The CNN article talks a bit more about privacy issues. This bit caught my eye:
It’s only available on iOS because Aaron says the app would have to collect information that could ultimately put users at risk to provide the same experience on Android.
I would like to see some details about this. Perhaps there's a way to work around that problem, even if it meant publishing on F-Droid instead of Google Play.
Because the government can't take it down, and the government will want to take it down, and the government would even try to issue arrest warrants for people who made it outside the US to try and punish them. This dude who wrote this is in danger now.
Web browsers are capable of self checking a smart contract for new transactions, it is totally possible.
Who reported it would be anonymous if they used something like Tornado Cash, or if a service was able to be built ontop of a privacy coin like Monero.
Edit: Sorry I'm wrong about the web browser, you'd have to run your own node outside the browser or trust someone else's node, and then the browser would hit the node. On phones you'd need to use a mobile app which can be a light client, or connect to your desktop's node.