I have been an Android user for 13 years now. After using almost every Google service possible I am going down the privacy rabbit hole lately. Gmail -> Proton Mail, Chrome -> Firefox, Keep -> Notesnook, Google Search -> Kagi, …
I am currently using a Galaxy S23 with as few Google apps as possible (and focussing mainly on open-source apps). I am familiar with rooting (I was a CyanogenMod user back in the days), but today I want to use the phone without tinkering and problem solving. I also like to use a smartwatch and banking apps, so GrapheneOS is a no-go unfortunately.
So it is “Stock” Android (or Samsung’s Android ) vs. iOS for me. Is it better (in terms of privacy) to use an iPhone or stick with an Android phone with an system wide ad-/tracking Blocker (I use Adguard)? It seems there are more privacy-friendly/open-source apps on Android.
Ironically the Pixels are the easiest to de-Google.
Apple wants your data as well
Is that true? I thought apple’s business model was to not sell your data but charge more upfront. Do you have a source discussing this that you can point me to?
Edit: I’ve searched online and can’t find even a single article talking about Apple selling your data. I’m an iPhone user so I want to know. The most recent Apple privacy article I can find reports on how they’re closing fingerprinting loopholes in third party apps.
I definitely don’t want to be naive or credulous, but given how aggressively they’ve prevented third parties from gathering data, I’m cautiously optimistic. I don’t think this is a “both sides” situation, unless someone can point me to some information to the contrary.
Can you install an app on your iPhone without telling Apple? No. You can on Android, even stock. Apple uses that information to target ads.
Yes. Installing any .api is extremely simple. You can do it with one click. I’ve lots of apps Apple doesn’t want me to have, and they don’t know.
iOS won’t let any of your apps get your location without also sending your location to Apple. There is no such problem on Android. You are allowed to get your location from the GPS sensor without telling anybody, even on stock Android. https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/location-services/#:~:text=If Location Services is on,hotspot and cell tower locations.
You seem to be right: here is their app store policy. That’s helpful to know. They claim this is not sold to others and only used to recommend apps on the app store, but I may not be reading that right.
In theory, I understand some apps can be sideloaded on Android. But, in practice, can you actually get away with avoiding the Google app store for most apps? I’m skeptical.
All apps that you can install from the Play Store can be “sideloaded” on Android, plus many that you can’t install from the Play Store.
Aurora store and fdroid are two alternative stores. You can also download any apk and install it. You were skeptical of a 1 minute search, man.
No please read my comment again. I know there are alternative stores. In practice, many mainstream apps are not easy to install using these stores. If you had done a 1 minute search, you’d find tons of people complaining about trying to degoogle their phone. I think almost everyone just gives up on at least a few apps.
Giving up on a few apps IS being able to sideload most apps, which is what you were skeptical about in your original comment.
In context, I clearly meant “most apps people use and need”. Almost all the streaming apps, all the corporate social media apps, all the payment apps, etc seem to be problematic.
Remember that the larger discussion is about the viability of protecting your privacy on Android vs iPhone. Sure everything is “possible” if you futz with it enough, you could even code your own OS and all your own apps, but the more you have to futz, the less viable it is for most people.
I thought apple’s business model was to not sell your data but charge more upfront.
Charging more? Absolutely. Not sell your data? No, they will sell.
Charging more is only because people are willing to pay it. So why not? Most people don’t even care about their data being sold, and will not stop buying apple products for it.
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I buy iPhones because I’m cheap and they’re a better value. My last phone lasted me 5 years, and my current 11 pro is 3 years old and still going strong. If you don’t replace your phone frequently, then iPhones are much cheaper than Android phones.
I have had my onePlus 8T since 2020, and got it “for free” from T-Mobile without any issue. I used to work at AT&T, and I’ve had so many customers with iPhones who would come when the bed iPhone came out, saying their previous gen iPhone is suddenly incredibly slow after the latest iOS update. Some of them, especially if they were 2 or more gens behind, the iPhone would just be black screen with no sign of life.
From my observation, android isn’t only cheaper, but it has greater longevity too. If the company stops supporting the device, custom ROMs continue.
This sounds like selection bias. If you are sampling only people who are replacing their old iPhones, then they will obviously be more likely to have broken iPhones.
Even if the hardware lasts, most android phones historically don’t remain updated for more than a few years. Your OnePlus 8T is due to lose basic security support in October 2024, so one more year from now. It’s already lost OS updates. Meanwhile, my iPhone 6s from 2015 still works and is still receiving security updates this year!
Look I’m not looking to start a format war. I think android phones are great. But I’m cheap and concerned about ewaste. I just want something to work for as long as possible.
I tend to lean toward Android simply because it gives me more control/options instead of completely relying on Apple’s promise that they care
E.g. I like that I can use NeoStore for FOSS apps instead of the google Play store
You can make stock Android much more private. Universal debloat tool + Invisible Pro - remove unnecessary apps, restrict internet access to only the apps you want to have internet access, add a tracker blocker list.
