[lucianbr]

You're upset that your parents were free to make some choice that you feel is wrong, and you believe Apple should be allowed to take that choice away from them?

Honestly, I feel that Apple has completely brainwashed some people. Comments like yours abound, complaining about the dangers and disadvantages of freedom and choice. You're only a few words away from "freedom is slavery".

[matwood]

You're assuming the OPs parents made an informed choice. Chrome might be the only name they recognized so they picked it. Is Chrome really the best choice for them? Hard to know. A bunch of choices up front is also generally bad UX. Reasonable defaults that can be changed later are likely better for the average user.

[lucianbr]

No, I'm not assuming that. The freedom to make a choice is not contingent on your being informed. Imagine being kept in jail with the pretext "you are not yet fully informed of what is out there, so we're not letting you go out for your own good".

Anyway, OP can just inform their parents and fix this thing, if that was really the problem.

> Is Chrome really the best choice for them? Hard to know.

If you imagine this is a good argument for taking choice away from people, you are damaged. There is no freedom if you get to restrict people until they will make the choice you feel is perfect for them. Freedom means freedom to make mistakes. It's not like Chrome is explosive, and if handled incorrectly it may kill its user and some innocent bystanders to boot.

Really doubling down on the absurd arguments.

[matwood]

I also said that it should be changeable later - so I'm not taking away anyones choice. Sticking a bunch of questions in front of a user, when all they really want to do is use their new phone almost feels like a dark pattern. They just pick whatever and move on. Is that really any better than default that can be changed later? IDK, other than randomly getting people using something different.

[npilk]

> Imagine being kept in jail with the pretext "you are not yet fully informed of what is out there, so we're not letting you go out for your own good".

Isn't this basically what school is for children?

I don't think it's crazy that people might have a range of preferences for how "locked down" a device or ecosystem is. One end of the spectrum might be Linux phones and the other might be those Jitterbug (?) phones for old people that can only dial a few preset numbers. Android would be more towards Linux and Apple more towards Jitterbug.

But I do think Apple should be more transparent with their users, and has generally been "maliciously complying" with these regulations.

[jstsch]

> Anyway, OP can just inform their parents and fix this thing, if that was really the problem.

Yes, the little time we have in our lives, I really want to spend talking with my parents about topics like browser choices.

[Moldoteck]

considering all this ai gen improvements, you should talk to them not just about browsers... scams that do imit ppl's voices are on the rise, you should also talk to them about being virgilent about some websites that do try to trick ppl, maybe even give some examples. The web is not safe and soon it'll be even less safe if there are photos of you/videos with your voice registered & available online

[hu3]

You'll have to do it anyway.

I have to explain on average once a month to family why some websites break on "the Apple internet app" (safari) and they should use Firefox or Chrome for critical stuff instead.

Had to explain again yesterday because Safari crashed to a white screen error on my wife's macbook while she was trying to buy plane tickets.

Firefox just worked.

Internet browsers are very present in 2024.

[alt227]

Something like this is really important considering the future of all of our live is digital whether we like it or not.

Have those discussions, educate them on choices, and it will make their lives much safer going forward.

[badwolf]

Have you ... ever dealt with people? This doesn't seem to be the typical reality for most.

[alt227]

Very much. I am the 'tech person' whithin family and friends. I used to just do everything for them which was a chore. Since then I have discovered if I educate them on what a browser is, the choices they have, and how you can try multiple ones if you are having issues, then they very often start solving problems and looking further into things themselves.

People very often dont have a clue what things like app permissions are and just blindly accept them all. Aftrer educating and showing them, they are much more careful in checking what they are accepting.

Teach a person to fish is my motto, you should try it sometime! I dont see why that opinion deserves downvotes but there you go.

[jstsch]

No, of course, everyone should be free to have the choice to install whichever software they want on devices that they own. E.g. put the phone in developer/hobbyist mode by connecting it with a USB cable to a PC, show some big fat warnings, and then allow all forms of sideloading. But it needs to be like a safety switch.

Then the matter of an informed browser choice. This is simply not a thing most regular people make or care about. Remember the Internet Explorer era? In this case, simply the most recognisable picture gets chosen (e.g. the only company that advertised their browser).