What if I told you that carriers can also activate your phone's microphone without your knowledge and listen in on your surroundings?
One of the reasons I use iPhones is that Apple controls an integrated hardware/software experience, which makes it less likely that private information is being leaked despite the presence of privacy controls.
My provider knows who I call, who I text, which websites I browse, my bank account number, my home address, my rough location, which countries I visited for holiday and through DTMF they can even sense which buttons I press on my handset.
At this point I would be mildly surprised.
I would not believe you until you provided actual evidence.
Why, do you think it's the sort of thing you're likely to say?
What if I told you there are phones out there with hardware kill switches to physically cut power to microphones, cameras, and GPS?