no shit.
Of course not. My point is that they are not doing this for your benefit. They are doing this because targeted ads get a better response and are therefore more useful to their customers. And again, you are not Google’s customer.
I’m sure they are. But at least they have an income stream that is not solely based on advertising.
How complicated is the workaround ? I don’t have a Mac and although I’m sure there’s another way to do it , when I want to get a photo from my iPhone to my Windows computer I usually just email it to my Gmail account.
That complaint is a bit of a stretch, bordering on clickbait.
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The App Store online service gets told what terms you search for, and which listings you tap on to see more details about? No kidding! How else could it possibly work? Would you have every iOS device download a full copy of the entire App Store database for fully offline use? The app metadata collection (names, descriptions, icons, screenshots, videos, reviews) probably takes more space than even the largest iOS device offers (there’s a 2TB iPad Pro), never mind the cellular/WiFi data transfers that would be required to keep up to date.
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Same for the stocks app. Again, how else could it possibly work? The online service can’t very well send a stream of quotes for every stock symbol in existence to every iOS device, so of course the online service must know which devices are asking for which quotes and when. Same for related news articles.
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It’s about iOS 14 and was written in November 2022. iOS 14 was two major versions out of date at that point (iOS 16 was released in September 2022) and is three versions out of date now in November 2023 (iOS 17 was released in September 2023). It didn’t reflect the current state of iOS when it was written, and especially not now.
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I can’t speak specifically to iOS 14 (not still having a device running such an old version), but at least in iOS 16, the “Allow Apps to Request to Track” and “Share Analytics” settings have pretty readable plain-English descriptions (compared to, say, EULAs) that explain what they do. If users assumed they have effects that they do not actually claim to have, IMO that’s not Apple’s fault.
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The suit was filed over a year ago. Has anything happened since? Was it dismissed for being frivolous? Did Apple settle immediately because they agreed they were doing something wrong?
There could be valid privacy concerns about iOS, but that article isn’t making much of a case.
I could do that too, but then it’s in my mail, so I will then have to transfer to folders on my desktop, where I can find it. Just as cumbersome. The workaround is to find the file on my laptop (where it is in a HEIC format that’s useless to me) and export it to my desktop. Like five steps to it.
I’m gathering my nerve to figure out a way to strip out HEIC format from my photos on my phone. That may or may not help.
Settings->Camera->Formats->“Most Compatible” should cause new photos to be saved as JPEG instead of HEIC (and videos as H.265 instead of HEVC).
In my experience, Android phones are for people who want more options to fiddle with setttings and apps. Apple iPhones are more of a walled garden where you have fewer options, but everything is supposed to work more smoothly (even though they don’t always). And they also tend to cost more $.
If your concern is complexity, I don’t necessarily think you will be well-served by giving up on your iPhone. I would instead get someone (like your daughter-in-law) to simplify everything on your phone as much as possible, and to maybe also figure out what’s going on with your photos.
You should be able to simply Airdrop photos from your iPhone to your Mac laptop in one step.
Yeah, it’s called your wallet. There was an article in the Times about how repairs on iPhones done by independent repair shops tended to break them, not due to the incompetence of the shops. The parts in the phone has serial numbers and it seems that in some cases they get checked by the OS and bad things happen if they don’t match. Of course getting the repair done by Apple (for 50% more) makes the problem go away.
In any case my wife keeps her location turned off most of the time on her Android phone with no ill effects.
Another vote for moving to an Android phone. I need to upgrade my Galaxy S8 soon, because some apps are no longer supported on it, but I can buy an S21 from Amazon for like $220 bucks. The S8 was bought used also, for not a lot of money, and it has run fine for me for at east 6 years, maybe more. I have lots of empty space on my home pages.
Why pay the Apple premium?
One huge reason, at least in my family, is that it’s way easier when the phone owner has the same phone as the tech support person. If Ulfreida’s DIL is their go-to tech support person, it’s gonna be wasy easier if they’re in the same ecosystem.
Also, at least in my mind, I like Apple’s “walled garden” approach. Google phones are too customizable for me. And by “me” I mean “my iPhone and my mom’s iPhone that I also support”. The more customizing there is to do, the more easy it is for mom (or me!) to screw it up.
And if Ulfreida has an Apple computer they may feel more comfortable using the Apple product. Although it doesn’t seem to be working out that way for them!
Just for the record, I want to stick with the OP’s requests, not to re-fight the endless Apple v. Android war.
So the specific issues as I understand them from the OP are
- Reduce unneeded apps
- Reduce unwanted security (passcode has been mentioned, 2FA has not)
- Reduce tracking by Apple (and presumably any other third party) for targeted sales.
And that the OP would be willing to look into multiple devices to evade some of those.
IMHO - we’ve discussed 1, with at least a few decent options. 2 is much harder, but if you want to embrace certain other intrusive tech, or take additional steps, you can turn off much security or go with fingerprint / face ID depending on your iPhone model (which would be helpful for us to know @Ulfreida). 3, well, yeah, you’re probably screwed on this one. 
I mean if location services are an issue, you can (among other things) set the phone (and we can help with this) to only use them when you’re in a specific app you permit too. But almost all apps and OS options collect your information as part of the pages of permissions and user agreements you have to approve to use them.
