You own your cellphone. So you should be able to do with it what you want, right? Wrong, unfortunately. Apple, Googleⁱ, your wireless carrier, and others all control what you can do with your phone. They prevent you from downloading apps; they may remotely delete apps from your phone; they may even prevent you from downloading operating system updates necessary to use your phone.

Just how do they exercise this control, and how does it affect you? Read on to find out.