Lately I’ve become increasingly privacy-aware, mainly because I want my information to remain mine. As the saying goes, if you think you’re getting a product or service for nothing, usually you’re the product. In other words, the companies providing free stuff (I’m looking at you, Google) are collecting and sharing your information to pay for the services they are providing. Usually the uses are innocent enough, like targeting ads based on your browsing history. But sometimes, if you read the fine print in the terms and conditions, these companies could be using your data in ways you might not approve of. Regardless, I’d personally rather just keep my data to myself, TYVM, and I bet you would, too.
I was not entirely surprised to learn that some of the “free” functionality on this website was sharing information with third parties. It was mostly anonymous, GDPR-compliant, and “everybody does it” , but when I put 2+2 together, I realized it would be better to get rid of that kind of thing. So I have temporarily disabled some features on the site until I can replace them with more privacy-respecting alternatives. You will notice that certain features of the site are unavailable or not working properly in the meantime, and I apologize for that; I am working to get things updated ASAP. A few things that are currently broken:
- Site subscriptions
- the Photos page
- Post Comments
- Contact form
- Social sharing
- Some photos within posts
- Visibility of sidebar “widgets”
- Privacy policy needs to be updated
- and a few other things
If you’re curious, the offending services I was using on this site were:
- Automattic, Inc. – Jetpack (privacy policy)
- Yoast SEO (privacy policy)
- Google Analytics (privacy policy)
- Flickr photo embedding (privacy policy)
- Chaturbate stream embedding (privacy policy)
In the digital age, it’s hard not to leave traces of what you do everywhere (and hard not to collect them!). Often we trade privacy for convenience, but it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to leaving a cyber-footprint. Here are a few recommendations:
- Use “private” or “incognito” mode when surfing the web. This is an obvious one, but remember that this only prevents traces of your activity from showing up on your device; your internet service provider and others may still have a record of what sites you visit.
- Turn off location services on your phone when appropriate. Location services (GPS) can be very helpful for navigation, etc., but it apps with location access can essentially record your every move. When you’re trying to navigate discreetly, download a copy of the directions (in private mode!) and switch off your location services until you’re in the clear. And make sure to delete (really delete, not just send to trash) the directions afterwards.
- Use third party SMS apps like TextFree or TextNow when sending text messages. These apps generally require an email address and may track you or otherwise have some access to your data, but they will keep those messages from appearing on your cell phone bill (there are probably more private options out there – let me know if you find one!). Better yet, avoid using SMS altogether and use an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform like Signal for your sensitive conversations (yes I am on Signal, 585-542-8648).
- Clean up the “trash” on your device – usually when you delete something it’s not really gone, it goes to some “recycle bin” or “trash” location on your device so you can recover it just in case you deleted it by mistake. But usually if you look in these places, they have an option to “delete permanently.”
- Use a privacy-friendly email provider like Proton Mail
- Use privacy-friendly browsers like Brave or DuckDuckGo
- Use private search engines like Brave or DuckDuckGo
- Use privacy-friendly navigation apps like Magic Earth or Organic Maps
- Do a digital privacy checkup
- Be wary of services, especially AI services, that send your data to somewhere in the cloud for processing. Read their privacy policies carefully before use.
- Disable information sharing in applications where possible (“send usage data”, “send crash reports”, “use location”, etc).
For the truly privacy conscious:
- Use a private DNS service
- Use the TOR network for web browsing
- Use a VPN provider with a good privacy reputation (Mullvad is one that I know of) – especially when on public WiFi!
- Use cryptocurrency like Bitcoin for financial transactions
- Consider using privacy-friendly apps on your phone in place of the defaults. Apple’s privacy policy for iPhones is not bad, but Android phones can share a lot of information with Google and/or your phone manufacturer:
- App Store – F-Droid, Accrescent, Obtanium
- Contacts, Calendar, Phone, Clock, Camera, SMS
- Your entire operating system
- Host your own “cloud”
These lists don’t really begin to scratch the surface of everything you can do to leave zero trace of your digital activity, but they are a start and will prevent the most problematic data leakage. The more you safeguard your privacy, the less vulnerable you are to scams and identity theft, so it’s best to be aware of what data you’re generating and where and how it might be used.
