In the last week:
I started using Syncthing. I was using cloud storage as a way of copying files from one device to another. Syncthing is so much better.
I signed up with Mullvad VPN yesterday.
Deleted my Surfshark account today which I signed up with over two years ago when I didn’t care about privacy.
Finally convinced my sister to start using Signal.
I deleted Whatsapp but created a photoshopped screenshot of Whatsapp banning my account so that everybody around me thinks it is involuntary, going to try to get them to switch to Signal soon. Wish me luck
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Update: it worked
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I will find out in a few days if it will work. I am unfortunately in the US so most people just use SMS/iMessage but within my social circle most used Whatsapp. Hopefully they install Signal instead of just texting via SMS
Lmao I think you might be needing new friends.
Trying to get people to use signal is like pulling teeth
@PrivateOnions @BigTechBlows Holy fuck, this is the most funny and genius tactic i’ve seen. questionable? sure, but hey, still funny. I’d probably do the same, just to bypass “the persuasion phase”.
has the same ingenuity as “have a screenshot of messages as your lockscreen wallpaper, that way you can sneak out of any social situation imaginable.”
Nobody has questioned it yet. Here is the screenshot if you were curious:
I photoshopped the top menu and the bottom and also made the picture the same as my phones resolution so there is no room for doubt 😎.
I need this made for iOS 💀
It was a successful attempt I got them to switch
Tended to my garden. Hard to get info if you don’t post info.
Jokes on you. Now I know you have a garden.
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Was that a privacy concern?
I mean fuck Reddit, but with tracking blocked was it ever more of a concern than other websites?
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Finally switched from from Windows to Linux (specifically EndeavourOS, an Arch-based distro with a GUI installer).
I also bought a new phone, on which I intend to install GrapheneOS and distance myself from Google’s ecosystem.
I signed up for Proton Mail.
LibRedirect browser addon to switch to privacy-respecting frontends for popular websites.
I just did too but I went with manjaro. After getting it all set up I’m thinking of jumping to endeavor but I’m not sure I want to go through the entire setup again.
Manjaro will break on you a lot more often than EndeavorOS will because of their release schedule. Should be ok if you stay away from the AUR but that kinda defeats the biggest selling point of using an Arch-based distro in the first place. Manjaro is the one and only distro that I actively ward people away from.
I started using the browser extension Chameleon. It automatically changes your user agent to make it look like you’re using another browser or OS. As usual, this should be used in conjunction with other addons such as uBlock Origin.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/chameleon-ext/
This actually drastically decreases privacy and makes you more trackable. The best thing to do with your user agent is to set it to the most common one and leave it at that. Anything else (especially an ever-changing one) is a much more uniquely identifying piece of information.
Try Vivaldi browser, it’s old school Opera with a Chrome dress on. So you get the benefits of Chrome with the focus on privacy and innovation of old school Opera.
(Replied to the wrong comment but you get the gist.)
Ok, thanks for informing.
I’ve been using signal for a long time and managed to pull my family and close friends with me (I don’t know how but fuck yeah).
I use pihole on my home network and mobile with wireguard. I blocked all meta / twitter / google / amazon domains.
I host my own instance of searxng.
I deleted all my content on Reddit and kept my account to delete restored comments / posts. I ask them to stop restoring my content under GDPR “right to be forgotten” and am waiting the 30 days delay to report them to the authorities with the proofs I gather.
I blocked
threads.comthreads.net on my mastodon account.I live a fucking hell but it feels great messing up with big tech. Fuck them.
The domain for Threads is threads.net, not threads.com
Yes, my mistake.
About a year ago I had a bunch of different accounts hacked so I got hardcore about privacy. I started using 1password and went through and deleted 300+ different passwords from Google and started using 2fa everywhere. I’ve used windscribe vpn for years because of the mobile as blocking filters but I just recently saw that mullvad does the same thing now too so I spent some xmr on a mullvad subscription and dropped windscribe
EDIT: Also forgot to mention, I switched almost everything from Gmail/Drive over to Skiff mail/drive
- I deleted all my Meta accounts and started using Signal.
- I’m moving all accounts linked to Gmail and Outlook to Proton Mail and Tutanota.
- I’m using many privacy-oriented extensions on Firefox.
- I’m trying to change all software to Open Source if that’s possible.
- I have a Nextcloud and i’m using it to sync my Calendar, Task and Photos.
- I started using Bitwarden for my passwords (and deleted them from all Microsoft, Apple and Google cloud services).
