Privacy

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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.

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What is the cost of privacy? (self.privacy)

submitted 7 months ago by joat_mon to c/[email protected]

44 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have been pro privacy and anti data harvesting for many years now, however it is becoming increasingly more difficult staying off some platforms. Mostly Meta.

Over the years I have convinced most of my friends and family to use Signal instead of WhatsApp. However, there are still chat groups that I am missing from, and trying to keep up to date with local events seems next to impossible without Facebook or Instagram.

Additionally, I am finding it more and more tiring to have the awkward "No I don't have WhatsApp. No I don't have Facebook either. Or Instagram, sorry. Do you want to try an app that you've never heard of to stay in contact with me?" every time I meet someone new.

I saddens me that it feels like the multi-billion dollar data harvesting companies are winning, but I no longer know if this is a hill that I'm willing to die on.

What are your thoughts on what we have to give up in our lives just to stay in control of our personal information?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

It's easy, use a VPN and as many fake data as you can, also you can use an AI generated profile pic, if you need a phone number you can use a virtual number like TextNow app.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

You are right on all counts.

Just not sure if "easy" is the operative word here.

[–] joat_mon 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, yeah I'm always on a VPN, but as you suggested, maybe nowadays it's not about trying to live without an account, but having the account with generic/fake profile data.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Yeah the point it's into giving them fake data, you keep using the service and they get fake stuff at exchange. Better than not using their service.