EU Isn’t the Reason Apple Devices Are Less Secure, You Dummy
A few days ago you might’ve heard news about Apple prepping for the release of iOS’s next “big” version - 17, and one of the big features that they’ve been teasing for a few days now is, for the first time on an iOS device, the ability to download external applications outside of official verified stores - also known as “sideloading.” Read that story here.
This implemented feature is possible thanks to the proposal that the European Union, or EU, have given to Apple back in early 2022 that all iOS devices being sold in Europe must have sideloading as a mandatory feature. While Apple didn’t really seem to enjoy having the EU going after its butt according to Apple spokesperson Emma Wilson, quote:
Some provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users while
others will prohibit us from charging for intellectual property in which we invest a great deal,
and even though Tim Cook says sideloading will “destroy the security of the iPhone,” from the looks of it Apple is complying to the EU anyway
according to various news outlets. So…yeah.
However, today’s entry isn’t about Apple and EU themselves. That’s just the overture. The main meat of this entry is between me and the
hardcore Apple fans. Specifically the ones that are crazy enough to swear on their graves that they will bury their iOS devices with them when they pass.
You see, during these few days there are a bunch of those people that took the words of Timmy Tim about “potential security issues” and eat those up like a gullible person. They fully subscribed to the notion that Apple could provide security like no one else could do. And when the news about sideloading came out, they were so angry about it to the point that they believed that what EU did to Apple is a “threat to
capitalism and that the world didn’t ask for it.”
With all that in mind, today I’m going to break down and argue just exactly why EU isn’t the reason Apple devices are less secure,
you dummy.
While corporations and companies could claim “total security” as much as they like, there’s no denying that half the security also come
from the end users themselves. If an end user uses a device, a software, or a technology undecisively or with no caution, that claimed security
is quite worthless.
You also don’t fully subscribe to the idea that companies could provide you 100% security either. It’s just a marketing tactic. You’re not a kid that believed your toys would come alive if you’re not around them. You’re a grown-up with full discretion. I don’t blame you for falling
into a marketing tactic, but how about you think twice before fully believing it, heh?
Those people that claimed and believed that thiefs or hackers could finally steal your data if Apple started allowing external apps on their
device - check this out: I have been using Android for my entire life. I downloaded external apps a lot and I have never once, got my data
breached out or leaked out because I use trusted source to download apps. Places like F-Droid where
they’re providing you with free and open source software for your phone could be fully trusted. Every single download page contains a PGP and SHA-256 keys that you could verify. You don’t even have to download apps off the website directly. You could download an app store and download your apps that way. It’s only a matter of using trusted source and caution while attempting to load external apps.
Although it is admittedly quite difficult to distinguish applications on the market nowadays with many malicious attempts in trying to make
outside appearances look as close as your favourite applications in order to deceive you, an effort must be made either from Apple or the community to verify that outside applications are safe to use on your device. It shouldn’t be too much of a hassle, isn’t it? I’m sure with an amount of Apple fans on this planet, some of them might actually be willing to do community service.
People that are afraid EU will eventually made iOS open source from this very same situation - hear me out: it's not happening soon. And even if iOS did actually go open source or free software, what's there to afraid?
There is actually one comment that I saw from going through the news that I think is an interesting insight into what's going on with their thinking process. They said that they'd rather live in a white, proprietary prison than having iOS going open source because it makes them feel "more safe and at home." That's a very interesting take, because if you use any sort of common sense, "safe and at home" isn't something you'd describe a prison or a cell. If you prefer living in a prison, well then more power to you and I think you'll be able to adapt well, but it still doesn't made much sense. Why do you think open source is such an opposition and why are you afraid of it? If iOS would actually go open source the only disadvantage I could think of is Apple would lose monopoly in its market, which is good.
And with that said, stop saying EU knows nothing. EU is an organization that exists way longer than your favourite fruit brand does, and what EU has proposed to Apple last year is perfect justice. People claims that because Apple has about 5 times less market share than Android, and people using Apple portable devices on this planet is way less than Android, it shouldn’t be a monopoly. You’re either an ignorant or a very naive person to say that. The way that Apple allows for only a single marketplace to sell products - in this case, an application, and there is no other way for other markets to come in and provide their own marketplace - to me that sounds like we’re describing a perfect monopoly here. You don’t have to bring a whole market into the equation. Just considering that one marketplace is allowed to sell products is already enough to summed things up. If you think that what EU is doing is a threat to capitalism, you’re a full blown ignorant.
Lastly, how about you teach your people how to use technology properly. Throwing a four-figure around to solve a problem isn’t a good way to solve anything. If you have an expensive technology in your hands but you use it incorrectly it’s going to be a problem nonetheless. So start learning how to use your tools properly.
I hope that those people would come by this page at some point, read through it and make some sense out of what I wrote. You don’t have to believe in what I wrote, because I am just someone on the Internet and even if trusted experts came out and reiterate what I have written, I know you wouldn’t be able to make sense anyway.
