Nostr Web Client

I'm talking about 2016 and few years after that. At that time, the alternatives weren't that good. I spent countless hours reading about privacy stuffs: privacy risks of using the big tech products, proprietary and non-encrypted software.

Google at that time seemed the most anti-privacy company which knew more than anybody else about you. So I started using the alternatives: from Google search to DuckDuckGo, or sometimes StartPage, Gmail to Tutanota, or Inventati, switching to some Next Cloud based open source and encrypted cloud storage provider, etc. And the best of that was switching to a dumb phone, ditching the smartphone altogether. I even deleted my FB account later on and ditched Windows in favor of Linux. I played with tens of Linux distro at that time. But using Linux didn't stem from privacy standpoint, but rather for my curiosity of tinkering.

Now, I could do all these because I could afford to do that. The alternatives at that time weren't that good. I'm talking about the year 2016 and afterwards. But I was so pro-privacy that that way worked for me. I even tried my best to not use the proprietary and privacy-invasive products at my workplace.

But this could only go on for so long. I had to switch back at some point. It started with Gmail and then Android. If you're using Android, you're by default using lots of Google services, knowingly and unknowingly supplying data to Google. It already knew so much that I started to stop caring much about privacy.

I switched back to Gmail and others. In academia, especially when you're approaching the professors, Gmail is unfortunately the best choice because their email filters easily can send your email to the junk/spam box.

So the answer to your question in short is, using privacy respecting apps didn't seem to add much value especially while using Android, Google search and Gmail. The alternatives weren't great at that time and then I just stopped caring because the big tech already knew much about me.

I know something can be better than nothing. That's why I still prefer privacy. But I just can't go full commando like I did earlier. Maybe in the future I'll go again. Who knows?

Jacob | Five Eye Tea 11mo ago

I appreciate you sharing your story and I respect your choice. Thanks!

That said, one thing I could suggest is to use a privacy browser for the majority of your usage, and just switch to Chrome any time you need that AI feature? Same could be said about private email vs. Gmail: you could always have a Gmail for cases where you're concerned about emails being sent to spam, but use something like Proton for everything else.

I, myself, don't use any non-privacy browsers but I do still use multiple browsers, I still have a couple Gmails for legacy purposes, and while I use Brave Search for 99% of my searches, I do still use StartPage and DDG for cross references and image search (because Brave's image searches kinda suck).

My point is that maybe you don't have to go all the way. Perhaps you can use the privacy tools for most purposes and then just switch when you need features they don't have, then switch back when you're done? Its actually also great to do that for organization purposes, at least in my experience.

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Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate it.

I, in fact, used to do just that, what you you suggested. I didn't just switch back to full blown privacy invasive apps right from the cold turkey. The switching was gradual.

From using Tor browser for most of my browsing, I switched back to Firefox with no script and UMatrix add-ons and others that I don't remember now.

Then I switched to Firefox with UBlock Origin, privacy badger and HTTPS everywhere addons. After that I switched to just Firefox with only ublock origin.

After some time, I switched to brave browser. And nowadays I just mostly use Google Chrome for convenience's sake.

So yeah, I've tried different combinations, but at last convenience won. This is what I think the number one competitor of pro-privacy apps.

Privacy respecting apps are not always that convenient to use compared to the competitors. On the contrary, the tech giants make their apps the most convenient they could without respecting your privacy.

So privacy preserving apps should make make their services more convenient to use. This would help them gain more users than anything else.

As per your suggestions, I think I'll take it and switch back to using the privacy preserving apps most of the time and when that doesn't work, I'll just use what works. Thank you.

And one more thing, would you mind sharing which apps do you use or maybe recommend from privacy point of view?

Jacob | Five Eye Tea 11mo ago

I totally get it. I'd say in a case like yours, the best thing to do would be to be in somewhat of a state of constant motion. In other words, keep trying privacy tools (both new ones and ones you've tried before) and see if you're able to gradually work them more into your workflow.

As for apps, tools and suggestions, I have loads but the easiest is definitely just to switch browsers & search engines. These days, I personally find Brave Search to be way better than any of the other alternatives, especially if you keep their AI summarizer enabled. You can also start using tools like Freetube on PC and Newpipe (or Grayjay) on Android whenever you want to watch Youtube. There are also great alternatives to YT such as Odysee, which are great to watch if any of the creators you follow are uploading there.

I'd also say that when it comes to less private options (stock Android, Windows, that sort of thing), there are ways you can at least reduce the surface that the companies have to harvest data from you. For example, in Windows, you can use tools like O&O ShutUp10 to forcefully disable a lot of telemetry. You can block MS telemetry domains via hosts.txt and even the default Windows firewall. There are also tools such as Safing's Portmaster, which is effectively an advanced firewall dedicated to increasing security and locking down as much data harvesting as possible.

And in terms of Android, my biggest suggestion is to side-load F-Droid (or Droid-ify, which is a better version of F-Droid) and then install two apps: Shizuku, and then Canta. Shizuku allows you to effectively simulate root access without having to root your phone; it's not perfect but it does give you a lot more control over installing/uninstalling stuff. Then, as for Canta, that app functions as a means of forcefully uninstalling any bloatware or spyware that you don't want to be on there. It does so safely, so that you're less likely to brick your phone (especially if you restrict it to recommended and safe uninstalls) and even if you mess something up, a factory reset will always work fine, unlike rooted options.

Other tips: install Aurora Store via F-Droid, which allows you to install apps from the Play Store without having to be signed in. Speaking of accounts, keep yourself signed out of your Google account whenever possible (and Samsung as well, if you use Samsung phones); only log into those accounts when you absolutely need to, and then immediately log back out. Double-check app permissions every time there's an update to your phone OR system apps; make sure that apps have the absolute bare minimum permissions they require. If you use system apps such as the default phone/SMS tools, look into alternatives such as Fossify Phone and QUIK (an SMS alternative). Oh, and if I can recommend a phenomenal gallery app, try Aves Libre

The list goes on, but those are some basic suggestions. As for iPhone, there's not as much that you can do due to Apple's walled garden, but there are still some solid open source alternatives to system apps that can help you reduce some of Apple's telemetry.

Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

Thanks for such detailed answer. Really appreciate it.