Which, is also the main argument of the OP for preferring Apple.
I'd guess that Apple really collects less data because they want to preserve your battery life, not your privacy.
I assumed that PRISM data came from a "backdoor" it had to iPhones. There's no proof that PRISM data didn't come from a backdoor to iPhones. But there's no proof it did come from a backdoor either. So I'll take back that comment.
1. Do they share this data with people?
2. Is this data anonymized?
3. Is this data directly monetized, or otherwise give incentives to violate user privacy?
- handled
- available for access by employees
- retained, deleted, and stored
etc.. are at least as important for your privacy.
As someone who works in security, I am as concerned or more about the seemingly inevitable breach's impact on my privacy.
So it is simple: Apple has a choice. Google doesn’t.
Where? I can't identify a single non-tech-oriented person in my life who makes phone purchasing decisions based off of vague notions like privacy.
In fact, I'd say that the market does not demand privacy, it is ambivalent to it. I don't agree with ambivalence, but I also don't see consumers making privacy-minded purchases, either.
Google was once the "don't be evil" company.
- does not use that data to sell stuff to you.
- don't have a reason to profile you and store those profiles constantly updated.
- don't have a reason to "follow" you across the web everywhere you go to update that profile.
Just having that profile on you makes a company a liability. C you trust a company that makes money solely based on the information they collect about you to make decisions that benefit you? or your privacy and security?
Why then use the app in the first place? I mean, the mobile sites of fb are pretty much functional to me. (Admittably, I am happy to have no notifications on my phone outside sms and calls)
There have been times when mbasic has shown me two items, and that's it. Switching to m returned more. But only going to the full www showed me everything going on.
So now I restrict myself to using Facebook just one day a week. It's not as good as cutting Facebook off entirely, but it at least reduces some of its data gathering on me.
I suspect it'd be trivial to remove the overlay with CSS.
People's will towards privacy is still weak, they don't know what those company could do with that amount of data. Ignorant, that's why those company keep doing what they do.
It's just like running a restaurant, as long as people can't see disgusting thing in their food, then everything will be fine and dandy, no matter how unhygienic the kitchen was.
Sad.
It boils down to trust. Do you trust Google? Do you trust Apple?
I trust Google to care very much about security. I also trust that they are gathering as much information as they can about me. Even as a paid customer. It’s baked into their business model.
I trust Apple to care very much about security. I also trust that they fundamentally believe in privacy and are not gathering large swaths of data about me, and are doing what they can to keep others from doing so if I play in their garden. It’s baked into their business model.
Why don't boil down even further? How comfortable you are when you put your own security on other people's hand? Do you trust others will protect you no matter what? Do you trust others will completely be honest with you no matter what?
I don't know about you, but for me, I always trying to figure out the detail of the thing that will be rely on, even it's just a door alarm. Only after that, I can then tell whether or not I trust it.
If I understand you correctly, I can say that your "trust" is actually a form of trade off: I want to use the awesome __________ Phone, so I can ______________. For that, I could take some shit from __________ as long as they don't ______________.
However, that just means you've convinced yourself to trust something, hardly anything else.
And speak of "business model", many company was cool and awesome when it's young. Things change.
So, if it's a question: Do you trust Google? Do you trust Apple? Both no. I kept my file encrypted when uploading to Google Drive, and I don't use iCloud at all. I have 16 different Google accounts and 3 Apple accounts, each for different things, and I replace most of then every two years (Or when Google start to ask me for my phone number).
My advise: Don't dip yourself into that situation when you have to make a choice like that.
So, given that I have to trust someone (and for 99% of people on the planet this is also true) I choose to trust Apple.
Currently I'm running with an MS Lumia 950 and when necessary, I'll switch back to Android. I've completely removed all my social media apps on both phones.
The most recent reason I needed to switch back to my OnePlus 2 was because my hockey manager now uses Venmo to accept payment for the upcoming season. I was pissed when I found out Venmo won't allow you to process payments from your desktop account anymore. You are forced to download and install the Android app, and then send money that way.
It just feels so invasive. I felt like they were saying, "We can't get the data we want on your PC, so we'll force you to download and install the app, and in the process, give us the permissions we want to get to your data.
Check out the comments here: https://www.xda-developers.com/e-google-free-lineageos-fork-...
I have high hopes for Librem 5 where privacy of user is the core product of the company.
https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en
(No association.)
In the last few years the combined privacy invasion from:
1. Google at the very heart of Android (and even Cyanogen/LineageOS with DNS, Google Play Services etc.) and everything I do on the phone. 2. OnePlus with sending data and telemetry back to China and being caught out multiple times after saying they respect the user. 3. Facebook with asking for/getting insane levels of permissions from Android for their apps.
Has made me realise that Apple are the only option for anyone who cares about privacy and wants some simplicity.
Sure I'd love for the ello (/e/) project to eventually take off and provide a real solution but in the meantime and for now Apple aren't showing any signs of wanting to (or needing to) exploit/sell my personal data.
I'm degooglifying as much as possible and my tech friends are too after the recent scandals. Google's a company we will look back on in 50 years as being a blight on freedom.