Hmm. Feeling very good about dumping iPhone to simple flip. My last iPhone was old SE with home button and touch ID. Somehow I managed to remove smartphone habits of my life. It is a bliss. Highly recommend. It is a stellar investment in ones future, psychologically, technically and in general.
If you don't mind my asking, what model flip phone did you settle on? I had one I really liked, but carriers are dropping support for the 3G network it uses, and it seems like all the 4G-compatible options either run Android or have issues with basic functionality like receiving calls. (Or both!)
So my approach is to use the device with this in mind. Some form of data will be transmitted and sold by operators or third party backdoor from manufacturers. The goal is to minimize data exhaust so I bought this
https://www.amazon.com/Alcatel-Unlocked-External-Bluetooth-A...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRQ_Z9TiRRs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uIZE3Av4Gc
As I sad before, the problem is not only in devices and dark patterns designs towards data gathering. The problem is that we have learned to adapt to the "new tech" and are excited to try "new things" without any form of critical thinking and with automatic trust.
I was a part of this "tech fetishism" crowd, I wanted "the best" and "most advanced" not only to socially validate myself but to be "on the verge of tech".
This was in 2015. Now I have a different mindset. I know what tech companies and governments want. I know the people who live comfortably knowing that they create a spyware and UX dead traps, and when I ask the answer is : Shrug and take the money.
So I decided to move radically forward.
Imagine that we are living in 2030. There is no privacy, cars are scanning everything with Lidar, IR and thousand cameras, listening and collecting, the street-lamps are with integrated CCTVs, you get the picture.
So what will give some form of real advantage for the individual in this panopticon? Low data exhaust. The little you give to surveillance system, the more power you will have when making deals with businesses and government organizations.
Working with Internet now, requires VPN, Firewall, Pihole, browser extensions for privacy, decentralized services, etc. Imagine in 2030. There will be no way to use it anonymously and legally. Nobody will stop this. This is the new WEF approved business future. For the children, for the environment, for safety and "peace of mind".
There is one exception and you can use your power now. The power of consumer choice.
My is to invest in my idea of tech future by one factor: Consumer control. If I have to abandon the Internet so be it. If the only connections to Data Towers are the mandatory ones, I will be satisfied. Listening to my own collection of music (CD rips and Vinyl), reading physical books, browsing my vast data collection offline.
And I find this logical and absolutely normal. There is no tin-foil hat reaction. There is data and everyone is free to analyze and create his own version of "reality".