Privacy enthusiasts, what made you start?
My privacy journey started with a YouTube video by SomeOrdinaryGamers about the Club Penguin Online doxing situation in 2020. Then, through Techlore and other YouTubers, I learned about private browsers, VPNs, password managers, Linux, FOSS, and more. What made you start?
Online ads, they were so annoying to deal with, I tried Adblock (don't use it) then ABP (don't use it) then finally I found UBlock Origin (absolutely use this) and just seeing the amount of unnecessary connections on every single website annoyed me even more. On mobile I used Adaway and looking at the logs for that annoyed me so much I switched to LineageOS.
I "upgraded" to windows 10 and I couldn't deal with how annoying it was with all the bloatware and random notifications so I switched to linux
Online ads, same here.
Was a small thing, I was vaguely aware of online ads but only at a high level.
Was browsing online for garden sheds then turned the laptop off. Came back in the evening and every single site was pushing ads for gardens sheds.
Did some research and 7 years later, de-googled phone, all social media long since closed, linux (mostly), VPN etc etc.
Not going to pretend I can do anything against state actors (CIA, GCHQ) , my threat actors are businesses, Meta, Amazon, Googlr etc.
Can't beat them all, but I can make my data exepensive to them at least.
Snowden.
Getting into technology in general and realizing just how powerful data made me start caring about these things. The constant abuses coming to light over the years have just reenforced my convictions.
Mine started with some random guy posting a google doc about how to use uBlockOrigin to not only block ads but also to block 3rd party scripts & frames, and see what all your internet connected to.
After the paranoia set in from seeing just how many connections are made from every single click, I got intensely interested in how much more I could do to regain privacy. It's been a very deep rabbit hole.
VERY deep. For myself, I realized that when I got into it, I not only began to give less information to companies, but my way of thinking changed a lot, a lot of new skills in setting up/finding alternatives, good projects were acquired.
This is a bit personal, but after I lost my job a couple years back. I was missing work because my newly diagnosed illness was getting worse. Got fired in the parking lot (over the phone) of the doctors office that prescribed me the medication that would allow me to go back...was scrolling reddit later that day and saw an article that insurance companies could start denying coverage based on google searches alone, internet searches are not protected by HIPAA. That kicked me right in the gut. I promptly started figuring out how to be more private in the digital space. Haven't looked back!
There were some small things that I can't remember very well (like looking in to lineageOS), but I think the first wake up call to how deep I was in to the google ecosystem was when I stopped my youtube premium account and started looking for alternatives. I found newpipe and got hooked on privacy respecting software like it was a drug. Techlore was a big part from that point on. I watched through go incognito one video at a time while I was at my night job.
Yeah, Techlore was huge for me too. His site helped me find a lot of privacy-respecting alternatives. Mr. Robot was also a great show to watch at the time!
For me the question should rather be, what made you never start using privacy intrusive tools. And the answer would be simple common sense. But then again, I'm at an age where I can remember not being able to call someone because someone was using the modem in our house.
Hmm, I don't remember clearly. But I think it started when I first found out about adblockers. That was before uBO existed. From there I learned about trackers and was disgusted how all these websites spy on me. And since it's gotten worse and worse with tracking I fought back harder and harder.
Snowden.
And then to some extent, Cambridge Analytica.
Seems like forever now, but it really started with the proposal of the FRA-law back in 2006. It really was an eye-opener and after that I pretty got into everything to preserve my privacy.
When someone messaged me with a number of personal details about me. I realized that I'd posted too much personally about me and used the same username everywhere.
Yeah, doxing scared me. I run a large gaming community on Discord and back then, I got paranoid about my personal info getting out. I made a whole persona based off a movie character with his own Instagram profile, address, and separate timezone I had to play by. It was a fun project, but it worked.
When I was on Quora one day I saw an advertisement for DuckDuckGo, "Google tracks you, we don't." I quickly began researching it and decided I should rip out as much of Google out of my life as possible.
The ads I've hated so much teached me about the importance of online privacy.
I feel so proud seeing those billboards as I drive by! Represent! ✊
Same here! I also have a nosy mom, but she's not too great at computers. I'm lucky she's older and barely knows how to copy and paste. Still, I've learned to lock every door, close every window, and make sure I'm not connected to the TV!
Truly awesome speech about why privacy matters. Link.