You can root, but it's security-suicide because the OS' security model isn't designed for that.
> or use one without signing in with an Apple account
Technically yes, although you couldn't download any apps so you really don't want to.
> If not, then I believe the devices are still very much part of a mass-scale corporate surveillance network.
What I always tell people is to look at the economic incentives. Apple makes the vast majority of its money from paying customers, not advertisers, so it has less use for big data. It has also invested huge amounts of money in marketing itself as a champion of privacy, a key diversifier from its competitors. If it tried to do some shady data-gathering, it would have relatively little to gain and everything to lose when that inevitably leaked. Apple usually can't even keep the next iPhone a secret; there's no way they could conceal a massive conspiracy to secretly collect data on customers. And if they did, and it became public knowledge, their sales would go down the tube. It's just bad business. I don't trust any corporation to do what's right out of the goodness of their hearts, but I certainly trust them to do what's best for business.
You can root, but it's security-suicide because the OS' security model isn't designed for that.
> or use one without signing in with an Apple account
Technically yes, although you couldn't download any apps so you really don't want to.
> If not, then I believe the devices are still very much part of a mass-scale corporate surveillance network.
What I always tell people is to look at the economic incentives. Apple makes the vast majority of its money from paying customers, not advertisers, so it has less use for big data. It has also invested huge amounts of money in marketing itself as a champion of privacy, a key diversifier from its competitors. If it tried to do some shady data-gathering, it would have relatively little to gain and everything to lose when that inevitably leaked. Apple usually can't even keep the next iPhone a secret; there's no way they could conceal a massive conspiracy to secretly collect data on customers. And if they did, and it became public knowledge, their sales would go down the tube. It's just bad business. I don't trust any corporation to do what's right out of the goodness of their hearts, but I certainly trust them to do what's best for business.