Android or iPhone for secure crypto storage?

[sidrabtc]

I am using a desktop. Can I secure my bitcoins for a long time without any problem?

Those are 2 questions so I'll split them: yes, you can secure your Bitcoins for a long time by properly creating cold storage. But if you make a mistake, it won't be without problems.
In general, a hardware wallet is much easier.

A desktop, laptop or an old phone can be used as cold storage, for example.

Old phone as cold storage?
Procedure to create a cold-storage mobile Electrum wallet with a mobile phone.

Overall I agree with you that buying a hardware wallet and use it is more simple and secure.
[LIST]Open source hardware wallets.
[GUIDE] How to buy a Hardware Wallet the right way.

Thanks for these links and useful tips because having a good start makes the journey easier, and with these, I am sure I am going to have a good start on this new adventure because I am feeling good in this community and with the use of Bitcoin as well.

@LoyceV thanks for your replies because you are doing enough here on this forum, and this is going to be remembered for a long time for me. You are the encyclopedia of this forum.

Thanks again, guys.

[GEMIN_M4]

Smartphones storages are not secured.
Your phone is almost online all day.

What you crypto or bitcoin doesn't want is keeping them on online devices.
This makes smartphones a bad home for your crypto coins.

You need airgapped device, offline is the best security method for cryptocurrencies.

[The Cryptovator]

For storing crypto locally for needs, I have been using an iPhone. It's quite harder to attack the iPhone operating system than Android's. Otherwise, I have been storing my crypto in a hardware wallet. I don't want to take the risk of losing big funds on a mobile phone that often stays connected with the internet. I keep only some funds for trading or paying instantly for something on the mobile device. It's better to purchase an open-source hardware wallet to store your crypto.

[Rruchi man]

For storing crypto locally for needs, I have been using an iPhone. It's quite harder to attack the iPhone operating system than Android's.

Sometimes the attack may not come from online; it may come from people around you. This is why I have the opinion that it is not just the device that you're using that determines your safety, but your personal habit and approach towards safety because some people are very cautious online, but offline they are the most careless individuals, letting everybody handle the device that holds sensitive applications and information. We have to be both vigilant offline and online because the scammers are also people who have daily lives, and it may be surprising to you that they are people around you. Don't make yourself a target by being careless towards your security.

[DYING_S0UL]

Then you have a much larger pool of devices which means you can run a custom Operating System.  For example, a more Open Source one or one that does not have Google software integrated in its roots.  There are more reasons such as being able to isolate profiles and so on that I would choose Android over iOS for.

PrivacyG, any recommendations?

Well, I know of GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, LineageOS and many more that are designed for privacy, security and certain needs, but I don't quite remember any of them being specifically made for Crypto or storing crypto. Are they? I'll admit, they are far better than the everyday regular AndroidOS that comes factory sealed, filled with bloatware, and unnecessary services from Google, but I'm not sure of their (Custom OS) effectiveness at preventing hacks, phishing, and unfortunate events. Yes, they are harder to attack, but never immune from it (generally speaking). Note that, I'm a custom ROM user myself, I have experience with flashing countless OS on my mobile device. One advantage is that, even if the manufacturer stops giving updates, I can manually update my OS, as well as the latest android security patch. That is a plus point indeed. But at the end of the day, whether it's iOS or Android, I believe nothing can beat a HW. For smaller amount, I don't think it matters, but for bigger HW is the most logical choice.

Btw, my so little crypto and the wallets are installed on my custom OS based mobile. So far, I have never faced any unfortunate events. I only use it for financial things, not for regular use (unnecessary services from google, bloatware apps, even the camera app is removed, lol). Another thing I believe is that, many times it's human errors not machine errors. So, blaming or comparing which is better is sometimes pointless. Only if we were a little more careful ourselves, these hacks could have been prevented.

[Hamza2424]

Dear friends, hello.
I'm new here and just getting used to the forum, so please don't get mad if a similar topic has been discussed here. It's just that now the dollar has dropped in the country where I live and I can buy an iPhone inexpensively, but at the same time I love Samsung. Which of these operating systems is safer for crypto wallets? It seems to me that Android usually has a weak side of protection in such matters. Thanks in advance for the answers.

Bro, I have used Redmi. It is a Xiaomi device, and I have kept my funds safe not because the software of the device was good or bad, but because I stayed careful while opening any website, clicking any link, or opening any random PDF. I did not open most of them. If I am not sure, I won't open them. I never installed any APKs or gave any unnecessary permission to any app.

Always download wallets from verified sources; most of the time, people lose their funds because they download the APKs of the wallet if they cannot find them from the Play Store or App Store. That's not good. Always confirm the signature. iPhones have a more secure OS than Androids on Samsung, but both now are doing well and have improved, so you can use either. You just have to work on yourself more.

