The title says it all. Part of what i do now is to convince people to care about their privacy. I know I cannot force people to do anything. And I have a charisma level of -1, if this was an rpg. Like its nonnexistent.
I feel lonely in general because it feels like people make me feel like I’m delusional for caring about protecting my privacy. Maybe there is a support group for that🤣🤣🤣
But anything I can specifically say that works best in planting a seed in people’s mind?
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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I have friends who care about privacy but they need phones that can do Uber and washing machine apps. So I’m the only one i know with a private FOSS phone.
Washing machine apps? Thats wild.😭😭
Oh all they need to do is shelter the app and download from aurora🙌 hopefully. Thats too wishful thinking because sometimes the micro g doesnt work and app from aurora looks like trash.🤣🤣🤣
Yeah the washing machine app is for the public laundromat. I tried it on GrapheneOS with everything enabled but it was lacking something that is only on stock Google Android. I haven’t tried it on a MicroG phone yet.
Oh yeah definitely try micro g!
Wilddd that they need an app for that…
You could start invading their privacy if convincing them with words doesn’t work.
Why bother shutting the bathroom door? You’re not doing anything wrong.
Post family drama on Facebook, whats the problem with that? Everyone has drama?
Really there is a deeper conversation about power and manipulation through marketing/propaganda. But thats an ever harder topic.
The only time an average person will care about privacy is when it’s taken away from them. Generally speaking, people just don’t care so don’t worry about it too much.
Oof truu😭
are these like RL convos, how do you enter a convo about changing their minds about privacy
Hmm it depends on the day. I do be getting fired up. I usually send them the chart for alteenstives and show them how cool foss is❤️
But i dont have enough charisma. Gotta roll for that🤣🤣🤣
They need to have a reason to care. Are they or people close to them in danger if they don’t put effort into increasing their privacy? What steps do they need to take to switch to alternatives, and does what they gain from taking those steps outweigh what they lose? Is your advice oriented around the context of their own lives, or are you telling them to do things because a bunch of people on the internet told you to?
These questions themselves are also very contextual, especially with different political orientations. For instance, if someone distrusts the government, then their definition of “danger” may include the government reading their conversations, which in this case it is a lot easier to convince people to switch to FOSS or more secure platforms like Signal (and I’ve convinced nearly everyone I know to use it, both conservative and progressive/leftist, because they distrust the government and large tech corporations). Whereas if someone thinks the government is alright, then they won’t give a shit. So I’d say that considering and discussing their political beliefs and making sure they align with valid reasons to make changes is an important step before telling them how they should do things.
Oh truu, all good questions.
Hmmm maybe not, but i guess for me its part of doing my part to stop big tech from using our info.
Finding a reason for an average person is hard. Im a minority, so thats a problem. and a lot people i know hate the government
I think it this day and age, moving to foss options is easier than ever. And im not a tech genius🤣🤣
Thank so much for raising these points❤️
The big question here is how does big tech use our info that makes it important to keep them from having it? Here, political orientation has a large impact on importance, for example:
Ads: Nobody loves ads, but some people tolerate them more than others. Liberals might see them as a necessary evil to provide services at a good cost. Libertarians might say they have the right to use their own hardware as they please and block them out of convenience. Progressives might say that they promote consumerism, and leftists might go further and say that they are one of the ways capitalists keep their control over society. So since data is used for targeted ads, that’s one area that can be argued based on political orientation.
Product improvement: Overall depends on their view of the company’s impact on society. Conservatives and leftists both see big tech as it exists currently as morally corrupt, others may see them as providing a useful service. If they think that big tech has a positive influence on society, then they are probably okay with their non-security critical data being used to improve the product, otherwise they might be more likely to want to avoid that happening.
Finances: Data can be used to personalize prices for large expenses, which is something that threatens everyone. The cost of healthcare, housing, education, and transportation is a major concern across all political orientations (and is why the Democrats lost the election by not doing fucking anything while the Republicans kept telling people that they would fix it by cutting government spending). However, people might also think that there’s nothing they can do about their data being used to make things more expensive or that if they try to resist that then it will cost more for them, so that’s an obstacle that needs to be considered as well.