- I’m setting up my home server to host Nextcloud and Bitwarden.
Deleted my windows partition I’ve been dual booting for a year and finally deleted my google account.
Stopped using google search. Started using duckduckgo, brave, startpage, or SearXNG instead. Been using SearXNG the most.
I started using freetube on the desktop. It’s like newpipe with how you have local subscriptions and feed without an account. I like it a lot.
oof, probably the best I’ve seen and still suffers from youtube just being total trash in general without a dozen or so extensions. there’s some channels I follow I had no idea had clickbait thumbnails and there absolutely will be sponsored content.
We need something like this for peertube
Swapped from Gmail to Proton.me
Avoiding Threads like the plague it is.
Trying to find an alternative to Google News that isn’t a RSS reader (tried Feeder and Feedly for a few days, hated both, may be stuck bouncing between sites)
Considering Notesnook or Standard Notes as an alternative to Google Keep.
Edit: Swapped to Notesnook. 😁
Edit Again: Debating if swapping from Google Authenticator is worth the hassle.
Change google authentichator with aegis, it’s worth it
Aegis and Vaultwarden are both awesome Google Auth alternatives and both super easy to backup.
And you can actually possess your TOTP secrets this way.
Very worth the effort.
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Well, that’s horrifying.
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Try giving RSS reader a fair chance. Most website do have a functioning RSS or atom feed, its often not advertised. Switch the view to page source and search for RSS or atom or feed. It might be tedious to setup but the end result is worth it.
Not all websites send full articles over RSS, but you can always open those in a browser.
Is there a RSS reader you prefer? I’m looking at the guide and I’m not seeing one that’s available for web AND Android. It’s either one or the other. Perhaps I should just use Feeder (Android only) and not bother with web?
I’m currently using RSSGuard. I also have used and liked using NewsFlash and Akregator. I recommend trying all three if you can. Fiddle with the settings to get the desired look and experience, they are flexible apps.
Only RSS option that is on web and android/iphone is either through nextcloud news. Or try host your own tiny RSS or fresh RSS instance or find a public one you can use? Most RSS reader will let you login with them.
I prefer to read news and blogs on my computer so I have not tested mobile apps in any way.
Alright, thank you for sharing, I’ll take a look at the ones your suggested.
Personally I use freshRSS and pair it with Readably on Android.
I am using https://github.com/39aldo39/Flym-DecSync. It is not updated recently. But it is the best I got from Fdroid after trying almost all.
Replaced a lot of apps on my phone with FOSS alternatives.
Can you list a few examples?
I’ll do you a few better. Others have done it before. Here are some examples of excellent posts on the subject. Search Lemmy a bit and you’ll find many more.
A website that lists quite a number of Android FOSS apps:
And here is an entire community dedicated to that topic:
I have moved my personal knowledge base and task lists to logseq and using syncthing to sync with my other devices . Finally migrated my google drive data completely over to Nextcloud and then encrypted all of the data on google drive using cryptomater(just another more reliable backup over my local host until I can get enough money to configure redundant backups). Moved to Lemmy from Reddit. And started my plan to move back to GrapheneOS from my iPhone. Just need to get some money to migrate to a pixel.
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Why do you expect Apple to increase your privacy over Google? It’s just moving from one megacorporation to another. You have no reason to expect better privacy.
At least apple uses the data to sell you their stuff to my knowledge. On the other hand, google bombards you with ads from tons of different firms and sells you out to these companies.
How can you even know how Apple uses your data?
They don’t have an adsense banner on almost every single website or mobile app that tries to sell me something based on the data they have collected from me. This is already an indicator. They even made zuckerberg mad by making it possible to opt out of sharing certain data with them. I am not saying apple is privacy example, but I would definitely put them higher on a list compared to google.
@ritchie @lauha https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/14/apple-faces-new-lawsuit-over-its-data-collection-practices-in-first-party-apps-like-the-app-store/ as long as there are share holders, data is collected to present to the share holders. I think all big tech companies collect and use data, for their benefit.
True. And there seems to be nothing in between big corporations that want to squeeze out every last cent profit and un-/underpaid open source developers trying to figure out how to maintain something requiring more and more resources over time as the user base gets bigger. I am fortunate to have a Samsung S9 passed down to me, on which I can run e/ os, but comes with compromises (e.g. can’t rent e-scooters from a company), plus they did something with the last update that messed up the colours of the screen. When it’s time to replace it, I am seriously considering a used iPhone.
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