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iPhones are highly regarded for security precisely because you don't have to trust that Apple won't hand over your data - it's encrypted, if you set it up that way. enable Lockdown Mode, don't use any services that aren't E2EE. they can still try to GrayKey your phone, but it's not Apple's doing - GrayKey uses exploit chains which Apple legitimately does well to mitigate.
GrapheneOS is better for security than iPhones, but less noob-friendly. there are guides, though.
It's already been proven that not only can Apple decrypt some of your data, they are more than willing to hand it over. They are a willing tool in the government's quest to oppress society.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/apple-admits-to-secretly-giving-governments-push-notification-data/
https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/02/25/surveillance-firm-says-apple-is-phenomenal-for-law-enforcement
nope, neither of your sources says they can decrypt your content. in particular, from your first:
as for your second, that's for unencrypted iCloud backups. you have to turn Advanced Data Protection on: https://www.macworld.com/article/2606947/icloud-encryption-how-secure-is-your-data.html
note that iCloud Calendar, Contacts and Mail can't be e2e encrypted, for fundamental reasons (notifications, discovery, SMTP.) but you don't have to use those.
I know you mean the best, but an iPhone isn't any better privacy-wise than an Android is. Regardless of their public stance, these giant monoliths have proven time and time again there's no respect for an individual's privacy. If they get caught lying/breaking the law, the fine is merely the cost of doing business.
It would be better to focus on universal ways someone could keep themselves safe. Drop WhatsApp/SMS for Signal, drop Chromium based browsers, use uBlock, a VPN, etc. Arguing over phones is just infighting and not worth the energy.
I disagree on dropping Chromium-based browsers. drop Chrome/Edge/etc. certainly, but Firefox is kept alive by a skeleton crew at this point, and almost certainly has more vulnerabilities than Chromium browsers. the sandboxing and process isolation, the defense in depth, it just isn't there.
I use Vanadium, which has all telemetry disabled, JIT off by default, and blocks ads.
Unless you have real world data that confirms it, this is just fear mongering.
Firefox CVEs
Chrome CVEs
93 code execution vulns in Chrome since 2015, 135 in FF. 975 memory corruption + 267 overflow for Chrome in that same time, while 142 + 536 respectively for FF, so in raw terms Chrome is higher, but A) most of the Chrome vulns are classified as DoS rather than RCE, which indicates their mitigations seem to work, and B) Chrome has way more market share, hence way more people finding vulns. Ladybird has like, 2 CVEs, but that doesn't mean it's way more secure than FF/Chrome, it means nobody's using it.
Opzero.Ru (the quickest exploit market I could find) will pay $200k for Firefox RCE but $500K for Chrome RCE. Lower prices either mean less demand (low browser market share) or high supply (more vulns already in their inventory.)
So no, I am not fear mongering. You may disagree with my conclusions but I'm trying to be objective.
For starters, if I had not called you out, you wouldn't have provided sources. So my point still stands, your previous message, unsourced, was fear mongering.
Onto your data. Funny that you wrote the total from 2015, not mentioning that 127 of those code execution vulns are from 2015 and 2016... So 8 code exec since 2017, versus 85 for Chrome. I don't think we can attribute that only to market share.
Either you don't know how to read a table, or you purposefully ignored that part, perhaps hoping no-one would click on your links?
or maybe the amount of research I could be fucked to do on my phone on a Saturday to reply to some snide lemming topped out at not adding up subranges by hand.
I'm also skeptical of the RCE tallies, the more I look at them, given two JS sandbox escapes for FF were reported just days ago: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/advisories/mfsa2025-73/
I don't understand why so many people on this site take every opportunity to attack each other, rather than extending the principle of charity.
Well, the thing is, you just admitted that your initial comment about Firefox being more vulnerable was based on nothing, since you did your research only after. Then you so quickly went over the data you looked for that you only saw that total that seemed to confirm your unfounded bias, where the tables have that very readable color code to them, making 2015 and 2016 really jump to the eye.
Of course, now that the data you found goes against your bias, you just look to discredit it, instead of thinking "you know, maybe this isn't as clear-cut as I thought it was".
So no, no charity there. I'll keel it for those who act in good faith, thank you.
you know what, that's fair. I admit I've heard so frequently (e.g. from the GOS community) that FF is less secure due to low maintenance, so I read the CVE statistics with that bias. I apologize.
in your view, how ought we to assess the attack surface of things like browsers? I'd love to move back to FF if it's roughly as secure.
Apple has already said they can scan your device, using on-device hardware and software, for CSAM and report that to the FBI. Yes, CSAM is bad and shouldn't exist, but today it's just CSAM that's illegal and reported, tomorrow it will be the fact that one is LGBTQ+ or anti-fascist. They said they decided not to do it, but can you really trust them?
No amount of E2E encryption will protect you from an on-device spy that can scan and upload what is sitting on your phone every time you unlock it and therefore decrypt it. Your data has to be decrypted for you to interact with it, E2E only protects you when your device is in your adversary's hands.
From your other posts you seem to be knowledgeable about security and privacy, how is it that you are turning a blind eye to this well known "feature" of Apple devices and just trusting their word that it isn't enabled? Why are you so bent on propping up Apple as a secure platform when it's so glaringly obvious they can't be trusted with your data?
because, while I use GrapheneOS, it's a little hard to set up and lacks some creature comforts. Android devices outside of GOS/CalyxOS/Lineage are probably even less secure than iPhones.
but perhaps it's better for me to encourage everyone to bite the bullet and switch to Pixels running GOS. it really isn't that hard.
I will never understand why anyone trusts a corporation who has proven time and again to spy on their own users and report back to the government, even before Trump was on the scene. I guess Cypher was right, ignorance is bliss.
I don't trust corporations. I trust math, and code, and systems design. I trust AES-256, even though the NSA picked it, because 20 years of cryptography research has revealed nothing close to a break. I trust SELinux, even though NSA invented it, because hundreds of kernel devs from around the world have audited it and touch that code regularly. I trust even proprietary systems which have been extensively independently audited and reverse engineered by security researchers, though I do trust them less.
They have root access on your phone and it doesn't function without constantly connecting to apple severs for every little thing. If Apple wants access to your data, they're gonna get access.
Iphone? More secure?
Secure from fraudsters stealing your money? Probably.
Secure from the government? LOL nope.
I'd trust an iPhone more than a random Samsung full of carrier bloatware, but I trust my Pixel running GrapheneOS more than either.
I have the USB-C port disabled for anything but charging, a duress pin, and reboots after 8 hours without a login. I'm honestly not sure if GrayKey could unlock it. I have memory tagging and a bunch of other hardening enabled, running only open-source apps I've verified the signatures of, running with minimal permissions. It would be hard to hack.
Yes, of course the NSA could almost certainly break it, but it would probably cost them time, money and vulns. If everyone uses GOS it will make their job very, very annoying :)