cross-posted from: https://monero.town/post/462856
Looking for an answer more detailed than just switch to pixel and use graphene or calyx.
What are the recommended changes to use in the Settings App to make Apple more secure and private? Should I just use the Safari browser due to all the browsers being the same as they all use WebKit
I’m looking for suggested changes to staying minimal but increasing privacy and security on iPhone
Step 1: don’t use iCloud services; use WiFi Sync with a computer for syncing and backups. Step 2: turn on Lockdown Mode if this works for you. Step 3: limit the number of apps you install. Step 4: set up VPN to your own network and run a PiHole or similar to filter access.
For most people, this is more than enough guidance.
Can’t you use iCloud services enabling the end to end encryption?
If you do, you have to be very careful. SOME data is encrypted at rest in iCloud, not all. It doesn’t matter if it’s encrypted in transit if it’s readable on the servers. Also, while some iCloud services are encrypted remotely against your private key, other services can also be decrypted by an Apple support key.
You can go through each service to ensure it (currently) fits your privacy needs, or you can just go with the basic rule that data managed by others is not private.
Oh yeah, afaik the only services which don’t have end to end encryption are the mail, books, calendar and contacts storages. Most stuff is E2E (if you enable it)
E2E refers to data in transit: the data will be encrypted between its source and destination. It says nothing about how that data is protected once it has arrived.
E2E iCloud means a third party won’t be able to snoop on the data while you are reading from iCloud or writing to iCloud. But Apple employees can still log into your account and decrypt the data at rest on iCloud in many circumstances because the data at rest is encrypted against a key held by Apple.
A recent example of how this can go wrong was seen with Azure (which hosts some of iCloud) where a Microsoft dev key leaked and attackers were able to use it to generate a working decryption key for the US Government Azure service (a different product) and read terabytes of government data off the cloud services.
The attackers could have targeted iCloud hosting services instead of the US government and done the same thing for all data in all iCloud accounts not specifically encrypted against a personal key held only in your personal keychain.
And if you use iCloud Keychain of course, the same technique can be used to attack your keychain by pretending to be Apple Support and “recover” the contents of the keychain.
According to Apple they do not have the keys when you enable Advanced Data Protection, which is why they force you to have your own backup recovery methods (recovery key, recovery contacts). When they talk about E2E the endpoints they are referring to are user-owned devices.
iCloud Keychain recovery is also much more complex than you are describing.
Yes Apple has their iCloud key, if you live in China, the key is controlled by the Ccp, potentially dangerous for abuse from lea, highly recommend not to use Apple devices if you live there. The other problem is if they same set of keys for global users that it is possible to crack encryption for global users using the same keys, hence compromising security if one day Ccp want to access to the files of some American’s phone through iCloud.
Unlike Microsoft, Apple appears to use unique regional keys for iCloud, so this risk is significantly less than it could be.
Having said that, that means that the key associated with your iCloud account will be for the region you set when you set up the account— so if you move, I believe your data is still stored in the original region and the key is for the original region.
You know some people like to hack real people’s phone for fun
And some for profit. I’m not sure what this has to do with iCloud security and EEE vs EAR though.
I suppose it’s easier to access the cloud storage than the phone given how secure the iPhone is and with lockdown mode, it’s even harder.
Ok
@nitefox @adespoton doesn’t EEE imply that decryption happens on both ends?
Yes. The ends are user devices.
@Bitrot yes, but not only your devices. The corp hosting the data for you does have access to the unencrypted data. They can log into their systems and see the unencrypted contents. EEE will parent a 3rd party from reading g your data while I’m transit, but not once it has arrived at the final destination
Potentially only your devices. If they are encrypted on device with keys that the host does not have, it is still end to end encrypted with no way for them to recover. In the case of iCloud, this is how Advanced Data Protection works and even logging into the web only grants access to a subset of data (it is literally end to end encrypted between only user devices). When ADP is not enabled, some data is recoverable by Apple and some is not (when enabled a small bit still is, such as email because they need access for it to function, but far less).
wifi sync?
Plug in an iPhone to a Mac (or Linux or Windows with third party sync software) and you can set up Wifi syncing. Then as long as the two devices are on the same network, full encrypted backups and file/media syncing will be done.
Any tutorial on this for linux?
Here’s one current solution: https://www.howtogeek.com/764236/kde-connect-is-finally-coming-to-iphone/
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Step 1: stop using an iPhone
Apple insists on maintaining complete control over the OS and apps on your device, and so long as you subject yourself to that, you will not have any privacy.
I think you and others may be conflating privacy and autonomy?
Negative
But you cannot download a VPN app without reveal your real IP address for Apple at least once and wanting or not your will need a iCloud ID. And Apple devices is know that they can bypass VPN connection in some cases. Who ensures you that Apple will not retain your IP address?
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Interesting. Have any resources to learn more about this? Don’t people get caught doing illegal things based on their IP address?
Let’s say I make a profile on social media that has no personally identifiable data on me. How else would they track me?
Yeah IP’s are just a fraction of the whole fingerprint process nowadays but I didn’t want Apple record ANY IP the could be used to link to me. I personally don’t trust Apple.
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@MagneticFusion @chemicalwonka I was gonna suggest the same thing but I realize that only solves half of the problem. You would still have to identify to apple services to download and install the app
Exactly!
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Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=d2bJVKcIEg0&
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
