I know for a fact that my electronics (including smartphone) is being monitored (including this post) by my government.
That probably doesn't surprise others. What isn't as known is that the government also intrudes into chats with other people on social media.
They don't just monitor, but actively interfere.
Edit: By the way, Nokias and other dumbphones (without physical off-switches -- the PinePhone has them, but good luck getting one) can also get their mic and GPS remotely activated. The partial solution is to get one with a removable battery and remove the battery whenever not in use.
iPhones can be hacked into through IMEI if you connect them, but are useful, encrypted offline-only PDAs if you don't install any app.
Also, if your electronics are being spied on by the government to this degree, chances are you are also being physically monitored.
This is always a dumb take I see by so many people. No goverment is monitoring all electronics and there is zero evidence that is the case. Sure companies collect a lot of user data and that user data could easily be given out with a request. Or maybe if you are a really big target they might use a zero day against you but they are never going to have all electronic devices connected to a botnet. You and many other people can test it right now, just run a basic traffic analyzer through your phone or PC.
That probably doesn't surprise others. What isn't as known is that the government also intrudes into chats with other people on social media.
They don't just monitor, but actively interfere.
Edit: By the way, Nokias and other dumbphones (without physical off-switches -- the PinePhone has them, but good luck getting one) can also get their mic and GPS remotely activated. The partial solution is to get one with a removable battery and remove the battery whenever not in use.
iPhones can be hacked into through IMEI if you connect them, but are useful, encrypted offline-only PDAs if you don't install any app.
Also, if your electronics are being spied on by the government to this degree, chances are you are also being physically monitored.