this post was submitted on 10 May 2026
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Privacy
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Smartphones are such an utter wretch nowadays, & I'm not even sure if there was a time they weren't. I don't get the appeal of a smartphone, they do everything a dumbphone does but worse, more expensive & with an unremovable thick layer of scum, yeah a smartphone has some of the features of a laptop or desktop but who needs that baked into their phone for every moment?
People are trying so hard to fix smartphones (even by giving money to the least privacy respecting companies ever by buying Google phones) when they can get a dumbphone and be rid of those problems in the first place. Well that's my opinion at least, I think it might be a bit extreme.
"even by giving money to the least privacy respecting companies ever by buying Google phones"
To be fair, Pixels are available secondhand, often in Mint condition, which is why my last three Pixels and any other phone/tablet I've bought have been through https://swappa.com/.
Honestly in hindsight I think that point of mine isn't very good, given what you said, I mean some people probably buy new Pixels but an entire point should not hinge on a possibility.
Love Swappa. I've gotten used phones & memory there for good prices, no problems.
You really don’t get the appeal or you just feel differently? I don’t like roller coasters but my reasoning doesn’t include me not getting the appeal others have for them.
I know the appeal (I think) but I worry that these things can be very harmful after a while, like how with the constant internet access provides constant distraction from anything important in one's life (like studying, working, etc).
Approximately 5.78 billion people.