Oddbean

The year has been a wild ride. Looking back, here's 7 articles we got the most positive feedback on. Maybe you missed something and you're missing out... 7) Big Tech Abuses Medical Privacy They are selling your problems, you won't believe this, https://simplifiedprivacy.com/big-tech-abuses-medical-privacy/ 6) SimpleX vs Session (animated video) The animation helps make this crystal clear, so you can get the most benefit, https://video.simplifiedprivacy.com/simplexsession/ 5) Facebook is Corrupt Evil Spyware Did you know they are tracking you OFF the platform? Even whose standing next to you? https://simplifiedprivacy.com/facebooks-corrupt-off-platform-surveillance/ 4) Pro/Con of DeGoogled Phone Operating Systems If you're thinking of DeGoogling, this is the best place to start, https://simplifiedprivacy.com/degoogledphones/ 3) VPN Mistakes to Avoid People think they are getting more privacy than they are. Don't be that guy, https://simplifiedprivacy.com/vpn-mistakes-to-avoid/ 2) Pro/Con of “Privacy” Phone Numbers/Services Where do you go to get those burner numbers? These aren't blocked, https://simplifiedprivacy.com/burners/ 1) Google’s Surveillance: The Shocking Truth How much data can Google really see? You'd be really surprised to learn, https://simplifiedprivacy.com/googles-surveillance-the-shocking-truth/ Happy New Year

Thank you Bookmarked I will gradually move to freedom tech next year And I will use your content as a guide I keep thinking, to what extent does it matter In other words, what am I protecting myself from, if I, let's say, use a degoogled phone? That Google will know my interests to show me targeted ads? I don't care, I actually prefer to see relevant ads if I have to see ads That Google will delete my account one day because they dislike something I said online? That would be bad, but by far less likely and, I can protect myself from this, I think, simply by having backups of my data and an email address in my own domain, using proton mail or alike, right? What else can Google do to me? Denounce me to a dystopian government for being interested in Bitcoin, do that they can try to confiscate it? Sure but, first of all, hopefully extremely unlikely, and secondly, it's "too late" already. I'm signed up in Gmail to many Bitcoin newsletters. They already know. So, maybe it's OK to stay with Google, for all it's convenience, etc? And just have a private email in my domain and backup my contacts, files and photos? Thoughts? I guess I'm looking for an optimal setup, the right balance for me, between the convenience of big tech vs freedom and privacy of the freedom tech I'll appreciate any comments you may want to share Thanks for everything you do I find your materials very helpful in educating myself

Well, if framed like this, you are right, I don't need convincing, I should just go ahead and switch to freedom tech However, is it a "complete authority over me" if I simply keep my pictures on Google photos and use Gmail? In one sense, yes, it is, in that, they could easily delete my pictures (I have a backup), and for sure they know a lot about me (but unfortunately they know it already, but yes, better to move out for the future) Yeah, I guess, as I'm writing these words, I'm convincing myself to move more fully Thank you

"Give me six lines written by the most honest of men, and I shall find something in them to hang him." - Cardinal Richelieu, then Prime Minister of absolutist France. Selfies and likes and AI-guided cloud services are fun, but in the right hands can easily lead to "fitting-up", entrapment or "conspiracy to XXXXX". And there will be a cherry picked "established pattern of" whatever with which to bury your defence in maliciously-misconstrued evidence. A person with assets and an extensive Google file is like a ripe fruit ready to be plucked, and by private lawsuits as much as by law enforcement looking to fill up numbers.