It’s been a decades-long debate between Apple
enthusiasts and...well, pretty much everyone else. Is the iPhone or Samsung phone superior? Is the Google Pixel any
good? What about Blackberry? You could come at this question
from a hundred different angles, but today we’re going to look at the differences
between privacy and security on Apple iOS devices and all the different Android-based devices. Hey guys, it’s Josh from All Things
Secured, a brand dedicated to providing straightforward tips and advice
related to your privacy and security. Before I was an iPhone user, I had one of those awesome Nokia brick phones that I
honestly kind of miss, you know? I think they’re making a
comeback now, aren’t they? Anyway, I recognize that I
might have a bit of a bias in this particular debate since I’ve
never owned a quality Android phone, so I’ve brought in Pete Matheson, a fellow
tech YouTuber who has some great experience on the Android side and lots of videos about it. I also want to give a shout out
to The Shared Security podcast, who did an episode on this very topic last month. Both Pete’s YouTube channel and
this particular podcast episode are linked to in the description
below if you want to learn more. Oh, and if you’re one of those
people that won’t be happy with any option that involves Apple,
Google or any other Big Tech company, stick around to the end because
I have something for you as well. To properly compare the security and privacy
native to both iOS and Android devices, we’re going to cover four
specific areas of concern: the operating system, user tracking, native
apps and the physical devices themselves. Let’s start at the beginning
with the operating system. The operating system, known as an OS
for short, is the software that runs, or operates, everything on your device. If you
don’t have an OS, your phone won’t function. There are a lot of things
that could be said here, but when it comes to your privacy and security,
there’s one primary principle at play here: the more links there are in a chain, the more
opportunities there are to introduce a weak link. What do I mean by that? Well, what Apple introduced with
its iPhone back in 2007 was an integration with hardware and software, which is
something we tend to take for granted nowadays. This native integration allows for a lot more control, which I admit
can be both good and frustrating. But as far as security is concerned, most people refer to what Apple
has built as a “walled garden”. That tight control over the iOS and its security is in stark contrast to Android phones, whose
operating systems are often three levels deep. First, you have the foundation of the Android OS, followed by the phone manufacturer’s
configuration of that OS, whether that’s Samsung,
OnePlus, Motorola or any other, and finally there is sometimes even a layer from the network provider like
Verizon, Virgin Mobile, etc. Each layer adds a bit of complexity and
vulnerability to the operating system, not to mention a lot of other
variables that Pete shared with me. “On Android it's very, very different from platform to platform, some of the phones even have adverts embedded within the system itself at the operating system level so as you're scrolling through your settings you'll scroll through an advert." The last thing I’ll add in regard to the operating
system is the frequency of security patches and updates. In this case, you actually want updates
to happen as soon as they need to, and here too, even for Pete’s Google Pixel phone, the monthly
OS updates aren’t very reliable. “...even though those monthly updates have come out every single
month, they’ve actually delayed some of them for whatever reason. Whereas I checked
and when I picked up my iPhone 13 Pro the number of updates I've had since launch day like minor updates, major updates, new features and mostly obviously just bug fixes they just seem to be a lot more on top of releasing those smaller bug fixes to fix things” Ok, so that’s the operating system.
