treenutz68 I'd love to get opinions on privacy on iphones vs a graphene pixel, specifically on the privacy front.
I think most things that are to say about the privacy of iOS compared to GrapheneOS has already been said. That is, iOS is pretty solid when it comes to respecting privacy, but it is closed-source and have some non-privacy respecting features by default such as cloud syncing.
But one thing I think is worth noting, and which is at least for me a very big reason I don't trust iOS at all for privacy. A few years ago, Apple announced that a few weeks later they would release an update to all iOS devices, that includes an application that will scan all files and private chats on the device for child porn and grooming of children, using an AI system that cannot be disabled, and that the application would silently report you to the police if they found any such content or activity. Luckily, Apple users got really upset about this, and protested so much against it and advocated for boycotting Apple products, that Apple actually saw a decline in sales of new devices. Apple couldn't understand why people where upset. But what Apple proposed to include in iOS fulfills all definitions of spyware and unwanted software. No one, exactly no one, would want to install a piece of software on their device that scans for illicit content to silently auto-report themself to the police. It is the very definition of unwanted software. There is a reason Apple said they would make it mandatory, because no one would want it.
Apple backed off and said they won't release it now, but said it would come in the next major iOS release instead, a year later. A year later they said they have cancelled the "feature" entirely, after consultation with children's rights organizations and privacy organizations. Apparently children where not very fond of the idea either. They want to be able to be explore sexually with peers without their nudes being sent to some random adult at some random police office.
But even if Apple backed off completely, and reinforced that they would from now on always be a privacy first operating system for phones, one can only wonder when it is the next time Apple gets an idea and are willing to totally throw all privacy under the bus to implement it.