Why You Shouldn’t Use Apple

1. Privacy Intrusions

Despite Apple’s “privacy-first” branding, regulators fined Apple €150 M in France over how it implemented its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, finding that the framework abused Apple’s dominant position in mobile app distribution and advertising¹. In 2025, Germany’s Bundeskartellamt raised similar competition concerns, issuing a preliminary assessment that Apple’s ATT framework may breach competition law and give Apple’s own services preferential treatment².

2. Antitrust & App Store Monopoly

Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple has faced significant fines and charges for anti-steering rules and App Store practices that restrict developers from telling users about cheaper payment options or alternative platforms³²⁷. France’s competition authority also imposed a €162 M penalty in 2025 tied to how ATT impacts third-party developers and advertisers³, reinforcing concerns that Apple uses privacy framing to tighten its ecosystem and disadvantage rivals.

3. Supply Chain & Labor Abuses

Apple’s reliance on low-wage manufacturing in China has been documented for years. Reporting on Apple’s China strategy highlights how decades of investment created a deeply integrated supply chain that is hard to unwind, while also transferring industrial know-how to local competitors⁴. Working-conditions research and human-rights organizations continue to flag excessive overtime, dispatch-worker abuse, and labor-rights violations at major suppliers like Pegatron and Foxconn, even after repeated “improvement” pledges⁶²⁰.

In 2025, Apple announced a massive U.S. investment plan worth around $500 B, partly framed as a response to tariff pressure and political scrutiny⁵. But much of the high-volume device manufacturing still depends on Chinese and broader Asian supply chains, which means the underlying labor issues and geopolitical risks remain.

4. Security Vulnerabilities & Stalking

Apple markets itself as a security leader, but its products are not immune to serious flaws. Past incidents like the Group FaceTime eavesdropping bug showed that even core communication features can accidentally enable surveillance until patched⁷. Hardware components such as the T2 security chip have also been subject to research showing unpatchable vulnerabilities under certain conditions².

Meanwhile, AirTags and similar devices have been repeatedly misused for stalking and covert tracking. U.S. states have started drafting and passing laws that explicitly criminalize using tracking devices for stalking, with Pennsylvania’s 2025 bill creating a specific offense for tracking-device-based stalking reflecting the scale of misconduct seen by law enforcement⁸. Apple has added safety alerts and warnings, but critics say the design still makes it too easy to track people without consent.

5. Child Safety Scanning Reversal

Apple’s plan to deploy client-side CSAM scanning on users’ devices sparked widespread backlash from security experts, privacy advocates, and civil-society groups, who warned that such tools could be repurposed by governments for censorship and mass surveillance⁹¹⁰. After initially “pausing” the rollout, Apple later confirmed it would not proceed with that scanning approach and instead focus on server-side protections and broader end-to-end encryption for iCloud.

However, some of Apple’s Communication Safety features for minors still raise concerns about false positives and the broader precedent of on-device content analysis, especially when deployed at scale in locked-down proprietary ecosystems.

6. It’s Okay to Still Like Apple

This page is an opinion piece, not a moral judgment on anyone’s personal choices. It is completely okay to like and use iPhones, Macs, iPads, macOS, or other Apple products if they fit your needs, accessibility requirements, or creative workflow. Many people rely on Apple hardware for work, art, accessibility features, or simply because they enjoy the experience.

7. Alternative: Samsung

Samsung’s One UI paired with the Good Lock suite delivers extensive customization—lock-screen layouts, multi-window behavior, and theme engines—that iOS does not expose in the same way¹³¹⁶. For users who want deeper control over their phone’s interface, Good Lock and its modules (ClockFace, LockStar, Home Up, Theme Park, and more) allow per-screen and per-gesture tuning that goes well beyond what Apple offers.

On the security side, Samsung Knox provides a hardware-backed framework, integrating trusted boot, secure enclaves, and enterprise fleet management features¹⁴⁴. Combined with Android’s monthly security bulletins and Samsung’s own update program, many flagship Samsung phones receive frequent patches and long-term security support comparable to or, in some cases, longer than older iPhone models¹⁵³. For some users, that mix of openness, configurability, and strong security tooling makes Samsung (and Android in general) a compelling alternative to Apple’s closed ecosystem.