I have zero sympathy for Facebook and neither should you.
This feels like a publicity stunt, Apple does not sell privacy, they sell privacy theater.
I’m happy to see this tangible move towards privacy though.
Pretty sure FB can handle losing 10% of part of their business.
Especially if this is true:
Facebook’s stock jumped more than 5% on the news. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said the market sees Apple’s new rule as likely to shift demand toward Facebook’s own targeting system.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/2020/08/26/us-facebook-apple-revenue/
On June 6, 2013, the second media disclosure, the revelation of the PRISM surveillance program (which collects the e-mail, voice, text and video chats of foreigners and an unknown number of Americans from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple and other tech giants),[95][96][97][98] was published simultaneously by The Guardian and The Washington Post.[86][99]
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data
What’s next? Facebook starts crying foul when ios 14 shows apps secretly accessing the microphone?
Schaaaaaaaadenfreude.
Good, too bad google probably won’t be copying the useful anti-privacy pieces into Android…
This, along with the ability to select default browser and email apps, could bring me back to iOS away from Google.
iOS restricts your freedom in far more ways, it’s not even possible to install apps unless they’re on Apple’s carefully curated store, which is anti-competitive and anti-free-software
Well, this isn’t just about restrictions. It’s also about privacy.
Yes, with Android’s less restrictions, you can achieve better privacy, if you have a device that’s not locked down by the manufacturer, a ton of expertise and the stars align right for you.
But if this isn’t the case, then Apple is an easy (albeit expensive) choice for getting less shitty privacy than default Android.You really don’t need a ton of expertise to run LineageOS or /e/OS on a supported phone. It’s easy to install F-Droid and get privacy-respecting free software on Android, while next to impossible to do on iPhones.
I do think Apple is slightly better for privacy than many Android options but it’s at a huge expense in freedom.
It’s not a ton of expertise from the perspective of someone who knows how to do it. But it is from the perspective of the average phone user, especially when you don’t know, if you could end up turning your phone into an expensive door stop.
Heck, most people that I would call “tech-savvy” are far away from the
carelessnessconfidence necessary to try this.
And buying a supported device is also something that you usually only start considering after you’ve installed a custom ROM once.I mean you’re right, I personally don’t run open source software on my daily driver because I don’t have the confidence in it. But I do have F-Droid and I value the software I can get there hugely. Furthermore, once I upgrade to a newer phone, I can extend my old phone’s life by installing new software.
It’s certainly not for everyone, but personally I don’t think people should be forced to choose between easy-to-use and free software, so I give Apple no credit for what they’re doing and don’t personally wish to give them a single penny.
Cellular devices are inherently anti-free software due to there not being an open cellular modem. The best you can do is sandbox the modem; with current tech there will always be proprietary code on your phone.
That doesn’t mean you should go and use a closed-source operating system with proprietary apps
I’m not trying to sell you on using iOS. By my calculus, I find iOS to be the best option in terms of privacy/security vs convenience when it comes to having a cell phone. If your calculus tells you to use a pine phone, or a flip phone, or no phone at all but only use a home-made device built from scratch and only connect over public mesh networks… that’s rad as hell and I want to subscribe to your newsletter, but I’m still gonna use my iPhone.
Something like Graphene OS or even a custom ROM without Google apps still seems miles better than using iOS if privacy and/or free software is your concern.
I’m sure they are, and they’re also significantly less convenient. It’s no longer a priority of my time and I’ve lost the inclination to root/rom my phones anymore. If you do, awesome! Hack that bejeezus out of it.
I’m sure they are, and they’re also significantly less convenient.
That really depends on what you’re trying to do. Though, of course if you try to do the same things everyone else does, and try to start the same softwares, you’ll bump into troubles.
That’s because that is intended. So, it is true, but also a reason more to avoid the convenience.
I 100% get where you’re coming from, but for me it’s a matter of philosophy. I don’t believe Apple’s software or hardware is mine even if I buy it, so I’m not going to buy it. I’m not going to fund what I personally believe to be exploitation of users. We see Apple’s exploitation in the way they restrict what goes on the app store to minimise competition with their software; this hurts the user. Publishing new apps on Apple is tough, and has some expensive barriers to entry. Finding let alone compiling and installing free software is really tough on iOS so you are forced to use whatever is on the app store and often this is NOT privacy respecting.
I also think privacy and security are extremely different concepts. It’s frustrating when people put them together. Android is pretty secure, but with Google it’s the opposite of private. I think there are many ways in which Android is more convenient, from the variation and choice of phones to the larger number of apps.
Ultimately big tech companies including Apple can make lots of money from your data. iOS, for example Siri, is sending all your data to Apple and they benefit from it. Yes, maybe like Google they don’t make money from using the data for advertising, so it hurts less, but knowledge is power in any situation, and we can only take their word for how they use our data.
The next phone I get might well end up being a pinephone if there are some software improvements over the next year or so. We’re certainly getting there but I don’t have the spare cash to spend on a phone I might not use much.
Cry me a river.
I don’t usually say this, but good job Apple!
