Those posts are people running wild with a hint of a conspiracy going on and many people immediately jumped on the bandwagon. You’re completely right and not every site will be 100% safe, but it’s not like there is some conspiracy with the mods getting paid off for malicious content. That’s just absurd to consider with the “evidence” provided.
I remember having an S6 and it come with so many apps preinstalled that you can’t uninstall. There’s the default Google/android apps which is fine because those are the basics. Then Samsung puts a bunch of their own apps on there that basically duplicates a bunch of these and can’t be uninstalled, and then there’s other bloat apps like Facebook, maybe candy crush or some shit, maybe Netflix, that all can’t be uninstalled. The worst offender is Facebook because it was on almost any other phone not running stock android but supposedly had deeper privileges as a “system” app
Swiping from anywhere on the edge of the screen is faster because your thumb is already there. Having to move all the way down to the bottom of of the screen with your thumb takes longer. Also take into account the chance of missing the button and having to try again, vs a gesture that needs to be much less precise
I think of it like having sex with or without a condom. If you don’t use a condom, there’s a chance to get an STD (or get “caught”). It’s not a guarantee to get caught, your IP address needs to end up in the pool of addresses they collect to send out DMCA notices so it won’t happen every time. But having a “condom” (VPN) reduces your chances by nearly 100%, assuming it’s properly setup which usually is a very simple process