Thank you for chiming in on how important this really is dayglored. I hope folks realize their own “morality” is being manipulated and used against them before we lose the ability to remain semi-secure.
I absolutely believe encrypted communications will be our last opportunity to communicate without persecution. And it will not just be privacy from the powers that be, but from hackers who would steal data and use it against us.
“What do you got to hide, only criminals use encryption” might seem righteous to do gooders until using the letters “MAGA” or “Jesus Christ” are deemed criminal... And it’s coming.
Well, most conservatives fell for that argument during the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, so there is no reason for government to believe that it won't work in the current War on Misinformation.
And you are correct.
If you haven't done so yet, look into GnuPG (a.k.a. GPG, the FOSS version of PGP). I have used GPG for encrypting personal communications and data like passwords, for over two decades. The only drawback, but it's significant, is that it is nowhere near as convenient as invisible built-in encryption. You have to think about it and deal with it explicitly.
Granted, relying on Apple or another reputable vendor to encrypt your data is generally safe, and it's certainly painless. But I truly believe that the time will come when the government weakens or outlaws good commercial encryption, and the only fully-private encryption available to citizens will be roll-your-own GPG or equivalent, because it's the only way to guarantee that only you have the keys to decrypt.
A GPG 4096-bit key is uncrackable at present and will likely remain so for many years, and when AI or quantum computing gets good enough to crack that, you can always up the ante and lengthen the key.