Hardening

I recently switched to the iPhone. While it’s often marketed as “secure” and “privacy‑friendly” compared to Android, the reality is more nuanced. iOS has strong sandboxing, solid memory protections, and a tightly controlled app ecosystem, but it also contains layers of telemetry, hidden settings, cloud‑centric defaults, and convenience features that quietly expand your attack surface. This post focuses on turning iOS into a minimal, hardened, privacy‑respecting environment. Settings Apple Account iCloud Disable all services you don’t explicitly need Prefer offline storage Avoid iCloud Keychain if you use external password managers Media & Purchases Personalized Recommendations: Off Allow Friends to Find You: Off Wi-Fi Ask to Join Networks: Off Auto-Join Hotspot: Never Disable Wi-Fi when not in use Avoid public and guest Wi-Fi if possible Bluetooth Turn off in Settings, not Control Center Turn on only when needed Cellular If possible, avoid SIM usage for maximum privacy. Cellular Data Options Limit IP Address Tracking: On General AirDrop Choose Receiving Off AirPlay & Continuity Automatically AirPlay: Never Transfer to HomePod: Off Keep Audio with Headphones: Off Handoff: Off Continuity Camera: Off Keyboard Disable all cloud‑assisted or behavioral features ...

This post lists the changes I make to a vanilla Arch Linux installation for privacy and security hardening. Most of the changes will work on any Linux distro that’s reasonably up-to-date. Choosing distro I use Arch Linux as my main Linux distro because: Minimal: Arch base is relatively small and minimal compared to “prebuilt” or “OOTB” distros like Fedora, Ubuntu or Linux Mint. This means I add only what I need instead of debloating or disabling what I don’t. Latest software: Arch ships with latest kernel, latest software, upstream security patches. I don’t have to wait 6-12 months to be updated like Ubuntu or Mint. Full control: When using Arch, I can use what software, services, kernel, … I want, instead of using what shipped by default. Otherwise, you can use any Linux distros you want. ...