It’s not the first time I’m thinking of switching over to my work iPhone as my main “normal” phone, and probably won’t be the last.

In a nutshell: I have an iPhone from work. I keep certain personal apps on it, like my financial apps and medical apps (to make doctor appointments). The logic behind it is that if my workplace knows my salary and my benefits, I’m not risking much more by sharing my bank information and doctor appointments with them also. I also happen to work for a medical center, so I often see doctors that work there.

Since I have this phone on me at all times, especially now in post-COVID post-office era, it makes sense to switch most personal apps to it as well. Stuff like Instagram, Google Photos, and Amazon. It also helps that I have an iPhone mini, which is a normal phone size for everyday use that I don’t risk dropping whenever I text back someone (not to mention it has a warranty covered by my job).

My Android, at the same time, can become my private device. I want to wipe it and use something like Graphine on it, and not have Google-anything on it if I can help it. It will have Signal, which I use to communicate with people who are close to me the most, Orgzly for my org-mode journal files, my wiki (which is in HTML format), pictures and videos that are synced directly to my Synology, etc.

Still, the issue I keep running into is communication with other people. If I don’t take the Android with me on the go, I can’t use Signal. I can’t make phone calls with my private number. I could open up a laptop, and as long as the phone is connected back at home, I should be able to text and make video calls on the Signal app, but that’s annoying. I’m not sure how to get around that. I could try to “educate” other people to keep conversations brief on WhatsApp, but I know this will never work. No one cares about privacy at the cost of convenience.