But isn't your #argument essentially; believe what Apple tell us? I can't trust someone I never met to tell me the truth. I don't understand how you can. 

Apple can say what they like. It's what they do I'll judge them on. And #apple and #google do the same thing. They betray our trust. 

I would judge #Microsoft the same way, if they were in this argument. The real contrast here is #Linux. If they spy on us we can see it in the code.

That's the real deal with #opensource #software. We don't need to trust it. We can see what they're doing. That's the model I prefer. 

I use an #android phone and an #ipad but I don't expect them to protect my #privacy. That would be naive.  

 That's fair, but it still doesn't change that we can rationally expect Apple to do a better job than Google. While they are both large, US companies, they have different revenue models motivating them. Apple also leans heavily into privacy as part of their brand, and created a Lockdown Mode for those who take their privacy even more seriously. You are of course free to use neither, and should probably abstain from cellular radios altogether, but that's not what this thread is about.