[Bitcoin Smith]

IOS or Android doesn't make any difference, it depends on how we use the device, and neither of them is recommended to use as your primary wallet device because anything that connects to the internet is at risk of getting rekt.

I am an android user and I have Electrum on my Android for more than 5 years, nothing really lost but I don't installe apps from privacy marketplaces, play protect will be enabled all the time and I don't simply click next button while installing the apps, I will take some time to review the access that it requires and also their policies about any information will be stored anywhere.

Bro, I have used Redmi. It is a Xiaomi device, and I have kept my funds safe .
.
.
.
 iPhones have a more secure OS than Androids on Samsung, but both now are doing well and have improved, so you can use either. You just have to work on yourself more.

You can never trust Chinese brands, the cheaper ones come with preinstalled spyware.

There is no Samsung that runs on IOS, only Iphone got them.

[Stalker22]

~
There is no Samsung that runs on IOS, only Iphone got them.

He never said that.  He said Androids on Samsung - meaning the Android OS running on Samsung hardware - not that Samsung runs on iOS.

Regarding the “spyware” argument: if you have a large amounts of money on your hot wallet on every-day smartphone (regardless if its a cheap Redmi, top-end Samsung, or an iPhone), your already doing security wrong.  OS security counts for zilch if user has zero operational security awareness.

[retreat]

I'd definitely choose an iPhone. It has better security, as explained above. It's also smoother, and I've never experienced any issues using an iPhone (in my experience). So, if you find an iPhone at a competitive price, I recommend you take it; it could be a worthwhile purchase (I'm not a salesperson, just sharing my experience). However, a hardware wallet is still recommended over storage on a regular device. If you have a large amount of assets, it's better to store them in a hardware wallet. But for starters, this is fine too.

[PrivacyG]

PrivacyG, any recommendations?

Well, I know of GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, LineageOS and many more that are designed for privacy, security and certain needs, but I don't quite remember any of them being specifically made for Crypto or storing crypto. Are they? I'll admit, they are far better than the everyday regular AndroidOS that comes factory sealed, filled with bloatware, and unnecessary services from Google, but I'm not sure of their (Custom OS) effectiveness at preventing hacks, phishing, and unfortunate events. Yes, they are harder to attack, but never immune from it (generally speaking). Note that, I'm a custom ROM user myself, I have experience with flashing countless OS on my mobile device. One advantage is that, even if the manufacturer stops giving updates, I can manually update my OS, as well as the latest android security patch. That is a plus point indeed. But at the end of the day, whether it's iOS or Android, I believe nothing can beat a HW. For smaller amount, I don't think it matters, but for bigger HW is the most logical choice.

Btw, my so little crypto and the wallets are installed on my custom OS based mobile. So far, I have never faced any unfortunate events. I only use it for financial things, not for regular use (unnecessary services from google, bloatware apps, even the camera app is removed, lol). Another thing I believe is that, many times it's human errors not machine errors. So, blaming or comparing which is better is sometimes pointless. Only if we were a little more careful ourselves, these hacks could have been prevented.

It really depends on what your needs are.  How paranoid you are.  Custom ROMs are generally bad for security but there are positives and negatives to consider no matter what you choose.

If you choose stock ROM, you may get good security patches for an year or two but most of the time it ends there.  They are also filled up with bloat ware, Google is obviously all over your phone et cetera.  Stock ROMs are to me pretty much like having Windows on a computer.

Custom ROMs like Graphene, Calyx or Lineage are as close as you can get to 'running Linux instead of Windows on a computer'.  You get a LOT more control over your phone, from the possibility of not having Google at all to so many Privacy options and features.  Now obviously all of these are digital switches, so you rely on trusting that your phone ACTUALLY de activates your camera, your microphone et cetera.  And this is why I say it depends on your needs.  Because if you are paranoid enough to fear that a digital switch does not work, you will probably have to first of all open up the phone and de solder the microphones, remove the cameras and then you do not have much left to fear!

Smart phones versus Hardware Wallets is a very bad comparison in my opinion.  First of all because, other than both of them being devices, they serve completely separate purposes.  Hardware Wallets are obviously significantly better than any Android or iOS device you can get.  Because their main purpose is storing Bitcoin in a safe place.  Using Android for that is like using a screw driver as a hammer!  It works but not as well!

Anyway.  You can have the best, most secure Operating System on your phone or computer.  You are right, the security given by the developers is worth exactly zero if you are going to browse the most dubious websites, download and run or open all types of files, modifying system files, Rooting your phone, installing modded unofficial Software et cetera.  If you want to separate your Bitcoin from the rest of your phone then you can run a Work profile or even a separate user.  Considering you have a custom ROM, I suppose you do have that option as I remember most of these did at least in the past.  Then you could make this user or profile particularly and strictly for Bitcoin things.  They are pretty much sand boxed so your normal activity can be isolated from your Bitcoin activity.  But again.  Your behavior matters most.

