[cixin]

It possibly lies beyond their reach, and ultimately we may be fighting a losing battle.

But there are two point really:

1. I think it's worth fighting (and they have had some success). 2. May telecoms vendors have volunteered more information than required in the past, I think it's unlikely Apple would.

Moveover, just having a large company challenge these issues changes the political environment.

[boomboomsubban]

They don't have any success, the phone in question was unlocked and Apple tried to help. And Apple was/is part of PRISM, they already have/are volunteering more info then required.

[FabHK]

Apple might not be perfect, but they are ahead of the alternatives in terms of privacy and security.

Apple builds iOS to sell hardware. Google builds Android to vacuum up more data to sell.

Have you had a look at the iOS Security white paper [1]?

"Spotlight Suggestions never sends exact location, instead blurring the location on the client before sending."

"iOS also uses a randomized MAC address [...] so it can’t be used to persistently track a device by passive observers of Wi-Fi traffic."

Spotlight: "Unlike most search engines, however, Apple’s search service does not use a persistent personal identifier across a user’s search history to tie queries to a user or device; instead, Apple devices use a temporary anonymous session ID for at most a 15-minute period before discarding that ID."

Apple Pay: "Full card numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is created, encrypted, and then stored in the Secure Element. This unique Device Account Number is encrypted in such a way that Apple can’t access it."

iMessage: "Apple does not log messages or attachments, and their contents are protected by end-to-end encryption so no one but the sender and receiver can access them. Apple cannot decrypt the data."

FaceTime: "The audio/video contents of FaceTime calls are protected by end-to-end encryption, so no one but the sender and receiver can access them. Apple cannot decrypt the data."

"Location Services can be turned off using a single switch in Settings, or users can approve access for each app that uses the service. [...] Additionally, users are given fine-grained control over system services’ use of location information."

Plus you have fine-grained controls for access to microphone, camera, pictures, etc. per app. Has Android caught up with that, or is it still all or don't use the app?

[1] https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf

[boomboomsubban]

Even if Google is worse, that doesn't make Apple good, it's not a two player market. I can't speak for stock android, but the fine grained controls are available in CyanogenMod, and apps are available that have most of the features you mention. Additionally, those apps are free software, so I don't have to blindly trust a member of PRISM that they are secure.

All of those features don't matter if there's a backdoor, and from what I read of the FBI case there is one they just foolishly closed it.