Hello, Lemmy!
It may be difficult to spend time actively improving some of the services you use to have a more privacy conscious presence, and so this thread is dedicated to help people learn and grow in their privacy journeys! Start by stating which services you currently use, and which ones you may be looking for/want to improve. This thread is entirely optional to participate in, because a lot of people understandably feel uncomfortable listing which services they use. Writing those out can be a lot of work, but the payoff is huge!
Remember these rules:
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Be respectful! Some people are early on in their privacy journey, or have a lax threat model. Just because it doesn’t align with yours, or uses some anti-privacy software, doesn’t mean you can downvote them! Help them improve by giving suggestions on alternatives.
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Don’t promote proprietary software! Proprietary software, no matter how good it may seem, is against the community rules, and generally frowned upon. If you aren’t sure, you can always ask! This is a place to learn. Don’t downvote people just because they don’t know!
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Don’t focus solely on me! Since this happened in another one of my posts, I want to mention that this thread is not designed to pick apart only my setup. The point is to contribute your own and help others. That doesn’t mean you can’t still give suggestions for mine, but don’t prioritize mine over another.
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Be polite! This falls under “Be respectful”, but be kind to everyone! Say please, thank you, and sorry. Lemmy is really good about this, but there will always be someone.
Here is my setup:
Web browsing
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I use Tor for using online accounts (such as Lemmy, etc.)
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I use Mullvad Browser for general browsing
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I use Librewolf for functionality that Mullvad Browser doesn’t have (security keys, etc.)
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I use Firefox + uBlock Origin for streaming videos that break on Librewolf and Mullvad Browser.
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I always use a SearXNG instance for web searches. I always use ProtonVPN (free tier). I use a private DNS resolver.
Desktop
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I use Secureblue (yes, I’m that guy from a post a couple weeks ago)
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I sit behind a firewall.
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I only use FOSS Flatpaks with Flatseal.
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My BIOS is password locked but proprietary (due to compatibility issues).
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I occasionally use Tails because I think it’s fun.
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I use full disk encryption, multiple disks, and a second layer of encryption for specific important files (NSA style)
Mobile
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I currently use hardened iOS until I can scrape together some money for a Pixel to use GrapheneOS
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Again, I constantly use ProtonVPN (free tier)
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I use a private DNS when ProtonVPN is turned off
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I use AdGuard, but I browse the internet with the DuckDuckGo app (I can’t sideload)
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I use a very strong passcode
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Airplane mode is constantly enabled, I don’t have a SIM
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I use a Faraday bag to store my device when I’m in public
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I use a privacy screen protector
Messenger
- I mainly use Signal with a borrowed phone number, because SimpleX is still buggy on iOS, and Signal is the easiest to switch friends to. I rarely use iMessage, but there are times when I have to.
Online accounts
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Passwords are stored in Bitwarden for mobile accounts, and KeePassXC for desktop accounts.
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Yubikey is placed on any account I can, otherwise 2FAS is used
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I keep public accounts (Lemmy, etc.) as locked down as I can.
Video streaming
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I use the native YouTube app on iOS, simply because any of the others I’ve tried either don’t actually work or require a Mac to install. I don’t have a Mac, obviously.
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I use FreeTube on desktop, but as I was writing this I was informed that FreeTube has a few issues I may want to look into (Electron).
AI
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I would love to know if there are any Flatpaks that run local LLMs well, but I currently use GPT4All (since that’s what I used a year ago).
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On mobile, I use an app made by a friend that gives access to GPT-4 and Gemini. Because it’s running off of his own money, I’m not going to share the project until he has a stable source of income.
Social Media
- I don’t use any social media besides Lemmy.
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I use ProtonMail
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I have addy.io as an alias service
Shopping/Finance
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I currently either proxy my online purchases through someone else (have them buy it for me and I pay them back), or use a gift card
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For physical purchases I use cash
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I only use my bank account for subscriptions (Spotify, etc.)
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I am working on using Monero and privacy.com
Music streaming
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I use Spotify on my phone
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I use Spotube or locally downloaded files on my computer
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I have multiple AM/FM receivers with some yard long antennas and direct metal connectors
TV shows
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I stream from ethical services for some movies
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I go to a theater or buy a DVD for other movies. I am the proud owner of a USB DVD player.
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I also have an antenna hooked up to my TV
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There are certain IPTV services I have used in the past
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I do not use a smart TV.
Gaming
- I download local games, plain and simple. Or I code my own game.
Programming
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I code in Python using PyCharm. I’m looking for alternatives.
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I will use GitLab when I decide to publish some of my work.
Productivity
- LibreOffice, although the UI is iffy
Misc
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I don’t use any location services
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All my clocks are set to UTC
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I don’t have a smart watch
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I don’t have a smart car
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I use Bluetooth earbuds
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I cover my webcams with paper and tape. Reason: It’s worth taking a couple seconds to peel tape off when you use the webcam than to risk a massive breach.
Thanks for reading!
Note here: I found out the other day that a Google Streetview car passed by my house, and my blinds being shut were the only thing keeping my room away from prying eyes. Is there an easy way to blur/censor my house without giving up my soul?
