$19B later, Facebook now wants to own my phone

Perhaps this makes sense, (or at least here's a theory why).

Disclaimer: I don't have time to do a massive research for this one (tl;didn't research), I will base the rest of my theory on these hypotheses which I can't prove are true, but I'm guessing are probably true (whatever true means). Don't take anything I say personally or seriously. I could be a sophisticated turing machine for all you know, and then you'd feel silly for getting all hyped up at a robot. So chill and enjoy the ride.

1. Despite what it may seem like, most people still don't really know how to use computers.

=and I don't mean like smartphones (which yes are computers but they make sht dead simple which almost puts them in a different category), I'm talking about setting up a good ol' desktop OS out of the box, getting it running on a network, configuring security, installing software, moving files, fixing permissions, etc.

2. OF THOSE who know how to use computers, many (if not most) of them do not know how to write code.

*=And not be a code hipsters, becuz damn am I sick of them, but I mean a lot of "devs" these days barely think about what it means to write executable code. JavaScript/V8 has opened the door to a lot of developers, though many still don't really understand how a computer program goes from looking like this:

int main() { print("Hello, World!"); }

to looking like this:

mov $r1, $r2 add $x, $y

to looking like this:

http://newtome.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/matrix_code.gif (lolz)

3. OF THOSE who do know how to write code, only very few of them have gotten their heads out of their own asses and have built/done something to change the world :)

Okay, that last one was kind of a joke, but kind of not. But anyway, I digest...

So say you've just made this hit app ---in the past few years. Congrats! You've hit an interesting "sweet spot" in the general collective human consciousness in that you can sell software/"simplified" computers to people who largely have no clue what it is they are using! They call it "Facebook" or "Instagram" or "SnapChat" — not executable binaries running on a microprocessor in their pocket, live connected to several Fortune 500 companies that sell their data in real-time all across the Internet. Most likely if you explained a product in those terms to someone they'd think you're a weirdo (and maybe they'd be right, lol).

My theory is that to be open enough to consider these privacy claims, one would have to come to understand it on their own (otherwise, a part of their subconscious reaction to "foreign substance" will reject the information as "junk").

To even get to the point of understanding what this means, you'd have to get at least past Statement #2. To do something about it on a wide enough scale, you'd have to get past #3 and this is harder than it looks.

IMHO, it is because of #3 that ideas are meaningless — yeah we all get ideas in the shower but who gets off their ass, turns OFF the phone, turns OFF Facebook, and tune IN to whatever idea they'd like to manifest?

These people ended up creating Facebook. Instagram. SnapChat. Google. Apple.

And then they get to call the shots, and "explain privacy" to the masses until the majority agrees to think differently.

I don't want to use either Android or iOS. I don't want to use Java or anything like it. The hardware I have is orders of magnitude more powerful than it needs to be to do the things I want it to do, and yet it does them poorly.

If I had a million dollars I'd make my own OS without all of the stupid waste, and I'm very surprised that nobody else has bothered to do so (well).

FB is a big company with a lot of smart people. This approach must have been considered and then dismissed by at least one of your developers. Why the huge push to confirm and maintain a phone # connection to the service?

This is exacerbated by the fact that all the permissions requests are presented in the same way -- same font, same size, same color -- despite the fact that not all permissions requests are created equal. If an app wants to be able to talk to the network, that's a minor privacy concern. If an app wants to be able to read my address book, say, or my emails or SMSes, those are major privacy concerns. Those are the ones you want the user paying attention to and thinking about. The way the requests are presented should reflect that.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.colortiger...

Settings -> Privacy -> Privacy Guard

Simply tap on each application to toggle the default privacy guard settings or longpress to see the per-permission toggles.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=biz.bokhorst.x...

Tinfoil for facebook.

Basically it is a big condom for facebook so it does not stick its bejeezus inside your private babushka. Or something like that ;-)

Install this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=biz.bokhorst.x... for fine grained control.

  Are you afraid your wife might learn about your mistress? 
  Are you afraid your business partners (bosses, coworkers, corporate contacts, government regulators) might learn about your communicable diseases? 
  Are you afraid your religious associates might learn about your immoral activity? 
  Are you afraid your children might learn about your illegal smuggling operations?
  Are you afraid your Amish friends might learn of your technology company?