I'm intrigued by o1d_dude's perspective, though it is consistent with his tagline as being an entropy theorist
. Note, my observations are not meant to disparage anyone's views or choices, so please consider this to be good-natured recreational hole-poking.
As someone who carries a personal Android device and a work iPhone, and is familiar with both ecosystems, my own choice is to stick with Android, while recognizing that the iPhone is likely a better choice for my wife. While I rebel at the Apple "walled garden" approach, my wife is not even aware that the garden has boundaries, and doesn't care. So, to each their own.
But I was surprised to hear that in the same post, 01d_dude extolled the virtues of using SD card to hold the data, while expressing interest in switching to Apple products which notoriously don't offer external storage options like SD cards.
Also, my own perspective on Google data mining and such has evolved over the years. I've come to accept that I'm their product, and I'm OK with it. I used to turn off location services except when I specifically needed map guidance or such, and used accounts where my real name and such was purposefully obfuscated. Over time, I gave all that up. I LIKE that Google is watching my moves. Even when I'm not specifically using navigation, I get warnings of upcoming traffic problems and alternate routes. You see, Google knows where I live, work, and shop, and is very good at figuring out where I'm going and proactively offers me suggestions on the best ways to get there. I don't mind this. When I'm at a store it annoyingly asks me questions about my experience, but it also offers me coupons. It tells me when it's time to leave for the airport based on updated flight information, traffic data, and other factors, solely based on the fact that some months ago I booked a flight and probably got an email about it with an itinerary. It tells me when packages are on the way and if they are late.
So, I get these benefits. What do I give in exchange? It knows a lot about me and sells that data. OK. That's not harmful in my mind, and it's done with my consent. I really don't care about this stuff. It's like the fact that I shop at the same grocery story using a loyalty card (which my phone has... I don't use a twencen-style physical card), and I get coupons in the mail that actually are for things I might buy instead of for a 5 pound box of tarragon or something, because the store knows my interests. They use it to sell me stuff... that I would probably buy anyway, or at least might be interesting to me because other people who buy things I buy also buy that.
I see google as less "Big Brother" and more "the big brother I never had."
As to blocking the feds, my response is "meh." The feds aren't interested in anything I'm doing, and they would have other ways to get at the data about anything I do should they take an interest.
This all said, I'm critical about lots of things around Android/Google (lack of good general phone backup software built into Android for example), but then again that's just my nature.
Have a good Sunday all. I'm headed out to launch rockets for the first time this year!
Marc