着那些依赖视觉线索来评估开源实用工具功能与设计的潜在用户。
• 提供高质量的系统应用套件对于 GrapheneOS 从一个主要面向注重隐私的爱好者的小众项目,向缺乏技术背景的更广泛用户群体推广至关重要。
• 完整系统备份仍是 GrapheneOS 生态中的一个关键且未解决的问题,现有方案(如 Seedvault)被广泛批评为不可靠或不可用。
• 购买翻新硬件是在不向 Google 提供经济贡献的前提下使用 GrapheneOS 的最可行途径,尽管未来对非 Pixel 设备(如 Motorola)的支持旨在提供更多的硬件多样性。
此次讨论反映了维护一个绝不妥协的安全操作系统与满足不断增长用户群体实际需求之间的紧张关系。尽管 GrapheneOS 通过现代化的系统应用和硬件扩展不断完善核心体验,社区在对硬件兼容性的严格立场以及功能开发优先级的问题上仍存在分歧。普遍认为,基本的可用性(例如功能完善的消息功能和可靠的备份)对于操作系统的长期可持续性至关重要,即便在设计美学和实现功能等价的路径选择上意见分歧明显。 • GrapheneOS prioritizes high-security hardware, specifically citing a lack of secure elements and poor security update cycles as reasons for not supporting Fairphone devices.
• Fairphone's recent business decisions, such as partnering with /e/OS and lagging on firmware and OS security backports, signal that their priorities diverge from the strict security-first mandate required for GrapheneOS integration.
• Development efforts for a new GrapheneOS messaging application are focused on replacing aging AOSP components to provide a modern, stable experience for users, particularly as the project prepares for upcoming support on non-Pixel hardware like Motorola devices.
• The implementation of RCS remains a significant technical challenge for GrapheneOS, given its complex, centralized nature and the project's stringent security requirements.
• Discussion regarding the new messaging app's design reveals a split in user preference: some appreciate modernized Material 3 aesthetics and improved touch targets, while others perceive it as wasteful whitespace and poor UI density.
• Users have noted regressions in the alpha version of the new messaging app, such as issues with copying one-time codes, sparking a debate on whether alpha testing should be immune to criticism despite the project's claims of using advanced review tools.
• The lack of visual documentation, such as screenshots in project READMEs, continues to frustrate potential users who rely on visual cues to assess the functionality and design of open-source utilities.
• Providing a high-quality system app suite is essential for GrapheneOS to transition from a niche, privacy-focused enthusiasts' project toward broader adoption by less technical users.
• Full system backups remain a critical, unaddressed pain point for the GrapheneOS ecosystem, with existing solutions like Seedvault being widely criticized as unreliable or unusable.
• Purchasing refurbished hardware is the most viable path for privacy advocates to use GrapheneOS without contributing financially to Google, though future support for non-Pixel devices like Motorola aims to offer more hardware diversity.
The discussion reflects the tension between maintaining a uncompromisingly secure operating system and the practical needs of a growing user base. While GrapheneOS continues to refine its core experience through modernized system apps and hardware expansion, the community remains divided over the project's strict stance on hardware compatibility and the prioritization of feature development. There is a clear consensus that basic usability—such as functional messaging and reliable backups—is vital for the OS's long-term sustainability, even if perspectives on design aesthetics and the path toward feature parity remain polarized.