So, circling back, if you really want to dig down, I think you may need to consider getting multiple devices that a single taskers, and dial down on what you want / need at any one time. Note, I’m only saying this because of what @Ulfreida indicated in the OP - so if I’m wrong, please correct me.
At this point I’d consider getting a compact digital camera (single tasker), a ‘dumb’ phone for calls and texts, and maybe a handheld GPS. Some of the dumb phones still include limited access to Facebook, such as the top Nokia 225 from this article (not all devices will work on the same carriers though, so check!):
The next model on the list (Nokia 2780) even has a 5 MP camera. Which, well, is weak compared to most modern smartphone cameras, but would work pretty well for general use, and could eliminate the need to carry a dedicated camera if you don’t need the better resolution.
But you still will need to figure out which option you want to use to track your horse mileage. Whether that be a smartwatch, the handheld gps, or some third option (I’m not really familiar with it). A smartwatch can do a lot, but you’re right back to a fiddly interface and privacy issues, and the more feature you need from the handheld gps units, the more they tend to cost.
I don’t think there’s a GOOD fix for your very legitimate concerns - the adage “there’s an app for that” means that the assumption is that you’ll always carry a full featured smartphone these days. After all, they’re powerful multi-taskers. So the specialty products get ever more rare, and also more expensive.
A last suggestion, more about making the best of a bad situation though, is that keep a smartphone for specifics (the ride where you can use your apps, and take pictures, all the things that would otherwise increase what you’re carrying around) and get a dumbphone for everything ELSE. So you have the multitasker for rides, and a lot of extra features for emergencies, but for day-to-day use, you just have the dumbphone (like the first one I listed) for quick calls and texts and facebook updates. Do any surfing or shopping on a PC where you can more easily install various privacy / safety updates and de-trackers. Still some risks, but likely more manageable.
No matter what, you have my sympathy, and most of us will try to find ways to help you figure out what’s most important for your peace of mind. And sorry for writing a book!
There are so many class-action lawsuits against Apple, including multiple ones over systematic privacy violations, but I believe this is the original filing:
It was not dismissed. Apple files a motion to reassign the case to the Northern District Court of California, which was granted. As far as I can tell (e.g. Serrano v. Apple Inc., 5:23-cv-00487 – CourtListener.com) the case is still pending, not settled.
I appreciate your whole post. Thank you.
Why do you even need to enter a passcode every 30 seconds? What model phone do you have? It’ll either open by fingerprint or Face ID if 4 numbers are really so difficult for you.
The 30 second thing was what the ‘upgrade’ decided should happen. You are so contemptuous I’m not responding to any more of your posts. Maybe you should wander away.
You can change the screen-lock time in Settings → Display and Brightness → Auto-Lock
Garmin, & others, make GPS watches. Depending upon model (& usage) they can go from days to weeks before needing a charge. You can do some smartwatch functions on them, too. Garmin even has a specific ‘horseback riding’ activity. All activities do the basics of course/route & speed but some activities have metrics built right in for that activity. Cycling has cadence (pedal RPM) while downhill skiing has vertical feet, etc.
I wouldn’t say it can’t (like I said, wasn’t as familiar with horse-y specific options!) - but I would want to be careful after a quick overview of a lot of Garmin and related devices. Sure, they have standalone GPS (at substantial cost to battery life mind you) but it seems most are dependent upon off phone assets for the milage and tracking information, and through a third party app at that. So @Ulfreida would be right back to needing to carry the smartphone with them to get information on/off. And (again, at a casual glance) most likely need to switch smartphones at that, as most Garmin and WearOS options only play nice with android smartphones.
Speaking as someone who has a WearOS smartwatch.
Granted, in all cases, you can get much higher end smartwatches that have standalone onboard cellular connectivity as well as GPS, not to mention powerful processors, with a battery to support them, but then you’re back to normally being beholden to fiddly interfaces, third party tracking, and the android/iOS ownership of your information.
It’s absolutely damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I wonder if it would be better for @Ulfreida to poll their fellow horse (rather than tech) enthusiasts, and see what non-smartphone options they use or used in the past that are less intrusive.
Unrelated note - all of a sudden I had a flash of our OP using a tamagotchi that were popular years (decades?) ago, which had a step tracker than could probably be half-assed to approximate miles.
this is a good idea. The other reason I carry a phone is because I ride alone in rough country – and riding is an inherently risky activity. However, cell phone coverage is spotty here, and plenty of times the All Trails tracking drops out. Last year I had a bad fall and my phone didn’t get signal until I had crawled almost to my house, a good two miles. It, um, made me stronger.
Interesting. I’m an Android user who does NOT want to fiddle with settings and apps, except to delete or disable nearly everything and leave the home screen a very calm expanse with about 3 icons on it. I pay $50 for my extremely crappy phones which last about 2 years. If Apple did what I want even better, I’d happily pay a few hundred bucks for that. But what I want is not what most people want. From where I sit, they don’t sell simplicity, they sell whiz-bang and the very best of everything, for those who love the technology. Thus I suspect a crappy Android is still the right phone for me; the low cost is just icing on the cake. If Apple made something as crappy as what I like, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. 