What about user tracking? Unfortunately, the features that make modern
smartphones so attractive are exactly the same ones that make them scary when seen from
the lens of personal privacy. You’ve got an alarmingly accurate GPS sensor, a camera and
microphone that can watch you and listen to you, and of course so much data about
how and where you use the device. So how does Apple’s iOS compare to
Android in terms of user tracking? As far as third party apps are concerned, Apple
has what it calls an “app sandbox” which limits what kind of data apps can access and what
parts of the root system it can use. If you use an iPhone, you’ve also probably seen
those popups asking if you want to allow an app to use your camera, your location
or even just track you across devices. And unless it’s absolutely necessary,
your answer should usually be no. What about Android? Well Pete shared
with me that a privacy sandbox is coming, but with Google there’s a
bit of conflict of interest. “Google have announced they are making similar
changes to what Apple are making now, but they’re implementing it in 2 years time because, of
course, Google sits on both sides of the fence.” That fence he’s referring to is the divide
between consumers who buy their phones and the advertisers who make up the bulk of Google’s
revenue. It’s a really difficult balancing act. I will add that Apple still has that kind
of balancing act as well, but for them, it’s more on the regulatory side. Last year there
was a bit dust up when Apple quietly announced that they would start scanning the images
uploaded to iCloud to monitor for child sexual abuse material. I did a whole video about
it that you can watch here, but in the end, Apple delayed that scanning update because
of the vocal backlash from privacy advocates. All that to say, when using either iOS or Android,
I think it’s best to simply assume that there is some form of tracking that is or will soon
start happening. And before you start talking trash about Apple or Google, just remember that
even if you use the dumbest of dumb phones, a network provider can still triangulate
your position, with or without GPS. The best thing you can do is make sure that
you’re only giving permission for apps to use specific types of data or specific parts
of your phone when they absolutely need it. Continuing on, we’re looking at text messages
sent on iOS vs Android. Now to start, you need to understand that the old school SMS
text message is not and has never been encrypted. Anything sent via SMS text message, even on a
modern Apple or Android device, is not private. However, each service has it’s own closed
off network that offers end-to-end encrypted messaging. For Apple, that’s iMessage. For
Android, well...it’s actually different depending on the manufacturer, but
they do have encrypted messaging. It’s the blue chat bubble verses the
green chat bubble and the one you use often depends on how many of your friends and
family are using Apple or Android devices. Here’s my two cents: I use the native text message
feature on my phone every day for all kinds of regular communication. But when it comes to
anything sensitive or truly personal, I prefer to skip iOS and Android altogether in favor of using
a third-party app like Signal. It offers always-on encryption and you might be surprised how many of
your friends and family already have an account. The final piece of this puzzle is the device
itself. When you’re comparing iOS and Android, you have to take into account what I
said earlier - Apple controls everything, whereas Android does not. And in this case, the
advantage might actually lean toward Android here. As Pete says “It’s very tempting
when you see the latest...” And Pete’s right - if you want cutting
edge devices with the latest features, you definitely go with Android, since
Apple is going to take their time perfecting the features before
it gets released on an iPhone. But here’s another aspect of this debate that
most people don’t talk about. When I was living in China, one of the security measure that
got put in place were these device checks. Police would stop us on the side of the road
and plug these devices into our phones that researchers later found would scan the phone for
certain types of material and then I was always worried that they were able to implant some kind
of tracker, although I know that’s a bit paranoid. The point is this, it doesn’t matter how secure
or private the actual hardware of your phone is, if you get stopped and forced to unlock your
phone - in this case, when they plugged in the phone I would be required to press the
button that said “I trust this device”, I had no choice - at that point all bets are off. And here’s where I want to make my most important
point: in the middle of this debate between iOS and Android, I think the most important thing
you need to remember is that honestly...it really doesn’t matter. Yes, I think that Apple offers a
few advantages of Android, but at the end of the day, if you’re relying on your mobile device
so much that you’re storing sensitive data, intimate pictures or access to your all of your
financial data, then you’re creating a risk that supersedes which operating system you use. And
that includes alternative operating systems. Speaking of alternatives, what if you’re looking
at both Android and iOS and thinking to yourself “As long as Apple and Google have
control over these operating systems, I’ll never trust any claims
of privacy”...I hear you. I may be comfortable with an Apple phone,
but that doesn’t mean you need to be. And if that’s the case, you do have some options,
including Linux-based systems like Tizen and PureOS or even de-Googled Android projects like
GrapheneOS, which I know has gained in popularity. Keep in mind, what you may gain in terms
of privacy by using these alternative operating systems, you also lose in terms
of support, sometimes app availability and ease of installation and general use. So what do you think? Are you sticking with
iOS, Android or are you taking a leap into the crazy world of alternative mobile operating
systems? Leave a comment with your answer, but don’t just tell me which one, you’ve
got to tell me why you made that choice.
