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# Mandrake Linux Creator Launches a New Open Source Mobile OS
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/eelo-mobile-os/
- Published: 2017-12-23T13:20:18.000Z
- Updated: 2023-01-11T09:56:26.000Z
- Author: Abhishek Prakash
- Tags: #Import 2022-12-26 08:27

**Brief: eelo is a new mobile OS based on open source Android distribution LineageOS. Its creator is trying to build an ecosystem which is free from Google and Google related products.**

After the demise of Ubuntu Phone and Firefox OS, there are not a lot of [open source mobile operating systems](https://itsfoss.com/open-source-alternatives-android/) left in the market. But this doesn’t discourage people from trying something new in this not-so-successful domain.

A couple of months we saw the announcement of ultra-secure and privacy-oriented [Librem Phone](https://itsfoss.com/librem-linux-phone/). And now we have a new crowdfunding campaign for a new open source mobile operating system called eelo.

### eelo: An open source mobile OS for privacy-aware people

![Gael showing eelo open source mobile OS](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2017/12/gael-with-eelo-800x450.jpg)

[eelo](https://eelo.io/?ref=itsfoss.com) is a new project launched by Gael Duval, the creator of now defunct but once hugely popular Mandrake Linux (later known as [Mandriva Linux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandriva%5FLinux?ref=itsfoss.com)). As per [Gael](https://www.indidea.org/gael/blog/leaving-apple-google-eelo-odyssey-introduction?ref=itsfoss.com), this is an attempt to free us from corporates like Google and Apple invading our privacy and selling our data to advertisers. 

> I’m not happy with this situation because iOS is proprietary and I prefer Open Source Software. I’m not happy because Apple is getting crazy with their latest products. They are more and more expensive, and not really exciting.
> 
> Also I’m not happy with Google and others. They have become too big and are tracking us by catching a lot of information about what we do. They want to know us as much as possible to sell advertising. Like millions others, I’VE BECOME A PRODUCT OF GOOGLE.
> 
> I want to stop that, at least for myself. People are free to do what they want. They can choose to be voluntary slaves. But I do not want this situation for me anymore.

### More than just an OS, it’s an ecosystem

![eelo open source mobile phone os](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2017/12/eelo-prototype-smartphone.jpeg)

[eelo](https://eelo.io/?ref=itsfoss.com) will be more than just a mobile operating system. It will have its own associated web-services such as email, cloud storage, online office tool etc. eelo is intended for people with a better respect for their personal data and privacy. But at the same time, it wants to give the end-user all the tools that a standard mobile OS provides.

eelo is forked from [LineageOS](https://lineageos.org/?ref=itsfoss.com), an open source Android distribution. LineageOS can run mainstream applications so it will be used to put together a consistent mobile and web system.

The project is called ‘eelo’ after [eel fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel?ref=itsfoss.com) because eels are small fishes that can hide in the sea. That’s symbolic of privacy.

Oh! don’t expect it to be 100% perfect from the privacy point of view at least in the beginning but Gael thinks it will be better and better with each iteration.

### Support eelo on Kickstarter

You can know more about the concept of eelo in this official video:

eelo is seeking to raise a funding of 25,000 Euro. At the time of writing this article, it has raised a little over 7,000 Euro. If you think it’s a promising open source project, don’t hesitate to back in on Kickstarter:

[Support eelo on Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/290746744/eelo-a-mobile-os-and-web-services-in-the-public-in?ref=itsfoss.com)