Are iPhones more secure than Android phones?

Staying safe in a digital world can be difficult. It can be hard to understand how to avoid phishing scams, or if WhatsApp is a safer choice than Signal or Telegram. And it turns out the choice of phone you have can impact how safe you are, with Android and Apple handsets both being susceptible to hacking, if not to varying degrees.

That’s why we asked around the stratosphere to find out what leading security experts think, and what you should watch out for so you can keep your phone out of harm’s way.

Are iPhones more secure than Android phones?

Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy, told Trusted Reviews that Android phones are targeted more often than iPhones as there are more of them in the wild, making them a bigger target.

“Android handsets are usually targeted more than iPhones, due to their larger installation numbers, so targeting Android devices offers a larger attack surface,” Hauk says.

“iPhones are also not as susceptible to attacks as Android devices, as Apple controls both the devices and the operating system. Meanwhile, Android is adapted by numerous smartphone makers, which usually customize the mobile operating system for the devices they sell, introducing possible security flaws by installing their third-party software.”

That doesn’t mean that iPhones are immune to attacks or vulnerabilities. Recently Apple just patched up two significant security holes that could have allowed third-party apps to see your private Apple ID. In a similar vein, a Safari 15 bug was discovered that could disclose your recent browsing history from the app, showing that Apple is not invincible, even if it is less common to see it struggling with big security vulnerabilities.

Security advisor at F-Secure, Fennel Aurora, explained to Trusted Reviews how Android is more targeted, even though iPhone malware is more valuable, as it requires more complicated tricks to get into the iOS system.

“In general iOS and Mac users are more valuable targets and can be more profitable if the crime company is able to put in the…