Steve Jobs, Who Art in Heaven

A news story recently broke that iPhone apps are allowed to upload your entire address book to their server, without telling you.  You know what I'm going to say here.

I'm going to smugly say that Android doesn't do this.  More to the point, Android apps have to let you know what the privacy issues are before you install the app.  You can read a full list of things the app will have access to, such as being able to tell whether you're in a phone call.  I recently had a friend hesitate to install Words with Friends because of exactly this, but at least the Android version was courteous enough to let her know.

I will, of course, argue that this is a symptom of a much deeper issue: the attitude of the respective mobile operating systems.  Apple's attitude has always been "Trust in Steve Jobs."  They wrap all their content in their own DRM to make it impossible to use on any other device, but as long as you only buy Apple products and only pay for Apple services, everything will run well.

Android, on the other hand (by extension all of Linux) is about openeness and freedom.  Those sounds like buzzwords, until an iPhone app steals all your contact info without asking, while the Android app asks you first.  All of a sudden, these platitudes have real and immediate consequences.

Does this mean everyone should use an Android instead of the iPhone?  No; you should only use an Android if you care about things like privacy, controlling your own data, and being able to do whatever you want with the $600 piece of electronics you just bought.  There are some people who are happy to stay blissfully ignorant of the whole thing, and who love it when their iPod automatically syncs up with their iTunes.  (Of course, I get the same thing with Google Music, but it wasn't handed to me on a silver platter.)

I do believe, however, that a good percentage of cell phone users care about such things.  They ought to be aware of the attitudes of Apple and Google, and how those attitudes affect them in very real ways.  A good capitalist system relies on consumers making well-educated decisions.  This isn't about standing outside Apple's headquarters with protest signs; let your dollars do the talking.