So, I have switched to an Iphone and I was using google services but now I have uninstalled every google, Meta and Microsoft app from my iphone and even have deleted some accounts and services I no longer need/use. Now I have been recording my logs using nextdns and for most part, 80% requests are made to apple servers.
So should I disable everything in Icloud and Iphone analytics and enable apple tracking scripts on nextdns? Is this how I should proceed making the Iphone more private from apple?
Ofcourse, it’s proprietary and escaping apple is impossible on Iphone but advice me on some steps to reduce the data collection by apple.
You can check out the iOS guide. Mostly just disabling things like telemetry in settings and turning on Advanced Data Protection are the main things you can do.
Thanks for linking this page. I think I have implemented most of the things on this page, except a few icloud settings. Still there’s huge number of requests to apple servers. I am thinking to use nextdns to blocking tracking domains on apple devices. What do you think?
I use NextDNS to block the Apple tracking on my iPhone. It has had zero impact on my daily use of the phone so whatever data they were collecting isn’t necessary to run normal processes.
It’s because it’s not doing anything. Not even firewalls stop Apple telemetry. A have Lulu block almost everything Apple in a MacBook, and everything I block still appears in my AdGuardHome. And I trust Apple finds a way to access everything AGH blocks via hard-coded IPs, DOH, whatever.
Even VPN “firewalls” on Macs must permit a significant number of Apple domains through just to allow basic functions like iCloud sync to function properly.
If you’re on an Apple device, there’s not much you can do about Apple telemetry besides going into the settings menu and turning as much off as possible.
Plenty of blocked Apple domains show up in my NextDNS logs so it’s clearly blocking lots of stuff. It’s also successful in blocking ads even within Apple apps like News.
The alarmism and absolutist statements in the privacy community is not helpful.
Open MacBook. Install Lulu. Block Stocks Widget. Open AdGuardHome in router. See queries for stocks.apple.com or whatever.
Same for weather. Same for iTunes. Same for every service I block, which is all of them.
It’s neither alarmism nor absolutism. It’s first hand experience with Apple bypassing firewall rules.
Sorry if my evidence sounds like opinions to you, but the problem is not me.
This can make complete sense. If an on device app like LuLu attempts to block something, the app could look for a way around it or the app may not even have the permissions to over ride native apps. With a DNS configuration via profile on iOS all DNS traffic is sent through it. But the phone doesn’t know it was blocked, it just received a null response from DNS server.
Again, this is why specificity and data based statements are helpful and throwing up your hands saying “nothing works” is unhelpful.