Ask HN: What 'smartphone' should I get my mother?

Some background: My mom is 78, lives alone, and is very bad at technology. She has difficulty using a mouse, lost the password to her chromebook, and cannot remember where she puts the wi-fi password for the home, so currently is disconnected from the internet.

She says she wants a smartphone so that she can stay in touch with the world. I'd like to get her one so that she can keep up with news, write emails, but I want information egress to be as limited as possible (to prevent identity fraud or asset theft). Even if I tell her to never input her email address, I don't want her to click on a link that will download an app, for example.

Are there any non-obvious solutions to this? Otherwise, would IOS or Android be better? (I use Android, but consistency with me is a secondary factor)

Android with child protection apps on it or a limited user? I'm not too sure about the options but I think newer versions of androids allow guest user that are unable to install apps or modify things.

How about an iPad?

iPhone.

It's much harder to screw up on there than on Android (where she can be tricked into enabling unknown sources and installing a malicious APK), and overall the experience feels simpler - an iOS device will always feel like an iOS device, where as Android changes between manufacturers (which could be a problem if you need to replace the phone and buy a different brand).

Get her a feature phone (a 'seniors' phone with the large buttons) and an iPad.

Use parental controls (now called 'Restrictions') to lock the iPad down. You can prevent app installs and limit their permissions. See: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201304