I have not any prior experience with installing custom ROMs, but after trying it out (and getting stuck, and googling and finding answers) I successfully did it. Below is my home screen if anybody is curious:
I use OpenBoard for my keyboard. Unfortunately I am still dependent on Play Store since some of the apps I need can only be found there. Sometimes it feels meaningless committing to this whole thing because I'm not perfectly private; then I think this is better than using a regular iPhone or Android phone.
So far I'm liking it. I am naturally inclined to feel hesitant about using this as my main phone and plugging in a SIM since it's custom, but I'm slowly making the transition.
Feel free to share any beginners advice or your own experience using GOS for the first time. Cheers!
Do you know if it's safe to download banking apps from third party stores (in this case Aurora)?
It does download from google (servers), so it is safe enough
I have heard Aurora is more insecure and you can risk getting your Google account blacklisted or banned using it. Do you have any experience with this or know how common it is?
Thats easy, use the anonymous accounts. Only use your real one to install paid apps you already have (i dont) then logout
If it's of any help, I (n=1) used one of my personal google accounts with Aurora Store for years because I had one paid app I needed. On my latest phone I now use anon accounts because I no longer need that one app. But for the years I was logged in, I was never banned or anything. What I did, when I needed to purchase the app, I did it on a separate google account to my usual one I use for youtube and gdrive (I know, bad, I don't really use gdrive anymore but I haven't migrated the files I already have on there accumulated for years, and every time I start using a private youtube frontend it never sticks and I forget about it quickly. sorry lol). So if I got banned I would only lose a purchase and not anything else.
Banking apps hate working without google play services btw, mostly they don't work at all. It's really best (for privacy) to just use the mobile site or a laptop, but if you need the app I'd look into setting up a second user profile for google bullshit and installing google services and the banking app there, rather than your main profile. Also check out graphene's matrix rooms for any help you may need, they're quick.
But yes you can get banned, anonymous on aurora always unless you have a paid app like the others have said.
I do not know on a technical level.