All of us have made privacy mistakes at some point in our privacy journeys. In an effort to help those earlier on in that journey, please share some of the mistakes you’ve made, and how you could have prevented it.

  • monovergent 🏁
    3·
    3 hours ago

    It’s been quite a journey:

    • Posting accurate personal info to my Google+ account when I first signed up
    • Signing in to Google on my phone and browser
    • Using an Android phone from eBay of dubious origin
    • Sending confidential info via email
    • Using the same gmail address for everything
    • Signing up for things with my real info when it wasn’t necessary
    • Handing out my phone number to loyalty programs
    • Running hacked game APKs without checking for malware
    • Using the User Agent Switcher extension on MS Edge, which was subsequently updated to include an infostealer
    • Using browser extensions of unknown provenance

    How to avoid:

    • Ironically, Windows 10 started me on my privacy journey. Microsoft was in my face enough with privacy offenses that I began moving to Linux and investing time into my privacy.
    • Don’t post unnecessary info to social media.
    • Never email confidential info.
    • Use a password manager, or at least some organized text file if you have an encrypted disk.
    • FOSS software is more available and user-friendly than ever, always look for a FOSS alternative.