The privacy sub may be even more paranoid than the stim subs.
This haunts them in their sleep:
Privacy sub... Iphone
What a lack of computer literacy and libre software thought does to a mf.
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2023
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the_dunk_tank
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It's the dunk tank.
This is where you come to post big-brained hot takes by chuds, libs, or even fellow leftists, and tear them to itty-bitty pieces with precision dunkstrikes.
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but for the companies that can access your information
As if Android is any better?
It is leagues ahead if you are literate enough to wipe off the original firmware and get your own in it.
I want a phone, not a second job.
Its fine if you are not literate to install a custom ROM. Use the defaults.
I have mine modified, no need for a second job, just 30 minutes of research once.
Android is leagues ahead of Apple, first of all, the core of Android is libre, anyone is able to take Android and create their own mobile operating system around it (with various amounts of success). Of course, this leads to OEMs who create bastardized nonfree operating systems with privacy holes, but it also leads to things like Vanilla Android, GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, /e/ etc.
There are also GNU/Linux phones like UBports, GNOME/KDE mobile shell, so it's not a binary decision.
Android is not without its flaws (like Google play services and closed down hardware), but to say it's not better than Apple is misleading. Countries choose Android, only America pushes their Apple sludge.
Every cell phone, even dumb phones, can track you with a warrant or Stingray. Rather than picking which is better, understand that every single cellphone is snitching on you and act accordingly.
To be clear, it is possible to defend yourself, but ofc no defense is perfect. For illegal activities that might attract federal attention? best to avoid them at all costs. But for general privacy in your day to day life that isn't practical for most people, and "every cellphone is snitching on you" is way too reductive, even if it's true in a sense.
For example the person you are replying to mentions Linux phones, many of which publish schematics and make hardware kill switches for the discrete modem a big selling point. That still isn't perfect protection, but it would protect you from a stingray... and if you have a thought out threat model, you can make the choice whether or not that device is appropriate for your situation.
Let me be clear first: If you want to get rid of advertising, then yes your advise is OK. If you want to defend against the Surveillance system, it's not close to adequate. This is the fundamental gap I'm trying to address.
I understand where your heart is at, but you are making a mistake. Free/Libre software is about Freedom, and from that guarantee we can build other guarantees about security and privacy. However Freedom itself does not guarantee security nor privacy. Freedom is also the freedom to shoot yourself in the foot.
To be clear, it is possible to defend yourself, but ofc no defense is perfect.
There is a perfect defense: Don't use technology. Much of this advise is trying to use technology to fight technology. It's a rabbit hole that has no bottom, and the best defense is to not play. The problem is attack surface. Technology is incredibly complex and is chattier than your extroverted :LIB: friend at brunch, and boy howdy 
do people love to listen! You can reduce this attack surface, but it never goes away as long as you are using technology.
But for general privacy in your day to day life that isn't practical, and "every cellphone is snitching on you" is way too reductive, even if it's true in a sense.
Here's the trail crumbs you might make on the Web as you browse each and every website:
- DNS request - sends URL domain/hostname (www.hexbear.net, for example), collects IP and timestamp. Your ISP is often the default DNS, so they are collecting this information. Google (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) as well.
- 1st party HTTP(S) request - Encrypts body but sends URL domain/hostname in the clear across the network, collects IP and timestamp.
- 3rd party request - Usually advertising, but also could be security (Sign In With Google, Okta, etc), collects IP and timestamp
- 3rd party cookies - Sent and updated with every request to that domain (Amazon cookie to Amazon.com, FB cookie to Facebook.com, etc), collects IP and timestamp
- 1st party advertising - Think Amazon's "Customers also bought...", has full access to your request, collects IP and timestamp and User-Agent.
- Logs - Usage data about what you do on the website, both front-end and back-end, collects IP and timestamp
- Telemetry - Usage data about what you do with your app, collects IP and timestamp
You can use custom software for #3 and #4 on the device (most of the advise here), but do you block google.com? You can use a network DNS blocker (e.g. Pi-Hole) for #1, #3, #4, and some of #7, but that only works on networks you control. VPNs advertise as solving #2, but that's pure ideology; it only moves where the routing traffic goes and still can log information in transit.
This also ignores data brokers who buy all of this information and compile it together.
And this is just the advertising/surveillance defense against tech companies. I haven't even touched 
or 
defense.
if your threat is state-level actors your computer security is approximately moot and maybe you should spend your money on laywers and having a discreet way out of the country
I know your hearts in the right place about this, but android is not better than iOS for privacy.
The only way android can be made decently privacy respecting is through graphene and that requires a very small subset of the ocean of android devices and requires that you give up almost everything that makes a smartphone useful.
The solution to privacy isn’t graphene or android, it’s not using a smartphone at all.
and requires that you give up almost everything that makes a smartphone useful
that's hyperbolic, I use graphene and rarely use the profile I've got their play services shim enabled in. the only thing I have found myself entirely unable to use so far is google pay for event tickets that require it, which isn't often.
iPhone? Reddit? Where the hell is your GrapheneOS Pixel?
This guy just got tricked into downloading a communism and you're laughing?
It’s like Snowden & Assange taught these people nothing.
All the new media literacy pedagogy should be thrown out and replaced with Michael Parenti’s Inventing Reality and Make-Believe Media.
Obviously most apps are stealing your data but people's reactions to Temu are literally insane. They have a thing where they'll literally paypal you £20-£40 to refer other users, I was 1 referral away and 2 friends wouldn't download it because it's Chinese. Another two friends said that people they know had money stolen by it... like, legality and possibility aside yes, I'm sure Pinduoduo, one of the BIGGEST COMPANIES IN THE WORLD needs to steal your last tenner
why would one of the BIGGEST COMPANIES IN THE WORLD need
You can say the exact same thing about PayPal which is known to 'misplace' people's money and make it extremely difficult to get back. I don't see how any other fintech company would be different.
Is there an iPhone equivalent of deleting System32 because that's clearly the answer to this question.
If anyone is that worried about data privacy, they shouldn't have a smartphone lol.
I think that attitude is frankly toxic. It's the digital equivalent of "if you don't like America, you can move to Afghanistan!".
The real toxic attitude is simply expecting everyone to have a smartphone. Stop trying to make me install an app or scan a QR code for everything. I've gone without using a smartphone for months at a time and I was fine. Pre-covid there were usually a couple times where some event or restaurant or work thing required some unnecessary app, but since covid I think people have gotten sick of this type of stuff and it's not as common. Worse case scenario just get a burner phone for when you're forced to use a smartphone.