Yes, there is. You explicitly have to turn it on the first time you turn on the phone, which makes the author's complaint even more ridiculous. There are maybe three checkboxes total of privacy settings when you set up your phone, so this is hard to miss.
It's opt-in, is it not? Phones are very personal devices, and if you don't want yours to be that way, then don't use the feature.
Honestly, the biggest reason I want it is for things that apps aren't allowed to access anyway: a global control on the Springboard to disable WiFi, or change screen brightness, for instance.
As long as they tell you about it when you buy the phone, and there's an easy way to opt out, I don't see the problem. And after some time, people will just know that it is turned on by default on new phones.
Instead, I recommend getting a smartphone known not to have dedicated spying hardware, replacing the OS with Lineage OS, installing F-Droid and microG (and perhaps Yalp, but only install apps from it if you really really need them) and then keeping it usually switched off (unless you need it on).
I'm not sure how well this works on newer versions of Android (probably not at all), but you used to be able to use a Tasker application context and the Secure Settings System+ module to automatically switch the IME depending on what application was active.
The point of the app is it does this for you automatically when it detects screen sharing, negating the chance that you forget to turn it off yourself.
Great - another option. I prefer my phone deciding when to do this automatically (and maybe an option to disable it so I can run it into the ground if absolutely necessary).
Well on Android it's just a swipe down on the system bar (or whatever it's called) and a tap--from anywhere. So yes of course people are constantly turning it on and off, mainly because it saves loads of battery, but also the obvious privacy reasons.
FWIW, this can be capability can be disabled when you power down the device. Not sure if you can make it a persistent preference or if you have to do it every time, though.
I never forget to turn off my phone, probably because I'm so used to pushing the off button when I lay it down because I disabled auto lock on my first iOS device (1st gen iPod Touch). Maybe it's better now (by registering attention via face id), but back then I often found myself keeping something open as a reference and then having the screen turn off when I needed it.
edit: I just checked and indeed the settings screen says it watches for attention, so I'm willing to give it a try and enable auto unlock now...
Just as an FYI for anyone reading this thread: Android has a similar feature called "lockdown", that can be triggered by holding down the power button for a second and then selecting the option.
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