This is slightly off topic but on the Apple blogs the feeling is that Apple has painted themselves into a corner with the iPad. The more expensive ones have the M1 or M2 chips which are desktop-class. But the iPadOS software is holding them back, probably because they don’t want iPads to reduce MacBook sales.
With all of this power not being used to its full potential iPads are starting to look like devices in search of a purpose. I’m going to keep my old iPad until I have a compelling reason to upgrade.
They still sell iPads with mobile chips. I’d say security updates are a compelling reason to upgrade, I mean your iPad might still be vulnerable to something like Pegasus.
Totally agree- the only things I’ve found my iPad to be useful for is taking notes and streaming video, which is pretty comical considering how overpowered it is.
@anon30510143 isn’t pegasus only a threat for a tiny number of extremely high-profile individuals?
It is important to note that transmission of user data to backend
servers is not intrinsically a privacy intrusion. For example, it
can be useful to share details of the user device model/version
and the locale/country of the device and this carries few
privacy risks if this data is common to many users since
the data itself cannot then be easily linked back to a specific
user
Did you read the rest of the article? That quote is not in any way a reflection of the type of data that Apple collects or the findings of this study. They are simply setting up that section with an acknowledgement that not all data transmission is bad.
The summary of the article states:
We find that even when minimally configured and the handset is idle both iOS and Google Android share data with Apple/Google on average every 4.5 mins. The phone IMEI, hardware serial number, SIM serial number and IMSI, handset phone number etc are shared with Apple and Google. Both iOS and Google Android transmit telemetry, despite the user explicitly opting out of this. When a SIM is inserted both iOS and Google Android send details to Apple/Google. iOS sends the MAC addresses of nearby devices, e.g. other handsets and the home gateway, to Apple together with their GPS location. Currently there are few, if any, realistic options for preventing this data sharing.
The researchers also reached out to Apple and Google for an explanation. They received no response from Apple, while Google responded with some comments and clarifications.
As for E2EE in China, Apple has not made any guarantees. I hope you’re right, but I still have my doubts.
That is what I am saying. Yes, this is something to point out for people who have a higher threat model. However, for the average person, this is a fair compromise to make for reasons beyond privacy (doubt privacy is the main reason to buy a iDevice for most people).
The results speak for itself. I am no surprise apple didn’t respond for comment and Google did. However, this does not mean anything.
It is interesting that apple got sued for collecting analytics and Google didn’t
i.e.
Google collects around 20 times more handset data than Apple. In 2020 it is estimated that in the US there are 113M iPhone users2 and 129M Android users3. Assuming all of the Android users have Google Play Services enabled then scaling up our measurements suggests that in the US alone Apple collects around 5.8GB of handset data every 12 hours while Google collects around 1.3TB of handset data.
I don’t think Apple device should be “recommended,” but I think recommendations for Apple devices should be provided since they’re common. Apps, services, how to harden a bit, etc.
I am unable to make a clear connection, here. Messenger is a communication platform and iCloud is a cloud service. Are you saying iMessage and messenger? iMessage is E2EE by default including messages, group chats, FaceTime, backups.
Regarding open source vs closed source, PG has a page on this, and it concludes like this.
When you evaluate software, you should look at the reputation and security of each tool on an individual basis.
To avoid biased decisions, it’s vital that you evaluate the privacy and security standards of the software you use.
Kinda feel like this statement is ambiguous. Would like to hear a clarification about this from PG team.
Privacy is a spectrum. Everyone has different needs, threats, and values. For some apple products are great recommendation since it offer great security without loosing comfort/convenience.
If there is “literally zero difference”, the police can knock Apple’s door and tell “Hey, we know there is not a real E2EE. Please show us those bad guy’s files in the iCloud”. Right?
You don’t get any privacy when you use iFruit. Did you not see how Apple recently bent over backwards for the Chinese government so that the Chinese slave labor camps don’t get shut down because it would hurt iFruit’s profits? Did you not see that they violently beat protesters in China who didn’t want to continue making the iCrap products? Are you not aware that iFruit has actively lobbied against the “right to repair” as they want you to constantly buy their new iTrash when it comes out?
iCloud already had E2EE on 12 services (Health data, Payment information, screen time etc). After the Advance data protection update, iCloud bring E2EE on to total of 23 services.
Yea, something like iCloud should get E2EE due to the scale of it. As apple set the standard of what secure cloud service looks like, others may follow apple’s lead, bringing E2EE to the masses.
