I have a problem with the intrusiveness of both Facebook and Google. I have no doubt that Mr. Snowden’s observations about iPhones are completely true. I also have no doubt that every Google Android phone is also no challenge for the NSA or any other law enforcement agency to use to monitor anyone.
Currently, cell phones have become an amazing value. Devices with amazing capabilities can be purchased for a fraction of what their original owners paid and then activate them with an MVNO (a reseller of data and cell time from the major carriers) with no contract for a fraction of what these services used to cost.
I am the first to admit that the services are not essential for my wife or I, but they have changed the way we do things. We almost always listen to Pandora in the car instead of the radio... no more commercials or irritating DJs and music that we like. My wife texts and sends and receives pictures from her sister all of the time. I am able to talk to my phone to tell it where I want the GPS to guide us and get updates of the traffic problems ahead. We can use our them to connect our laptops or tablets to the internet any time we are in range of a cell tower. When we are shopping we can take a picture of the UPC code to compare the price to what other retailers are asking. At Harbor Freight and a lot of other retailers you can show them their online coupons instead of stuffing them in your pockets.
There are a dozens of other ways that we use the phones. Between the two of us we actually have three and our monthly bill is right around $50 for all of them combined. I will not argue that they are necessary or that they are not time wasters, but for us they are worth the $50 a month. I kind of doubt that anyone is bothering to keep a close eye on us.
No, we KNOW that Google spied on us. . . for their own purposes at least. They tell us they are. So does Facebook. There is nothing private on Facebook. Would you plan on putting ANYTHING you wanted to keep secret to Facebook? I wouldn't.