> to let a single company own my OS (and update whenever, without really auditing it) and my "end to end encrypted" apps -- way too easy to slip in any kind of backdoor there if they want.

Strange. We have opposite conclusions from the same data. I figure I need to minimize the amount of people that "have root" so to speak. If I can't trust Apple, it doesn't matter if I trust Signal. Apple controls what actually gets downloaded to my phone.

I use signal for a different reason: mark certain conversations as "phone only" so notifications don't come up at inopportune times like when I'm at thanksgiving dinner with my extended family.