How it works
The full journey, guided end to end from your browser.
Installation at a glance
An overview of the installation, screen by screen, guided from your browser.
What you need
- A Google Pixel phone (Pixel 7a or newer); the assistant checks compatibility
- A computer running any operating system and a USB cable
- OEM unlocking and USB debugging turned on, on the phone
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Back up the phone
Installation replaces the operating system: the phone is wiped entirely, including photos, messages and applications, and nothing survives it. Put whatever you want to keep somewhere safe before you start, on a computer or an external drive.
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Open the developer options
In the phone's settings, turn on OEM unlocking and USB debugging. Those two settings let a computer connected over USB reinstall the system; without them, the assistant cannot take control of the device and installation stops there.
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Let the assistant guide you
Open the installation assistant and plug in the Pixel. The assistant installs GrapheneOS (a hardened Android system, free software and independently verifiable), then Égide with full device administration rights ("Device Owner"). Every action is explained on screen before it runs.
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Generate your remote wipe program
During installation, your remote wipe program is generated in your browser, on your side. It never passes through our servers: we cannot wipe your phone. Keep it off your phone, somewhere safe.
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Live normally, Égide keeps watch
Your phone is used like any other, and you can, if you want to, hide Égide behind an ordinary utility, which your opening code reopens. In the background: watchdogs armed at all times (repeated failed unlocks, prolonged lock), a separate encrypted space for your sensitive data, permanent tamper resistance, and remote wipe on your signal as long as premium is active. Updates arrive over Tor, without revealing where you are.
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After 30 days, you choose
Every device starts with 30 days of full premium. After that, Égide falls back to the free core, which never stops: failed codes, prolonged lock, tamper resistance, choice of wipe mode, camouflage, updates.
The limits, honestly
- A wipe is final. There is no recovery, by you or by us; that is precisely the point. Plan your backups.
- A wipe takes the installation with it: Égide removes itself from the phone as it erases. You then go through the installation assistant again, which stays free and open to all. Any premium time already topped up is attached to the device and is still there after a reinstall on the same phone.
- Installation produces one secret, your remote wipe program, and it cannot be replaced: it is generated on your side and we hold no copy of it. Nobody, ourselves included, can make you another one for a phone that is already installed.
- If you turn camouflage on, your opening code becomes the only way into Égide's interface. You choose it yourself, we do not know it, and no recovery procedure exists: losing it means losing access to Égide's settings.
- Égide requires a Google Pixel. The reason lies in the hardware: it alone combines a dedicated security chip and a verified boot that GrapheneOS can genuinely rely on. No workaround is planned, and there will not be one.