Special thanks
Lots of people kindly contributed their personal setups in the comments, and some even made their own posts! I’m really glad I could spark inspiration and start a way for people to learn and grow in their privacy journeys. To think, just this morning, I was stressing on if people would even enjoy the post at all! Thank you all again, and please go forward to inspire others. I am not the person who made this happen, all of you are!
A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
Some Rules
- Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn’t great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
- Don’t promote proprietary software
- Try to keep things on topic
- If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
- Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
- Be nice :)
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Thank you, I’ll check it out!
The same effects were seen with the introduction of the first commercially available computers.
There is nothing wrong with what I said.
All of this is irrelevant to the GrapheneOS project itself. What the creators did had no effect on the focus and implementation of GrapheneOS.
That does not excuse your actions. There are kind, constructive ways of helping people in the right direction, what you did was neither of those.
I never claimed it did. In fact, I implied the opposite.
Have you considered publishing a proper article on a place other than social media?
Another way of trying to win a debate would be to blatantly ignore and refuse to acknowledge points brought up by the opposing side. Here are the ones you missed:
If my post has been perceived as a guide, I apologize. It was not my intention. I’m not exactly sure if you were referring to a privacy guide, or a guide on how to format answers (which many people have followed). I don’t see any parts that encourage people to use the same services that I use (as a privacy guide would), but I could be wrong. Would you mind elaborating with specific examples?
I agree that, in some sense, it is an oxymoron: considering that iOS cannot be fully hardened due to multiple factors. The reasons I chose to use that terminology are explained below.
I tried my best to refrain from using terms that beginner privacy enthusiasts would not understand, which led to certain creative solutions to be used, such as “hardened” as an adjective to describe a more locked-down service. If you have any suggestions on alternatives, I am happy to hear them!
I do not have the finances to switch to a device capable of running Android yet. I am doing the best with what I can. Thank you for understanding my situation!
Mocking any content created with detail and care is not a kind thing to do, and goes against c/privacy’s 6th rule “Be nice :)”, which I am sure you are well aware of, considering you are a moderator in that community.
It is interesting for you to compare hardened Android (which you have stated is preferable) to iOS (which you have stated is not private). Would you mind elaborating on why GrapheneOS is not regarded as highly in comparison to other hardened Android ROMs, in your own opinion? Also, disregarding how privacy invasive Apple devices are, do you believe that Apple’s Lockdown Mode (at least) delivers on security features?
It seems you ignored over half of my message.
I look forward to hearing the responses you missed!
I do not engage in something that needs no further elaboration, or something that is mutually agreed upon. So I only address whatever needs to be discussed.
It does.
Read the paper by Ken Thompson, co-creator of Unix and C, on why we should be able to trust the developer and NOT the code. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_ReflectionsonTrustingTrust.pdf
GrapheneOS developer has lied about various things, accused people of things as serious as being complicit in attempted murder and intentionally avoids any forms of scrutiny by false labelling critics, crybullying and harassing them. After Louis Rossmann made his Matrix DMs with Micay public, he went underground and hid behind his Discourse forum, and mods banned and censored anyone asking for swatting evidence left and right. I see zero reason to put trust in a malicious person like this for something as serious as digital security and privacy for a personal computer or phone.
Someone made this thread last year. https://old.reddit.com/r/u_lo________________ol/comments/1314x2x/why_did_i_do_this/
Micay has a personal grudge against Firefox due to this incident, where he got blasted by Tor Project devs. Chromium propaganda was invented and disseminated after August 2019, due to this. https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-dev/2019-August/013995.html
Few years ago, without any community consensus, he added a shutter sound for camera which could not be muted, putting the target audience of this tool/product at risk of jail or even death – privacy users, journalists and activists. https://old.reddit.com/r/privacytoolsIO/comments/pjl4bh/what_is_your_opinion_of_grapheneos_conforming_to/
There is a lot that you do not know, and probably want to live in ignorance. Why? Maybe you want to not put in more effort. Whatever your reason may be, it is a massive risk to even consider using something with so much weird history and active controversy behind it. CalyxOS, ProtonAOSP or even LineageOS are free of controversies and are better picks, and you have more usability freedom with them.
You can do 99.9% of the “hardening” yourself. This is what you do on Linux, and with web browsers, firewalls and other things. This is precisely what I demonstrate with my non root smartphone guide that works on any Android phone in the last 5+ years, rooted or not, instead of needing specific unlocked Pixel models with Google’s proprietary security hardware. There is not even a need to get into this flashing custom ROM complicated stuff to achieve top grade privacy and security.
How weird would it be if you were told to go fly to other countries and get a Pixel, otherwise you will not get privacy and security? Weird and delusional people. https://i.imgur.com/Yv9nvxy.jpg
As for Apple’s Lockdown feature, same exists on Android, and I have a very interesting way of securing device that makes Apple look like a joke. You can see “HOW TO SAFEGUARD YOUR DATA FROM…” section in non root phone guide. You may find this worthwhile.