If you’re reading this, chances are you are on an Android or iPhone. Your phone follows you everywhere, gathering data as it goes. It facilitates social interactions with friends, co-workers, and romantic partners. I’ve gotten pretty used to this arrangement, even as a more privacy-minded person. Google gets a direct window into my personal life in exchange for being a connected member of society with a smartphone. Opting out of this arrangement feels impossible.

App Store Monopoly

Epic Games has ripped back the curtain to remind us who really owns our phones. If you haven’t been following the story, Epic decided to break Apple’s rules by adding a payment processor to their game Fortnite. This was against Apple’s rules. Only Apple could collect money directly from users (and take a 30% cut). Apple took away Epic’s access to the App Store.

Unlike your laptop, your phone (especially on iPhone) is heavily restricted on what can run on it. You cannot just build an app, share it with your friends, and have them install it on their iPhones. You can’t even build your own app and put it on your device without a development license. That license costs $100 a year.

To be fair, Google is slightly better about this. You can install other app stores than Google’s Play Store. For example, I have F-Droid installed on my Nexus 4. You can also develop and install your own apps for free. You can put an app on your website and hope people install it. Epic Games also broke the Google Play Store rules and got kicked off the app store. You can still install their games on an Android device.

Privacy violations

Google tracks your location. You’re probably not shocked to hear that. But you might be surprised to hear that Google tracks your location even when location services are turned off.

Apple has a better reputation for privacy. Their Safari browser implements more privacy-driven features than Google Chrome, like blocking 3rd party cookies. Apple is also rolling out opt-in for their Identifier for Advertising, which allows advertisers to identify your device across apps. Right now, if you’re liking 2nd amendment posts on Facebook, you might get a Trump ad on Candy Crush. That will be harder to do in 2021 if you don’t opt in.

What to do?

First of all, we need stronger monopoly protections for small- and medium-sized businesses. Apple and Google should be regulated as utilities - their monopoly power should be opposed by

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