Why phones are more secure than desktops

If you want to maximize your digital privacy and security, you should use your phone. Computer operating systems are a security nightmare!
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It has been the case for years that modern phone security models allow for a much greater protection of your sensitive data than any desktop offers today. There are plenty of problems with phones, many of which are totally unethical. But any issue you can criticize a modern phone for is several times worse on a desktop equivalent of it.

Both Android and iOS were designed with a thorough threat model in mind. Modern mobile operating systems implement defense in depth mechanisms that eliminate the ability of malicious software to access your sensitive data. Much of this is done via exploit mitigation, attack surface reduction and isolation. Isolation and containment is where the differences between desktop and mobile security models are most visible to the end user.

Many zealots in the privacy community, if such a thing even exists, do not make a distinction between services and platforms. Android means a lot of completely unrelated things to a lot of different people. But in reality, Android is just a free and open source mobile operating system. It has no Google apps or services, no pre-installed bundles or bloatware.

It’s important to make this distinction, because it’s possible to use an Android device without any privacy invasive apps and services. The Android’s model allows for it.

Android is private and safe by default. It’s best if you can use it without privacy invasive services, such as the Google Play Store. This is best achieved on GrapheneOS. But even if you can’t use your phone without them, it’s not all lost. You should still go through the privacy settings of each of these services and disable all the collection you are not comfortable with.

If you are buying a phone for privacy, Pixel phones from Google or the latest generation iPhones are gonna be your best bet. Pixel phones will let you go miles further than iPhones if you decide to flash GrapheneOS on them. That way your phone will be significantly protected against even unknown vulnerabilities and 0day exploits and it will completely anonymize your device.

Sources
[1a] https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-must-face-siri-voice-assistant-privacy-lawsuit-us-judge-2021-09-02/
[1b] https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/google-sued-u-s-tracking-users-private-internet-browsing-n1222676
[1c] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/31/windows-10-microsoft-faces-criticism-over-privacy-default-settings
[2] https://source.android.com/devices/tech/config/device-identifiers
[3]https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/permissions/overview
[4] https://developer.android.com/training/articles/keystore
[5] https://arxiv.org/pdf/1904.05572.pdf
[6] https://source.android.com/security/encryption
[7] https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-encrypt-your-iphone
[8] https://source.android.com/security/app-sandbox
[9] https://source.android.com/security/overview/app-security
[10a] https://source.android.com/security/apksigning
[10b] http://apps.testinsane.com/mindmaps/google-play-submission-tests-checks-human-interface-guidelines-mindmap
[11] https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/
[12] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204053
[13] https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/27441?hl=en
[14] https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission
[15] https://source.android.com/
[16] https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play
[17] https://safety.google/intl/en_us/privacy/privacy-controls/
[18] https://grapheneos.org/features#improved-user-profiles
[19] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/apples-hypocritical-defense-data-privacy/581680/
[20] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/technology/apple-child-abuse-tech-privacy.html
[21] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusive/exclusive-apple-dropped-plan-for-encrypting-backups-after-fbi-complained-sources-idUSKBN1ZK1CT
[22] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html
[23] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222
[24] https://www.xda-developers.com/how-android-security-patch-updates-work/
[25] https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en
[26] https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices
[27] https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/
[28] https://www.cyberscoop.com/ios-zero-day-zerodium-high-supply/
[29] https://www.zerodium.com/program.html
[30] https://www.wired.com/story/android-zero-day-more-than-ios-zerodium/

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