The start was wanting to reduce my exposure to recommendation algorithms. That got me thinking about what absurd amounts of very intimate data companies have about us, and how they can use that to influence people.
For me, it was an advertisement in my gmail for something my spouse had searched for on a separate computer that I had never logged on to. I don’t recall what it was, but it was something like a new cookware set. It was odd. I started noticing it happening again with other people whom I correspond with for items I don’t need (dog kennels near you). I wasn’t on any social media except maybe YouTube.
Later, I started reading about the profiles companies keep, how you have no control over what is collected, for how long or if you want it to stop. I found myself using the computer less and less, feeling uncomfortable being watched if I looked up medical symptoms or just shopping around for things.
My family would show how cool it is that Google knows when you have a doctor appointment and where you are and what traffic is doing so that you need to leave in 10 minutes to get there on time. I found it creepy.
I awoke to see cameras everywhere, tracking cookies, apps tracking me for no reason. People willingly putting spy cameras next to their front door, pointing directly at my bedroom window, where I walk, sending data to Amazon. I started reading how it’s their data and they’ll willingly turn it over to anyone who asks or pays for it. I read about a guy who was arrested (and later released after hiring an attorney with his own money) for being near a home where a murder occurred, unbeknownst to him.
I have nothing to hide, but I have everything to hide. Now mind your own business!
For me it was a convergence of things all at the right moment: Edward Snowden just happened, I just bought a new phone (to experiment with) and I saw a comment on Reddit detailing some privacy tips/tricks which made it seem very easy to get on board
Then do not use them. Use anonymous apps instead: Session, WireMin, SimpleX, Damus. I personally prefer WireMin because it has secret groups. Only members know I exist.
I used Session before switching to WireMin. It’s a good choice for a private messenger, but not an app I would use daily.
I have a personal blog on WireMin, so I can post whatever I want. And I think they made interaction much easier, cuz I can explore public chat rooms and other people’s blogs in the discovery section, which give me more stuff to do on the app.
This is the chat space on WireMin I like to check out daily, people usually talks about privacy news there. i.wiremin.com/invite/?g=k50898835053
My dad bought Linux magazines when I was a kid. So I thought tech and Linux were cool, I then grew up (still using windows and chromium) and discovered how much those 2 spy on you, I first made the switch from chrome to waterfox (I associated Firefox with old Windows XP PCs) then, I think mental outlaw got me into the Linux and privacy world once again, but I was already at least a bit conscious.
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