Who Owns LineageOS?

LineageOS's primary ethical contribution is extending the usable life of electronic devices. By providing updated Android builds for phones and tablets that manufacturers have stopped supporting, the project reduces electronic waste. Many devices running LineageOS are several years old and would otherwise no longer receive security updates.

The project publishes regular security patches for supported devices, including those no longer updated by their manufacturers. LineageOS 23.0 incorporated security fixes released between September 2024 and August 2025. This means users of older devices can continue to receive security protection through LineageOS even after the manufacturer has abandoned the hardware.

LineageOS does not collect user data for commercial purposes. The project's statistics tracking at stats.lineageos.org counts active installs but can be disabled by users. The operating system does not include the proprietary Google services that ship with manufacturer Android builds, giving users more control over their data. Users who want Google services can install them separately through OpenGApps or similar packages.

The project is not a certified B Corporation and does not publish a formal sustainability report. Its environmental impact is limited, as it is a software project with no manufacturing or physical supply chain. The main sustainability benefit is indirect, through device lifecycle extension.

Cyanogen Inc. Collapse (2016): The direct predecessor of LineageOS, CyanogenMod, was shut down in December 2016 when Cyanogen Inc. ceased operations. The company had raised venture capital, hired staff, and partnered with phone manufacturers, but failed to build a sustainable business. Kondik, the project's founder, was removed from the company's board. The collapse disrupted the CyanogenMod community and destroyed the project's infrastructure. LineageOS was created as a community fork to continue the work without corporate involvement, a direct response to the failure of the commercialization attempt.

Device Security Risks (Ongoing): Installing LineageOS requires unlocking a device's bootloader, which disables security features built into Android's verified boot process. This can make devices more vulnerable to certain attacks if physical access is obtained. The project documents these risks and provides guidance on mitigations, but the tradeoff is inherent to the custom ROM model. Users must accept reduced physical security in exchange for software control.

Bootloader Unlocking Restrictions (Ongoing): Several manufacturers have made it more difficult to unlock device bootloaders over time, which directly impacts LineageOS's ability to support new devices. Samsung and some other manufacturers have periodically restricted or removed bootloader unlocking options, limiting the pool of devices that can run LineageOS. This is an ongoing tension between the custom ROM community and hardware manufacturers.

Unofficial Build Quality (Ongoing): Approximately 74% of LineageOS active installs are unofficial builds, maintained outside the project's official device roster. These builds do not go through the project's review process and may contain unreviewed code, outdated security patches, or device-specific issues. The project cannot guarantee the quality or security of unofficial builds, though it provides the base code that unofficial maintainers build upon.