Nobody likes being followed. Safe to say you'd be extremely concerned if a group of strangers followed you in real life. In the online world, it's not much different — trackers lurk in the shadows of each and every website and follow you around the Internet
Everyone has their own threat level, and you should not just blindly follow suggestions. A great example is on our Samsung list and how to make your Samsung device more private, because, at the same time, you might need some of the apps already there and others might be useful for your specific use case
Cryptocurrency use is increasing all over the world. However, some countries are leading the way in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. In this article, we will look at the five countries with the highest cryptocurrency use in the world.
The most used operating system on cellphones is Android. If you are coming to the site because of DeGoogle(ing), then Android what is a core of Google is a big problem. So to think, at least!
Music has become a power business, so have podcasts. Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and even YouTube Music/Premium are charging money if you want no ads. But you also pay with your data because data is money as well. So, what can you do when it comes to music or podcasts.
https://privacy.do/music-and-media-streaming
What are you looking for? Are you someone who has already invested heavily in Apple? Are you comfortable with the trackers Apple and/or Google gives you? Are you on Social Media, and, most of all, are you afraid of what happens down the road with your data? Remember that what may be totally OK in today's world might be not OK (or even legal) 10 years from now.
https://privacy.do/identity-preservation/threat-levels
When it comes to cellphones, let's be blunt, you will never be private. We have covered iOS and Android in the past together and I've even covered how to get maximum security out of your Samsung phone by deactivating, via ADB, applications that are pre-installed. However, whilst these are all a really good direction in which to go, it will never be possible to be fully private on these devices.
https://privacy.do/identity-preservation/a-new-setup
Google’s main strategy is to give you great and easy to use products for free and at the same time have you pay with your data!
https://privacy.do/degoogle
CalyxOS is great for privacy-oriented people, but also works for the soccer mom who just wants to use her phone and at the same time values some privacy. CalyxOS has a setup which comes with or without MicroG pre-installed, in other words it can use Google Play Services and push notifications, but is open-source and doesn't connect to Google's privacy invasive servers, just to the necessary ones!
https://privacy.do/android/calyxos
**Security at the core, but with privacy in mind!**
First things first, when people talk about replacing the OS on an Android phone, they think you need to be a geek to actually get it done! Not so with GrapheneOS. The installation is dead simple!
https://privacy.do/android/grapheneos
Privacy is not likely going to be an 'all or nothing' approach. You need to figure out for yourself what works best for you and, at the same time, attempt to find ways to make your device trustable but usable.
https://privacy.do/android/samsung-android
**Hiding in Plain Sight**
Let's suppose that you really do want to be anonymous on the internet, so perhaps you have chosen to go with Linux, with a secure setup, ditching Windows and all the other data collection services from your hard drive, or at least found the right browser, maybe even gone with the Tor-browser so at least being on your way to being less traceable.
https://privacy.do/identity-preservation
More than a few people around me are waking up and realizing that the simple cellphone is the weakest link when it comes to privacy.
Two of the best known privacy respecting alternative operating systems on Pixel phones are CalyxOS and GrapheneOS. I have tested both and made GrapheneOS my daily drive. But it is a matter of taste and threat level. Yes, threat level, as not everyone needs the same protection, or privacy. Some chose convenience or a camera as their buying point when choosing a phone. The mighty pen on a Samsung S22 Ultra, perhaps. Yet, when it comes to deGoogle a phone, you have Lineage, GrapheneOS and CalyxOS as the ultimate options.
https://privacy.do/android/calyxos-or-grapheneos
EXPOSED! is a weekly series of articles run here on decentralize.today where we seek to reveal the corruption and wrongdoing of individuals, corporations and governments. The latter are charged with 'controlling' the activities of the former but so often get it wrong...as shown with today's piece from the Particl Project blog.
This is really shocking. Add calyx vs grapheneos dramas and you wonder why the privacy community is not working better together. I love both sites, and I think they both have great value, but man…
In recent chapters I've shown you how to set up your new persona on Apple and how to make a Mac more privacy-friendly. When it comes to mobile, the best approach to 'degoogling' is a Pixel phone with GrapheneOS on it. Fullstop!
