At the moment I am thinking about getting a new phone in the foreseeable future. I was long time using android, but switched to iOS 5 years ago because of the longer update period. Now also some android devices offer a longer update support of about 5 years. Now I am thinking about switching back to android.

But i am wondering: is there any big difference from a privacy perspective between iOS and android? I know you can go for custom roms on android that are focused on privacy which i also used in the past, but i am not planning on doing this in the future. So it would come down to stock android vs stock iOS. Any advice there or is all lost anyway?

  • ArbiterXero@lemmy.worldEnglish
    25·
    1 year ago

    I own an iPhone because Google is evil but….

    Make no mistake, Apple has developed their own advertising id and they’re starting to use it to track you just like Google.

    In theory it’s more private, but in practice it’s hard to say for sure.

    • Yendor
      12·
      1 year ago

      A few massive differences:

      • You opt-in to targeted tracking with Apple. It’s impossible to opt-out with Google. Apple also enforces per-app opt-in for tracking.

      • Apple use your data, but they don’t sell it on

      • Apple features protect you from 3rd party tracking at a software level (Private Relay) and hardware level (MAC randomisation)

      • ArbiterXero@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        1 year ago

        Oh listen I TOTALLY believe that it’s better, that’s why I have the iPhone.

        HOWEVER, most of these points are what Apple tells me, not verified by a third party research team, so there’s a grain of salt to go along with the statements