It is a Pixel 8
Open Settings, then About phone. The model should read Pixel 8 with nothing after it. The Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8a look similar, but they are different phones inside and each needs its own build.
One phone, for now
Built for the Pixel 8
OBSIDIAN runs on one phone: the Google Pixel 8. Not the Pixel 8 Pro, not the Pixel 8a, and not phones from other makers. This page shows how to check you have the right one, and why we chose it.
Check your phone first
It can be unlocked
Connect it to Wi-Fi, then tap Build number seven times in About phone. In Settings, System, Developer options, the OEM unlocking switch has to turn on. If it stays grey once the phone has been online, it is locked to a mobile network and cannot take OBSIDIAN.
Buying second hand
Make sure the phone has been reset and removed from the previous owner's Google account, and ask to see OEM unlocking switch on before you pay. A phone still tied to someone else's account cannot get far enough into its settings to be unlocked.
Why the Pixel 8
A private phone is only as strong as the hardware under it. These are the reasons, in plain terms.
It can be locked with a key that is not Google's
Most phones either refuse a different operating system or can never be locked again once one is installed. The Pixel 8 accepts another key, so after installing, the bootloader can be locked and the phone will refuse anything not signed with that key.
A separate security chip
The Titan M2 chip holds the keys that protect your data and limits how quickly a PIN can be guessed, so a stolen phone cannot be opened by trying every number in turn.
Memory tagging in the processor
The Pixel 8 generation was the first with processors that can tag memory, which stops a large family of attacks that work by corrupting it. OBSIDIAN has it switched on, for the operating system and for Obsidian Chat.
You can see what it started
When a Pixel 8 runs an operating system other than Google's, it shows the full fingerprint of the key it started with. Once release keys exist we will publish ours, so you can compare the two and know the phone is running what we released.
Supported until October 2030
Google provides firmware and security updates for the Pixel 8 until October 2030. OBSIDIAN depends on those, so that is also how long the phone can be kept fully secure.
Not supported
Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8a
Close relatives with different hardware inside. Each needs its own build and its own testing, and neither has been done.
Other Pixel models
More may follow. None will appear on this page until it has been built and tested on the real phone.
Phones from other makers
Not planned. The reasons above are the standard, and most phones do not meet it.
Have a Pixel 8?
The install page covers what you need, each step, and how to go back to normal Android if you change your mind.
How to install