You convieniently didnt mention that it also allows their government to know where they are and where they were and what they're saying and what they've said, and what they're reading, and glimpses of what they've seen, forever.
Everyone knows this already and most happily make the trade-off. My gov knows exactly what and when I do something in public, and probably on my phone/desktop. Do I have things to hide? Sure. And I take the proper precautions to ensure its safety because I know the trade I made. Plenty of govs still police your speech, enjoy that ours only hears but does not act.
That's a government problem, not a smart phone problem.
As developers shouldn't we view it as a smart phone problem? When trying to reach Poitras and Greenwald Snowden turned to a technical solution, encryption, for what is a government problem, spying on private communications. Using a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall is certainly easier than tearing it down. A VPN isn't a permanent solution, you can see we play a cat and mouse game with the GFW, but we should use our talents in the most effective way possible. Whether or not developing technical solutions to government problems is the best use of our skills I do not know.
Meh, at some point we've gotta see this as a trade off. And do you know something, I'm really not that concerned that .gov knows my browsing history.