For most people, even as paranoid as I am I would argue Graphene OS is close to an over kill.  Unless you really want a Google phone, then I would suggest running Graphene on it since you will already have the compatible model anyway.  Some extra security or Privacy never hurts!  And whether you run stock ROM, Lineage, Calyx, Graphene or the most dubious custom ROM you found on the Internet, it is important in my opinion to always use Bitcoin on it as if you were running the dubious one.  As in.  As little Bitcoin as possible on it while the main portion lays in a much more secure set up such as an Airgapped Computer or a Hardware Wallet at the very least.

My curiosity remains however as I am kind of impatient to see what Google is about to do in the following years.  Because they appear to want to restrict a lot of what you can do with a phone that does not have a 'legitimate Operating System' and with Applications that are not created by 'verified developers'.  Then the new Captcha where you will have to pretty much have Google in order to verify that you are not a robot.  And a lot more.  It almost looks like they are targeting people who want ideas of Freedom around their Smart phone.  And now that 'Artificial Intelligence' is all around us, Privacy is becoming a thing of the past so it will be some very curious next few years.

I pretty much gave up Smart phones a long time ago and I mostly only use Tails as a daily driver.  It is amnesic, which means every start up is like installing it for the first time.  But this gives me the most peace.  My important files are backed up offline and my activity always gets cut and disappeared every time I end my Internet session.  I never had as much peace as I do right now knowing there is pretty much no thing to fear.  For example.  Right now, I am writing from my laptop using Tails and Bitcoin Talk and Electrum are the only things I launched this session.  As it is getting late here where I live, I will now shut down my laptop and tomorrow I will have to initialize my session again, log in to Bitcoin Talk again et cetera.  It is some times inconvenient as it takes a long time from booting up my laptop to initializing the session to opening Tor Browser on the Safest mode to writing down the login CCode and then my login details and FINALLY logging in.  This process is long enough that I often do not get to log in for a day or two but it is what it is.  It is an inconvenience I wanted to live with.  This is my daily life now and I LOVE it!

[tbct_mt2]

Smartphones storages are not secured.
Your phone is almost online all day.

What you crypto or bitcoin doesn't want is keeping them on online devices.

Online wallets are hot wallets that have more exposure to online digital threats which can in turn steal your bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Hot wallets have more risk of exploitation than cold wallets, air gap wallets.

Not only smart phones but also any devices are connected to Internet are not safe devices for storing your bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

For storing crypto locally for needs, I have been using an iPhone. It's quite harder to attack the iPhone operating system than Android's.

I am unsure about security levels of iPhone (iOS) and Android but about their application stores Apple Store and Google Play, it's clearly and knowingly that Google Play has worse management so that many fake and phishing applications were listed on Google Play.

Otherwise, I have been storing my crypto in a hardware wallet. I don't want to take the risk of losing big funds on a mobile phone that often stays connected with the internet. I keep only some funds for trading or paying instantly for something on the mobile device. It's better to purchase an open-source hardware wallet to store your crypto.

Hardware wallets are cold wallets and are best ones to use if it's feasible for people to buy hardware wallets.

They must be aware of close source and open source hardware wallets, and only choose open source hardware wallets to buy and use rightly.
[LIST] Open Source Hardware Wallets
[GUIDE] How to buy a Hardware Wallet the right way

[henmark]

I'm new here and just getting used to the forum, so please don't get mad if a similar topic has been discussed here. It's just that now the dollar has dropped in the country where I live and I can buy an iPhone inexpensively, but at the same time I love Samsung. Which of these operating systems is safer for crypto wallets? It seems to me that Android usually has a weak side of protection in such matters. Thanks in advance for the answers.

I would say that security is never about the operating system of a phone or the brand, but it's about how careful you are with whatever device you are using and whatever you are doing in it. People mostly say that iOS or iPhones are generally safer because the Apple Store has better security than Play Store, which could be true in general terms, but we have seen incidents in the past where people got their iPhone or iOS devices compromised or scammed through apps they downloaded from the App Store because they weren't careful with what they were doing.

I remember that incident where the person lost all his Bitcoins which consisted of all his life-savings only because he downloaded a fake wallet app from the App Store and added his seed phrase. The guy had been using the desktop version of the wallet and never really knew that an iOS version of the app doesn't officially exist, so he downloaded the app from the store without realizing that it is fake because the company never developed an iOS version, and he got his wallet wiped in no time. I saw his interview and he was devastated.

The point is, you can get scammed with any device you are using if you are not smart or careful enough with what you are doing, and you would be okay using any device if you do everything carefully. And of course, as said by others already, keeping large amounts in mobile devices or hot wallets is not a good idea in general, hardware wallets are good for that.

