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iPhone = Privacy?

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Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#31

Post by LinuxBender »

fsflover wrote: post #2

> With all that information, I think it's reasonable to say that iPhones are far from private. But, as the alternatives are even worse Android smartphones are indeed worse, but it's not the only alternative. Consider GNU/Linux phones if you care about privacy and want to support it: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5 and https://pine64.org/pinephone . There are also things like /e/OS (Edit: and GrapheneOS), but they a…

Also GrapheneOS [1] but hardware options are limited. LineageOS [2] and its fork /e/ [3] appear to have some more hardware support.

How many years will a phone running these be usable on average?

[1] - https://grapheneos.org/faq#device-support

[2] - https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

[3] - https://e.foundation/

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#32

Post by grenoire »

CharlesW wrote: post #21
Algent wrote: post #6

> When you put your phone in airplane mode, you are simply telling your phone's OS to stop using the mobile network. The baseband system is still on and can be pinged by the mobile network. I just started reading and there is already a sentence I don't believe very much, even less as a generalization. Does anyone here have a basis that could explain this bold statement ?

> Does anyone here have a basis that could explain this bold statement ? It's just wrong. On iPhones, Airplane Mode turns off all radios except Bluetooth.

WiFi still remains on, no?

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#33

Post by CharlesW »

fsflover wrote: post #8
imgabe wrote: post #7

> iOS sends a lot of data about your phone to Apple, such as your phone number, your unique device identifier, your location and your IMEI number Oh no! The manufacturer of my phone knows the unique identifier they created and assigned to my phone? Whatever shall I do?

They may know IMEI, since they made the phone. But why do they have to know your phone number and location? How can I avoid that?

> But why do they have to know your phone number and location? How can I avoid that?

By not using a phone, because your carrier knows this information too and also sells this data (Apple does not).

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#34

Post by amelius »

v0idzer0 wrote: post #13

iPhone = Not perfect but better than all comparable alternatives Perhaps the biggest advantage of the iPhone, aside from Apple making most of their money selling real products not your data, is that every concern he had was accompanied by a setting to disable it

These settings tend to magically change in your disadvantage after you update some software or click yes somewhere when you weren't paying attention.

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#35

Post by Bud »

Algent wrote: post #17
fsflover wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They may know IMEI, since they made the phone. But why do they have to know your phone number and location? How can I avoid that?

They 100% need the phone number for some of the base features like imessage. The location however without the "find my phone" it shouldn't have a reason, I guess it's to allow them to put on the map any apple tags you have in range. I think these tags are opt out but I'm still stuck on how Apple casually sell the biggest semi-passive stalking tool ever made.

You need to read for five minutes about AirTags and how they work, and how Apple addressed any stalking issues already, before casually tossing around accusations like this with vagaries like "I think these tags are opt out" attached to them.

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#36

Post by fsflover »

CharlesW wrote: post #33
fsflover wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They may know IMEI, since they made the phone. But why do they have to know your phone number and location? How can I avoid that?

> But why do they have to know your phone number and location? How can I avoid that? By not using a phone, because your carrier knows this information too and also sells this data (Apple does not).

The topic is about Apple knowing your data, please do not shift goals.

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#37

Post by bb123 »

For me it's a question of incentives. Apple makes the vast majority of its income selling hardware to people. That makes me the customer. Google makes the vast majority of its income selling user data to advertisers. That makes me the product and advertisers the customer. Which company has more of an incentive to compromise my privacy by accessing my data in a dishonest way?

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#38

Post by jeffbee »

The place where Apple is the most dishonest is in their scaremongering popup dialogs that constantly prompt me to re-authorize Google Maps, which I use daily, to access my location. They exempt themselves from this authorization by laundering Apple Maps location access through "System Services". iOS will never, ever pop up a dialog asking if you were aware that "System Services" has accessed your location on behalf of Apple 10000 times in the last month for the purposes of improving maps and providing traffic data to other Apple Maps users. Even if you, like me, never intentionally use Apple Maps, Apple silently accesses your location for these purposes. And even if you, like me, have been an intentional and fully-informed user of Google Maps for 15 years, Apple will still regularly urge you to revoke location data access from Google Maps.

To me, this seems really dishonest.

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#39

Post by kraf »

I feel that GrapheneOS is a good compromise. It's significantly more private than an iPhone and after 2 years of using it I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Re: iPhone = Privacy?

#40

Post by imgabe »

Accacin wrote: post #12
imgabe wrote: post #7

> iOS sends a lot of data about your phone to Apple, such as your phone number, your unique device identifier, your location and your IMEI number Oh no! The manufacturer of my phone knows the unique identifier they created and assigned to my phone? Whatever shall I do?

Seriously? Obviously the problem isn't that they know the IMEI, it's that they now have an IMEI linked to a specific person along with your UDI, location, and phone number.

Turn off location, buy a secondhand iPhone with a gift card, create an apple account with a throwaway email, move to a cabin in the woods to work on your manifesto. Easy peasy.
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