I chose Apple on that matter. Not that it’s the perfect choice, but it’s for now a “good” compromise. At least they “seem” to be concerned about their customers’ data (encrypted messages, data not sold to advertisers…)
Exactly “seem” they make vision of it only and good marketing.https://sneak.berlin/20201112/your-computer-isnt-yours I would always prefer android for reasons that i can delete a lot stuff using android debug bridge while on ios i can’t do anything,more over not talking about root rights to completely delete spyware or block them using firewall.
Jesus Christ, what a read.
Wow, I didn’t know about this. I think that’s a big reason for not choosing Apple…
My banking app works just fine on GrapheneOS, and it’s required no tinkering to get it working the way I want. I can’t speak for smart watches unfortunately, but I’d still recommend a Pixel with GrapheneOS if you really care about privacy. If you really don’t want to go with GrapheneOS, I’d still recommend Android. Apple may be marketing towards privacy friendly, but Android still has better FOSS options, which is better than blindly trusting Apple.
I wish I could buy a second hand pixel phone anywhere here. (Central EU) They might be popular in the US, maybe a couple of them are sold in western Europe, but in this region they are imppssible to find.
iPhone has the better reputation for privacy/security, however it is proprietary software and so no one can really tell for sure what kind of data that Apple might collect on you.
The same is true for stock Android devices. Unless you are using a custom ROM without Google Play Services, there is more proprietary software than open source running on Android devices.
The best fasle advertising on privacy/security rather?
Their goal is blocking any other advertising method so only they can collect and use the data of their users for advertising.
Security? They can (or could) be hacked, with a backdoor, just with an invisible message…
So most of their reputation is just marketing (which goes pretty near to false advertising ex : the your data stays on your device… Which is just false).
Tho they may have a reputation of refusing to give data to public organizations (or at least depending on the data).
iOS is fully proprietary, so while some might argue that it is more private, it is almost impossible to know. What we do know is that it isn’t private, and apple has a track record against privacy.
I think comparing the two platforms from a privacy perspective is pointless. You’re not going to be private either way. Might as well focus on other factors.
Stock IOS is probably more privacy friendly than android. Googles entire business is to make money off your data. Stock android uses google play services that have access to pretty much everything on your phone. Apple will bend to politicians on scanning your files and shit, but at least they (probably) aren’t selling your data. As much as google at the very least.
But like many comments here, if you actually care about privacy, stock anything isn’t the way to go. I use calyxos and find it to be a good balance between privacy and usability. No android auto, but banking apps work and from what I’ve read you can use garmin smartwatches or other similar watches that use their own app and smart watches that have been added to gadgetbridge https://f-droid.org/packages/nodomain.freeyourgadget.gadgetbridge/
Some people don’t like microg, but I believe you can use calyxos without it. (Not sure if that will break banking apps though).
Personally for me, I don’t want to store my personal files in anybody else’s cloud besides mine. I don’t want Google to have them, I don’t want Apple to have them. I use Syncthing to sync files between my devices. My understanding is it is a much better implementation on Android than Apple (basically non existent due to rules for apps on iOS is my understanding)
another +1 for syncthing
i ditched dropbox for it 6+ years ago and i have never had a single issue with it. super fast and never gets in your way
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Do banking apps work on it? If yes, is it with or without microg?
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Graphene OS > iOS > Stock Android
yes, but graphene os only support pixel device for now…
Where is lineage OS in that?
LineageOS doesn’t claim to be Degoogled, and it isn’t so I think it would be an improvement, but a small one. It would remove the trackers your OEM has built into stock but that’s about it. It’s still phoning home to Google.
All I know is LineageOS claims to support devices beyond the date manufacturers do. Graphene stops getting updates the same date the manufacturer sets.
For purely just privacy I would say custom rom android > iphone > stock android > samsung android.
But “<” means “less than”…?
I think any Android version is better in terms of privacy than iphone. iOS is property and a lot closer and less customizable than android. If you are really concerned about privacy, my suggestion is not to use iphone.
Was in the same Situation. Tried calyxos and lineage os with microg but there were always issues. I wanted a phone that works, so I bought an iPhone. I know that is not at all the best way to have privacy, but it works. I try to use as much open source and selfhosting as possible to minimize the data Apple gets. https://github.com/dkhamsing/open-source-ios-apps
You could try grapheneos. It is praised a lot. I can’t comment on it as I don’t own a pixel.
I now have a pixel with grapheneOS but unfortunately it is the same problem with the location in some apps.
You can use Shelter and to have there all the closed-source apps.
Banking apps work on a different user (Shelter’s/Android’s reg. secondary user) on GrapheneOS.
If you’re not comfortable with tinkering with your phone, that’s a different story. But know that you *can* have your cake and eat it.
To your point about tinkering, GrapheneOS has an excellent web installer. CalyxOS has a fairly decent install procedure but is maybe slightly more involved.
If you want to make a move in favour of privacy you might want to ditch the smart watch you currently use if it’s a proprietary system that also leverages Google play services, as your health and biometric data is also very valuable to these companies.
Regarding root, I feel as if root access has been more or less phased out in custom ROMs today, likely for attestation purposes but I suppose also to prevent end users from causing irreparable system damage.