Law enforcement: If the person is a target of the Trump administration and knows that, then their data being used against them is one clear motivation if they don’t think it’s too late to do anything. Otherwise, it depends on how much the person trusts the government and current law enforcement.
So overall, I would consider where they fit in this political categorization and use the reasons that align best with this. Challenging their political stances is also an option but requires a lot of other things to consider and probably won’t work well since a lot of it is rooted in fundamental values that are difficult to change.
Makes sense! I havent thought thst deep into it. ❤️❤️ I’ll keep that in mind.
Thats truu, i didnt think of goods being costing more depending on the person… Good point🙌
Its so complicated😭😭
Yeah esp if you are a minority, you should be worried about your privacy now😅
Now when you say “care about their privacy” do you by any chance mean buy something? I just want to know what you’re asking for help with here.
Just the normal stuff. Like can we use signal? Or foss options that are free🤣🤣 like nothing they have to pay for yet!
I really want a fairphone but i aint telling them to drop 400 dollars on a phone🤣🤣
My charisma level is low🤣 gotta level up
the easiest way to get them to care is if someone is actively invading theirs.
Yepppp😭😭
Sadly, people rather have convenience if that means giving up their privacy. Its not a battle worth fight to change people’s mindset
Truuu!! But good thing its easy to change to foss options nowadays❤️
But yeah, its not worth it of people dont want to change
Many folks are against might in some shape or another. If you play on this, you might get folks aboard.
From there you can show how the eye of the might is greatening their force. Light them towards greatening the force of the folks through withering the eye.
Truuu❤️❤️ thank you so much for advice🙌
Re Linux: Do you want to be tech support for these people when they accidentally brick their system or they have a file compatibility issue when using Libre Office and collaborating with someone using Word? Linux is easy for people like us that are interested in tech as a hobby.
Normal people sit in the paradigm of just wanting their tech to be as user friendly and railroaded as possible.
I’m sure those people have hobbies, and preferences about those hobbies, that might benefit you if you knew. How would you want them to convince you that, say, changing the oil on your car is actually really quick and easy if you know what to do?
I don’t mean to be obtuse, this is the reality of trying to onboard people that aren’t fussed about privacy. They’ve generally got their own thing going on and don’t want to dive down a new rabbit hole.
Edit: For some actual advice: start with your partner and close friends/family.
Of the friends which you are talking to about it, target the ones which are more likely to already have an existing predisposition to caring about privacy.
Just get them to use Signal for now. Say that you’re deleting WhatsApp or messenger or whatever it is that you use to communicate with them generally and ask them just to install this new one that is more privacy-respecting.
If you can get people off of Facebook Messenger or whatsapp as the default messaging app, that is a huge win. People tend to share their most personal secrets in what they assume to be private forums. Most people don’t post that much stuff to Facebook’s wall anyway anymore.
If the person that you’re speaking to might distrust the government more than Mega-corporations, focus on the fact that the government can access those corporations’ data pretty easily. If the person that you’re trying to convince personally finds musk or Zuckerberg gross, then lean into that.
Don’t even bother talking to Sarah from accounting at work about privacy.
Good point!! Im actually afraid of bricking my laptop, im going the linux changeover and my backing up all my shit on a hard drive.🤣🤣
Thats truuu, most people want things to be user friendly. But i think we are at that point tho🤣 maybe im wrong.
Good point about the oil. I can change the oil in my car because i hate oil on my hands🤣🤣 so yeah, youre right. Just because it can be done, doesnt mean you are gonna do it.🤣🤣
Yess!! Im trying to get people to try some privacy focused chatting apps! Thats definitely a good idea! I think i wany to chat with my friends but i want them to move to privacy focused platforms! So im super pushy, so thats my bad.
You can dual-boot if you don’t want to go all in? Not sure about laptop dual boot but that’s what I do on my desktop.
I’ve had a family member complain about “another chatting app on their phone”, but if you convince them that they can only really contact you there (because YOU are deleting everything else off your phone), they’ll do it and see that it’s absolutely fine.
Nope going all in🤣 want all my space. Maybe with my real laptop, i should leave windows on there with a portion with the orginal stuff that only takes 1/3 of the drive. But i kinda want all 1tb of space.
