Hi! Thanks for being here. Caring about digital privacy and security is rad. We live in a time where tech companies and governments have more powerful surveillance technologies than ever, and they regularly use those technologies to purposefully harm people. Improving your digital privacy and security will keep you (and your friends and communities) safer when using the internet, and also keep us all safer in our everyday lives.
The internet can be a wild place, and it's a great idea to take steps to protect your privacy. When you start learning about how to protect your privacy online, it can be overwhelming. Take it easy on yourself. Go slow. See which things in this document feel most important or most accessible to you and do a couple at a time whenever you have energy. Make sure they are changes you can sustain. Each step you choose to take will create more safety and privacy for you. It is hard to have complete privacy on the internet, but it's still worth working towards that goal. Digital privacy is not an all or nothing thing. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Just keep in mind that even if you take steps towards privacy and security it's still important to use the internet wisely. None of these steps will make you totally invincible or anonymous online.
One of the first steps in a privacy and security journey is to consider what you want to be protected against (your threat model). For some people this might be simply protection against corporations collecting and selling all your data; lots of people are going to fall into this category...and this is worth protecting against. Tech companies have done more to erode our rights in the last decade than perhaps any other force. Other people may need protection from a powerful government or group that is trying to persecute them. If you live in the US or another authoritarian country, people like undocumented immigrants, leftist activists, and trans people may fall into this category.
Privacy refers to your data being private and not easily available for other people, companies, and governments to see. Security is defense against unwanted access to your data (like hacking). Security is often considered to be a prerequisite to privacy, because if your data and devices aren't secure, they will be easier for others to access without your permission, and therefore not private. Many people may never be the victim of targeted hacking, but hundreds of thousands (millions by some estimates) of people a year are. Most large tech companies make a huge portion of their profit by collecting your data and selling it. We used to call software like that spyware. It still is spyware, but now billions of people voluntarily install and use it on a regular basis. Those companies sell your data to whoever will pay, including military surveillance companies, fascist governments, and also the police forces that enforce their fascist, racist, and eugenicist policies domestically. Most people currently being kidnapped by ICE are being located using software from one of these companies. These are very real threats that are already impacting huge numbers of people. If you care about community and the safety of community, it is vital to care about taking preventive measures against these tech companies and their surveillance. Community safety requires effort from all of us.
Some of the information in this document may seem extreme, but it accurately represents the capabilities that tech companies and governments have to collect your data and to spy on you. Some of these capabilities are already being widely used against large groups of people...others are currently not, but will likely become more widely used in the future. We have largely all gotten comfortable allowing tech companies and governments access to most or all of our data, but that doesn't mean it is safe or right. (For example, the CEOs of every major US tech company are openly supporting and collaborating with the Trump regime. Meta was found guilty of illegally helping Trump win the 2016 election by selling user data (yes your data) to his campaign. Google has received more than $15 billion (and growing by about $5 billion per year) in fines for violating a variety of laws meant to protect consumers. There are endless examples of such behavior.) The information below is not presented to cause panic or alarm; it is presented so that you have a better idea how the technology you interact with works and what data it can collect about you. This will allow you to make informed decisions about how you use it (or choose to no longer use it). These steps are aimed at reducing the potential harm caused by digital surveillance and hacking.
There is not a single path that is the best solution for everyone. If you're curious about something that's not in this document, you can start by researching some options that make sense for the risks you want to protect against. The info at privacyguides.org and privacyguides.net (their forum) is community reviewed by the coders of some of the leading open source privacy software in the world and is generally of high quality. You may also find good info in some of the "degoogle", “privacy”, and "foss" subreddits. Remember this is a journey, and you are learning new skills...be gentle with yourself and take your time. There is no magic wand (or program) you can install that will guarantee your privacy online. The most important aspect of privacy and security is learning how to use the internet and any devices you connect to the internet in responsible ways. There is additional nuance to some of the info presented in this list, but discussing it all would take hundreds of pages and make the information inaccessible to most people. The solutions presented in this guide are a balance of function and usability that will work well for average users.
It is normal to have tough feelings such as anxiety or grief when beginning this journey. Learning about all these threats is scary. Realizing how deeply we’ve been lied to and exploited by tech companies for their own gains is a hard pill to swallow. These are people we have trusted. We’ve maybe even gotten joy or other benefit from using their products. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google have become part of our lives, and sometimes even our livelihoods. All these things can be true at once. If hard feelings come up, pay attention to them. Allow them to exist. Talk about them with others. You are not alone.
"But I have nothing to hide.” If you’re thinking this, you are not alone. Most people do not engage in illegal activity, and many people still trust tech companies and their governments. Would you let a complete stranger or the government put a microphone or a camera inside your house or car? Most people would not, and yet many of us personally place these devices inside our own homes, and they can often be accessed by strangers and governments. The data is usually not encrypted and can be accessed by a large number of people working at the tech companies. People at these companies, as well as the companies themselves, misuse and abuse the data they collect; this happens all the time. Furthermore, we live in a time where governments around the world are rapidly siding towards fascism and authoritarianism. In those cases, what is “legal” no longer matters. A fascist or authoritarian government will use whatever data is available to target and persecute people they do not like, even if they haven’t done anything illegal. We are already witnessing this on a widespread scale in the US. These trends will only increase as governments increasingly use AI to do tracking and analysis that would have previously required thousands or millions of law enforcement agents. These threats are not theoretical.
Privacy and security on the internet are important. Both for your own privacy, but also for the civil liberties of all people who care about existing in a free and fair world. The sprawling surveillance capabilities that major governments and corporations have developed have significantly weakened civil rights, freedoms, and safety for oppressed groups around the world, including in the US and EU. Despite that, decent levels of privacy and security are still possible to achieve and are worth striving for. Do not let anyone tell you this stuff is not worth doing if you cannot do it perfectly. One of the best ways to weaken the surveillance powers of big tech companies is to stop using their products! There are often alternative products that are just as good (or better) that are made by people who aren’t doing evil stuff with your data. Alright, here we go! :)