Comment by codedokode

It doesn't matter how bad is Windows or Mac because I do not use them.

Apple might have something made for the government. They are very cooperative and routinely remove VPN apps from the repository at the request of Russian government, probably they will happily cooperate with US government as well.

> how do you defend from Microsoft/Google/Apple deciding to spy on you

My smartphone is in airplane mode since purchase and doesn't have a SIM card. I am considering options to port an open-souce firmware like Lineage OS, patch proprietary firmware or make mix of both. However to do this I need a realistic emulator that cannot be easily detected and that emulates at least some of phone hardware so that I can see what the programs try to do and where they try to connect to. Obviously there will be no Google services and similar software, mostly open-source apps from F-Droid.

As for computer, I use Linux so I guess I am relatively safe.