Why exactly are iPhones a nightmare for privacy enthusiasts?

Nothing wrong with getting an iPhone, there’s a few considerations:

  1. You will need to make an Apple ID in order to install apps and use most of the functionality of the phone
  2. You will need a phone number for your Apple ID, although I’ve been able to get VOIP numbers to work here you may not have as much luck
  3. Apple can see all the apps you install from the App Store (same with Google Play store but on android you have to option to get apps from other sources)
  4. You will need to put in a credit/debit card to install apps, even free apps (they don’t let you use gift cards without putting in a cc number afaik)
  5. There does seem to be some mandatory telemetry/crash reporting, although you can disable most of it

Basically you’re trusting Apple a bit more than you need trust Google on something like GrapheneOS. Other than these issues, iPhones are very secure and excellent choices as long as they fit into your threat model.

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