I dont really want to use windows anymore at all. I was watching a video in my private tab of my browser and windows decided to install some updates. I lost my spot in my video and forgot what video it was. Extra salt. And all the privacy concerns are a big nono.
The only problem is my cameras being bricked if i switch to linux because i have a surface tablet.
But yeah i downloaded a lot of chatting apps to talk to people but its less since im mostly using signal and lemmy. But i still use discord at points.
Ah yeah that’s a predicament. Do you know what distro you are going to be using? If you haven’t decided, Fedora with GNOME as the DE is a good bet. Otherwise Zorin or Ubuntu, again with GNOME. Apparently that DE is better for devices with touchscreens.
Oh they just get bricked. I dont know, something microsoft did to surfaces after surface 4, they cant get them to work with any linux distro. Thats the only reason to keep the cameras for job interviews. But again usb webcams exist. Hmmmm…
People keep on saying aurora is best option for surface, because everything work except the cameras. Not sure if i need a plug in keyboard. Forgot to ask about that. But the keyboard that comes with the surface should work.
Truuu, i should check into fedora! Thanks for the advice!!❤️
I don’t really care þat much, it’s basically just a bonus to me
Hmm truu❤️
for the presentation part, watch standup. watch them construct the story, the path they guide you through, how it all comes together. notice how they lay it out, every syllable, every stutter, how it’s all in the service of delivery. planting and harvesting the callbacks. inadvertently, you’ll start picking up on techniques and implementing them and you’ll notice people hanging on your every word.
as to the actual part converting them over, determine who you’re talking to. if people are aware of the issue but are apathetic about implementing change, that presents one set of issues. if they’re completely unaware that there’s a problem, you’re better off changing environments.
I have an easy job, in my roles I implement the privacy aspect for tech-illiterate people from a security standpoint and I have a dictatorial position - they have to listen to me. I also don’t have tech debt when I implement their IT strategy, i.e. there’s never an issue with an OS or app they love or are used to. all of that is way, way harder when faced with someone who can’t imagine life without a $1000 easily breakable/losable/stealable slab of glass with the blue bubble and the tiks and toks and whatnot.
edit: there’s this thing https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/24/what-i-discovered-when-i-asked-amazon-to-tell-me-everything-alexa-had-heard I just saw at HN. this dude having a blissfully ignorant walk down melancholy lane, pondering the details of his decade-long spyware-ridden life, completely oblivious to their most intimate family shit just being out there in the world, for anyone to abuse just so he can be a more effective consumer. reaching those people, although possible, is such a tremendous effort I don’t think it’s worth it.
Good point! I stutter a lot, so may be an issue!
i feel like people dont care because everything is exploitative. But yeah i need to bring it up when people are ready!
Thats pretty cool! Id love to hear some of your tips someday. I’m bad with tech but recently am trying to get back into programming so i can make some foss software.
Thats a yikes article. That suckss😭😭
Ensure you present your arguments in a way that doesnt make your recipient seem like a bad person because of their belief.
Louis Rossmann made a good video on activism and how to get someone to care about something.
Inviduous link: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=cir-gJDcC1o
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cir-gJDcC1o
Thank you ill give these a watch!! ❤️
Most people are all like: “derp derp! Nothing to hide nothing to fear duuuuur 🤤”. There’s no reasoning with them. Don’t beat yourself up over it.
Aww thanks!! My issue is i expect too much from people.🤣🤣 so i needa chill.
Correct. Besides, those people aren’t going to be much use in the future war against Elon musk’s drone army.
Ooof truu🤣
Honestly, there are a lot of people whom I met believe that google can track/store all their information since they believe that they are too insignificant for that data to matter. Hard to change that mindset in the first place.
What i tend to do is just complain about how much resources trackers/spyware take up on my Phone/Computers, which tends to convience people better than just doing a “but mah privacy”. More people are united about a less laggier computer/phone after all lol.
Yepp its hard to change that one. I used to think like that. Then i became older and i was like hmmm maybe people shouldnt have that much information. People dont know they could make a difference by not giving these companies anymore info.
Thanks so much❤️