> But the whole point is what about 3rd parties I don't hire? What exactly is the threat model you're trying to protect against here? Real life isn't a Hollywo

> But the whole point is what about 3rd parties I don't hire? What exactly is the threat model you're trying to protect against here? Real life isn't a Hollywood spy movie. If you didn't hire them, then how do they have your device and why haven't you noticed that it's missing? Granted that a robust hardware based anti-theft solution would be nice to have. That's largely unrelated to the current topic though, provided that it's implemented in a reasonable manner. > or they later decide they "want" to give permission (which isn't distinguishable from a social engineering attack) This is the classic argument that users are too stupid to be provided freedom. Outside of technology, this is typically recognized as authoritarian. > > Just don't take your electronics to unreputable service centers. > This is a very shallow snobbish tech elite answer No, it's literally a practical answer. Just take your device to Best Buy or the local equivalent. Reputation is literally how the entire market manages to function on a day to day basis. Tech isn't even slightly unique in this regard. My point here is that a local brick and mortar repair shop has invested a significant amount of capital to set up their operation, so they presumably care about their reputation. Furthermore, committing crimes under such an arrangement would be ill advised due to how easily they could be tied back to the responsible party. In contrast, the malicious web site or software example you bring up isn't even remotely comparable. In your example the bad actor exists outside of the local legal jurisdiction, the "storefront" is cheap and easy to set up (ie there's a low barrier to entry), and the responsible party can't be easily tracked down. Low risk, high reward, and a low barrier to entry. Coupled with inexperienced users this is a recipe for disaster, and indeed malware still shows up on even well curated app stores from time to time.