[DYOR+BTC]

I'd definitely choose an iPhone. It has better security, as explained above. It's also smoother, and I've never experienced any issues using ÿan iPhone (in my experience). So, if you find an iPhone at a competitive price, I recommend you take it; it could be a worthwhile purchase (I'm not a salesperson, just sharing my experience). However, a hardware wallet is still recommended over storage on a regular device. If you have a large amount of assets, it's better to store them in a hardware wallet. But for starters, this is fine too.

Considering security consciousness,  of a truth iPhone have a well developed security structures that provide maximum protection to our informations when saved in it but that doesn't mean Androids are not security wise also. Android we are talking about is of different categories,  the higher once have an advance system that works almost in an equivalent manner with iPhones if not same as iPhones and can never be written off completely when talking about security consciousness. 
I think its just a matter of choice and nothing more, I may prefer Android while you choose iPhones,  that doesn't mean any one among both is weak in terms of security.

[qurbanshah02]

I'd definitely choose an iPhone. It has better security, as explained above. It's also smoother, and I've never experienced any issues using an iPhone (in my experience). So, if you find an iPhone at a competitive price, I recommend you take it; it could be a worthwhile purchase (I'm not a salesperson, just sharing my experience). However, a hardware wallet is still recommended over storage on a regular device. If you have a large amount of assets, it's better to store them in a hardware wallet. But for starters, this is fine too.

The most widely used mobiles are Samsung, iPhone, which do a good job with camera and storage. In iPhone, we have up to 1 terabytes of space and from there we can manage our crypto wallets. But I also want to talk about the wallets of all Android mobiles, in which we can also get additional storage and for this we will have enough space and the location and password of each wallet will be different, which will not put us at risk of losing security. But still it is better for iPhone, but Android has also come with quite large storage devices in the market at the moment, which many people use and have created numerous crypto wallets in it. I would like to suggest Android to those who have money because many problems arise in iPhone and while nothing like this happens in Android.Link And we will find the BlueWallet on both iPhone and Android, in which we will be able to create separate wallets.

[lovesmayfamilis]

If you use the original Electrum and always have the latest version, you won't experience any issues with the wallet UI. The issue depends on your habits and the security of your device.

All my wallets and transactions have been made using Electrum desktop, and I've had it for almost a decade, and I've never experienced any issues. I'm not the typical user who makes frequent transactions, so I don't prioritize convenience.

Yes, I agree with you, but sometimes users may have problems due to viruses. What kind of system are you using? Windows? If you remember, there were hacks in the wallet's history when the program required or offered to upgrade, and after the upgrade, all funds from the users' wallet were stolen.

I would recommend Linux systems, and maybe one of the most secure ones(Linux has a lot to choose from), as well as mandatory verification of the signature of the downloaded wallet, even from the official website.

The first reason I would choose Android over iOS is that I can download APK files and verify them unlike iOS where I have to rely on Trusting the Apple verification process and resort to downloading from the App Store instead.  This used to be a pretty 'fool proof' way years ago but now there have been many cases already of fake iOS Applications people fell for.

I also trust Androids, but in my country there are many victims who have received phishing links to the download of ARK files that are installed automatically on Androids; some even seem to lift the ban on installation from unofficial sources🤔.

Care is needed everywhere. The preservation of your seedphrase, in any case, should be at the highest level of the owner's attention. Here you need to include an understanding of your own responsibility at all times.

[MusaMohamed]

With files, accounts, wallets you will need to use different passwords that also need to be strong ones. To create strong passwords, people will have to use password manager softwares and can not rely on their manual password creation. Manually creating passwords will result in similar password patterns that make their passwords are not strong.

[GUIDE] How to Create a Strong/Secure Password.
Are your passwords in the green?
Password managers.

[Patikno]

Thanks for the answers, friends, I think I'll buy a Samsung s24, because I think the iPhone is too restrictive for the owner of this smartphone. And you are very right to note that we need to be vigilant. Thank you for taking the time to discuss my topic.

Actually, you are free to choose the type of cellphone you like, and what type of operating system is on the device. However, you must ensure security from your side as a user, because hacking cases usually occur because the cellphone user is the one who gives space to hackers (whether intentionally or unintentionally). Therefore, you should not be careless, and some things you need to remember are: do not carelessly install applications (especially from unknown sources), do not carelessly custom ROM, try to always update the OS, and security patches, and try to always use your own network (avoid public Wi-Fi, or other people's Wi-Fi).

[Davidloki]

Which of these operating systems is safer for crypto wallets?

Whoever gave you the advice of choosing an operating system safer for crypto wallet has deceived you. Neither Samsung nor iPhone will stop someone from defrauding of your crypto if you don't take personal security serious.

Both device are good. The least android device is also good.