fsflover

But you can switch to one that does.

Apple is on the side of privacy, except when you want privacy from Apple:

Watchdog ponders why Apple doesn't apply its strict app tracking rules to itself (theregister.com)

161 points by Logans_Run on Feb 14, 2025 | 69 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43047952

Apple silently uploads your passwords and keeps them (lapcatsoftware.com)

170 points by ingve on Nov 1, 2024 | 127 comments

And whenever your privacy contradicts their control over "your" device, you are also out of luck, e.g., you can't have Ublock Origin on an iPhone. Relevant discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44804921

They think it's maybe a little creepy but not really a big deal.

In other words, it's the awareness again.

There is no need to be completely independent. This is just not feasible. What you need is as much decentralization as possible.

This is why EU courts forced .docx

This was not so straightforward at all, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization_of_Office_Open...

Which is why we need to support https://eff.org and https://edri.org

Awareness is what is missing now in order to do anything substantial.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48975841

So things are really bad.

Can you install Firefox with Ublock Origin?

Tor is not a single point of failure: It is a p2p network.

Buy preinstalled Linux, and you will not have to care about the hardware support. Worked for me. LibreOffice is better than MS Office for 90% of users.

This is false. Linux is better in every way, unless you are forced to use Windows at work or to use some Windows-software (whose developers thus make make the choice for you). But this also does not make Windows better.

Linux obeys the user, doesn't have malware in the repositories, fast and light even on older hardware and doesn't try extract as much money from you as possible.

No, buying preinstalled Linux.

Did I say otherwise? Any proprietary software for Linux suffers or will suffer from the same problem. But not Linux itself or any free software running on it.

How exactly would a new Linux user know this ?

It's easy: whatever is preinstalled will be guaranteed to work reliably. Worked for me.

Linux doesn't install malware, because it is free software, which guarantees the four user freedoms. Whenever someone adds malware, anybody else can remove it for everyone or create an equally useful fork without it. Try this with Windows.

In other words, Stallman was right, and proprietary software developers have too much power over users. And they inevitably, sooner or later, leverage this power for (more) profit, even if you paid for the product.

browsers in UTM virtualized OS's can't get past some modern captchas and other browser fingerprinting checkpoints :\

I'm using Qubes OS, where everything runs in VMs without GPU acceleration, and never experienced this.

Shallow dismissals like "straight up false" that contradict multiple reputable news outlets aren't "debunking".

Calling well-know human right activist NGOs "handful of nerds" is straight up misinformation.

The difference is Apple intentionally chose unrepairable design, despite much smaller companies offer repairable earplugs (See: PineBuds Pro).

Isn't polluting the environment evil? http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-airpods-repair-recycling-imposs...

I would never trust any private health data to an app. I don't care what promises or claims they make.

If the app is free software, then you don't need to trust; you can verify instead. See: apps on F-Droid.

How about these?

Apple knew a supplier was using child labor but took 3 years to fully cut ties (yahoo.com)

52 points by notRobot on Jan 1, 2021 | un‑favorite | 5 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25607386

Apple's Cooperation with Authoritarian Governments (jessesquires.com)

468 points by ig0r0 on March 31, 2021 | un‑favorite | 291 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26644216

Apple removes nearly 100 VPNs used by Russians to bypass censorship (elpais.com)

31 points by speckx on Oct 1, 2024 | un‑favorite | 3 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41712728

Apple's Browser Engine Ban Persists, Even Under the DMA (open-web-advocacy.org)

514 points by yashghelani on July 14, 2025 | un‑favorite | 383 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44557348

Apple defined ICE as a "protected class" in blocking anti-ICE apps (boingboing.net)

146 points by baobun 9 months ago 69 comments

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45520407

https://9to5mac.com/2020/12/29/iphone-workers-forced-labor/

IMHO it's not much harder than joining a closed tracker. Install a client and enter 127.0.0.1 in your browser as proxy. And, arguably, it's more beneficial.

because you're most likely to get a DMCA violation letter

This is why I don't understand why I2P trackers that provide full anonymity do not get more attention.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48931191

Thank you for the explanation!

This has happened with every single federated platform

It didn't happen with the internet itself. You still can avoid Facebook and co. and happily discuss things on HN.

And with the email, it is much less serious than people assume. I do not use gmail or MS and practically nobody I talk to does.

Actually, it is possible to join Bluesky without relying on the single point of failure, as Cory Doctorow highlighted here: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/05/executive-dysfunction/

Have you considered Qubes OS then?