The question is even you removed the apps (via agb) or freeze it, what other apps calling home and what apps can communicate to each other, then sending data to google
iOS is collecting for Apple, Android is Google, but Google is a advertising company. Our of the box iOS is probably better (keep in mind Apple is a closed garden and you cant really see the code). I run GrapheneOS for my daily driver. But I also have an iPad. With Adguard you can block a lot, including with the right host file Apple domains. You can also via ADB degoogle a Samsung or any other android device.
So android gives you more options when it comes go blocking trackers, apps, etc. iOS is probably out of the box a little better, but you have not much ways to lock things down.
I personally use the pixel 6 with GrapheneOS. Battery is great, and privacy wise nothing comes close. The sandboxed Google services could also be helpful if that is something needed. I personally don’t need anything Google.
In 2016, we started running the messenger review series on decentralize.today since we anticipated how significant they would become in the mix of communication options and the impact on privacy.
If you are an avid Apple user, you are probably locked (trapped?) in the 'closed garden' of Apple. However, over the course of chapter 19 (this is 3rd piece in the 'apple pie') we have learned that you can anonymize yourself a little.
Two weeks ago, I started with "Apple - a new Persona", which was designed as the first step toward privacy and security on your Mac. Sadly, even if you start over with a new persona, you still need to do more to protect yourself from Apple. The "Privacy, this is Apple" does not fly very high when it comes to their (off the shelf) products.
When it comes to privacy, you often hear Apple fans jumping in first with:
“what happens on my iPhone stays on my iPhone”
Sure, except that it does not stay on your iPhone!
Over the whole of this last year, I observed that the chapter on CalyxOS vs GrapheneOS got a lot of attention and consistently weekly hits. In fact, it has stayed in the Top 5 since publication. I have used GrapheneOS for years and have trialled CalyxOS for a short while as well.
The truth is that crypto won’t make you rich, a piece by Rachel Miller
Crypto has seen unbelievable gains over the past two years. Many people made hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars as a result. This should come as a surprise to no one. Why?
It is no secret that I am a big fan of DNS and, therefore, it's a no-brainer that I am kicking off the Privacy Cookbook's 'Best of 2021' series with the best DNS services and operators.
In previous chapetrs of Orwell's Blueprint we have covered how you are tracked and also exposed some data brokers. However, what most people don't realize is just how much trouble metadata can get you in to.
If you’ve been on the internet in the last two weeks, you’ve possibly heard about Apple’s new Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) countermeasures. What you’ve heard – depending on where you’ve heard it – can range from “OMG Apple is gonna scan everything on your phone and manually review it and tell your parents!” to “Just turn off iCloud.”
This past week, the European Commission approved a temporary proposal commonly being called “Chat Control.” In just the few days since, I’ve seen wild accusations and misinformation spew out of the depths of the internet, and few people actually fact checking these. To their defense, this stuff sucks.
Orwell’s 1984 was fiction, but if you read it, you know much of this 'fiction' has become a blueprint for aspects of the modern world. In a fairly extreme post a while back, we covered the situation where you are being followed.
One thing about data breaches always blows me away, no matter how many times it happens or how commonplace it becomes: late disclosures. I mean WAY late disclosures.
If you follow the Privacy Cookbook, you'll know I am a big fan of encrypting your DNS. Combine that with a good blocklist (on the DNS or device) and you are ahead of the pack!
I recently shared how to ADB disable apps and bloatware. Today we go the extra mile and block access to location, clipboard and co for apps that shouldn't have these permissions
One of the questions I am getting asked a lot is: "what cellphone can I use and still be private? I could use Apple, right?"
In an Orwellian world, the best you can do is not using a cellphone at all. No kidding, you're basically bringing an ankle monitor along with you wherever you go. Apple and Google tracking you, every step of your way. But if that wasn't bad enough, they're then sharing and selling your data.
PeerTube is one of the things what just make me excited about the future. This stuff we need and I try to push everyone I know to move from YouTube to peertube. Keep it up!
Madness… This is why mastodon exist