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Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

arxiv.org

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Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#111

Post by HWR_14 »

rasengan wrote: post #3

I don’t think a smart phone in your pocket all day with a GPS and microphone that you use as a central hub for all your communications, notes, research and appointments and so forth, can really be considered for its privacy - and it appears thru researching apps on these smartphones the authors have the same conclusion.

> I don’t think a smart phone in your pocket all day with a GPS and microphone that you use as a central hub for all your communications, notes, research and appointments and so forth, can really be considered for its privacy

On the contrary. I don't have to consider the privacy implications of different paper notebooks - they all share a similar security profile being things that physical access is both required and sufficient for. For something like a smartphone, considering privacy implications of choices is vital.

Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#112

Post by AnonHP »

randomperson_24 wrote: post #2

I hope fanboys don't start defending Apple / Google for their privacy measures etc. (esp. Apple) Both platforms are notorious (Apple more so due to its closed nature imo) and defending any is just weird.

Android that’s seen as Android in the mass market is also closed. The AOSP layer may be open source, but all the Google layers that make Android usable (for most people), such as Play Services, the Play Store, and Google apps, are all closed. Not any different from Apple in that respect.

Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#114

Post by smoldesu »

imwillofficial wrote: post #90
bogwog wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying that iPhones are secure and private is wishful thinking that benefits nobody but Apple shareholders. There are no doubt some dead journalists and activists that would still be alive today if iPhones truly were secure and/or private.

Name one

Jamal Kashoggi

Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#115

Post by bubblethink »

escherize wrote: post #109
dtonon wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't test CalyxOS yet but I suggest you to try GrapheneOS, if you have a Pixel. I think it is really well done, the documentation is detailed and the team's attention about security, and so privacy, is rock solid.

I use lineage os for microG [0] myself, but can't find a good foss android keyboard. Is there such a thing? [0] - https://lineage.microg.org/

Florisboard

Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#118

Post by kalleboo »

colordrops wrote: post #69

Of course neither platform is gonna be much better than the other because this is a survey of apps, and not the platforms themselves.

There can be differences though. Where I live, Coca-cola has computerized all their vending machines, and you can connect to them with an app and pay for a drink and collect points to redeem for free drinks.

They also have a feature where if you walk a certain number of steps in a month, you can get a free drink. On iOS, the app asks for permission to read the step count data from the iOS system step counter. On Android, the app requires background location and the Coca Cola company can now know where you are at any time.

Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#119

Post by collsni »

dtonon wrote: post #82
collsni wrote: post #42

Caylxos is the best alternative to both that I've found. Anyone know of something better?

I didn't test CalyxOS yet but I suggest you to try GrapheneOS, if you have a Pixel. I think it is really well done, the documentation is detailed and the team's attention about security, and so privacy, is rock solid.

thanks!

Re: Are iPhones Better for Privacy? Comparative Study of iOS and Android Apps

#120

Post by cute_boi »

prepend wrote: post #74
Jeaye wrote: post #29

It's tough to diff the privacy between Android and iOS, as an OS. However, as an app ecosystem, it's not tough at all. For example, there is not a single open source email app on iOS which supports GPG email. In the iOS app ecosystem, privacy and FLOSS is an afterthought, since iOS users are more likely to pay for proprietary software. On Android, there are a lot more options, including things like F-Droid which are…

Seems like privacy and OSS support are different things. And it doesn’t seem tough to generally diff privacy between the two OSes, as this paper seems to add some contributions.

They are different but I think FOSS apps inclines to be privacy friendly and if there are some issue we can always fork it remove the code that phones to its home?

But I agree andriod being in hands ads company has really no incentive to be privacy friendly. Apple mostly selling hard generally have incentive to be more privacy friendly.

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