General Privacy & Security Tips

Stuff in this section is not necessarily all related. You can pick and choose from stuff in this section, or just browse it for reference.

  • Look into the settings of your apps and programs (especially privacy settings) and disable any options that are privacy invasive like tracking, location info, permissions, and bug reporting. There are often guides online for which settings to change for specific services. That is beyond the scope of this guide.
  • Use trusted open source, encrypted (E2EE) software options when possible (like Proton, Mullvad, and Signal) instead of proprietary options (where the code is not publicly available and nobody can know for sure what it's doing).
  • Almost every product from Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and other large mainstream tech companies is proprietary. The vast majority of these products are designed to be purposefully privacy invasive. These companies make most of their money by developing a profile about who you are and selling it. They are very good at what they do. If you use their products, they probably know more about how your brain works than you do. They use that power to manipulate what we think and how we act. No, you are not immune to it.
  • If you can manage it, we recommend completely avoiding Google products (there is no way to use Google privately, they are a military technology and surveillance company).
    • This will be a big shift for lots of people, but it is truly very important.
    • If you must use Google, be aware it cannot be used privately. They will be able to read or listen to any info you send over their products. Use their products only in your browser if possible, the apps will collect even more data about you.
  • Avoid AI chatbots (LLMs) if possible.
    • There are currently no truly encrypted AI chatbots. Mainstream options are probably even more privacy invasive than Google products. Your data will likely be collected and used for stuff that’s actively harming us.
    • We acknowledge many people have specific reasons why they choose to or need to use AI chatbots. If you choose to use AI chatbots, please be cautious and mindful when entering information that reveals your identity. Information that can directly identify you makes the tracking capabilities of AI chatbots even more invasive.
    • AI offerings from DuckDuckGo, Proton, and Brave offer significantly better privacy than mainstream options like ChatGPT.
    • (Also, AI is incredibly resource intensive and is destroying the natural world as well as art of all kinds.)
  • Notesnook, Cryptee, and Standard Notes are great encrypted notes apps.
  • Remove social media apps from your phone (this includes stuff like Reddit and Discord) and use them in the web browser instead. (Or even better, stop using them completely.)
    • Social media apps are among the most privacy invasive apps on your phone (up there with Google apps, dating apps, and AI apps) and there is no way to use them without the company harvesting significant amounts of data about you including your location.
    • This is in addition to whatever info you voluntarily post publicly. Social media companies have one of the most complete profiles on you of any tech company.
    • Even better, do not use social media and figure out different ways to communicate with your networks. Your brain will thank you.
    • You can also use some of these products, like Reddit, in a web browser without logging into an account.
  • If you have an option to use a service in your web browser rather than an app, doing so will provide you with better privacy. Apps from large tech companies and retailers are collecting huge amounts of data about you (including location).
  • Consider switching your maps app.
    • CoMaps is a fantastic app that works even without cell service. I highly recommend installing this app and downloading maps for any areas you expect to be. It does not yet have real-time traffic updates.
    • HERE WeGo is another option if you need real-time traffic updates. It has significantly better privacy than Apple or Google maps.
  • It's important to update your apps and operating system regularly. For most people it makes sense to turn on automatic updates for your OS and your app stores.
  • Lock screen notifications can contain sensitive information. If you have information you wouldn't want others to see, consider disabling lock screen notifications.

Thanks for sticking with it! Anything you’ve done so far has helped you regain some of your privacy. Personally, we think that’s pretty cool. Do you feel any different yet? How’s it feel to make these changes?

Next: Operating Systems