6mo ago

Advice on improving my privacy

Every other day I see the the world turning into a cyberpunk hellscape with no privacy. I am starting to feel what's the point of trying to claw back privavy.

However I am not givong up as the need for privacy is more important than ever.

It the spirit of continuing the fight how should what should I Improve next?

Currently running Fedora 40 and use only open source apps. When browsing I try and use Mullvad browser and use my regular logins on a hardened Firefox with arkenfox. I have proton unlimtes for mail, passwords, drive and a VPN which is always on. I have filen as a back for redundancy and my most import files are encrypted with Crypomator and uploaded to both clouds.

On my mobile I use a pixel 4, I tried Graphene OS but my banking failed so back to stock Android. The only I have replaces most android apps with Fossify apps and use Obtanium, Aurura and F-Droid for apps. I use ente Auth for authentication except for my work as I have to use Microsoft Authenticator. The only proprietary apps I use are Facebook messenger, spotify, google maps and my bank. I use Facebook messenger and maps through shelter .

For browsing on Android I use Mull and on my android Proton VPN is always on. I visit twitter and twitter ocasionly but always through mull browser.

For keeping in contact with freinds I use Aliucord in Android and Vesktop on my PC

Before anyone asks my bank is App only and it is the only way I have been able to successfully manage my finaces so I have to stay with that for now.

For spending habniys I try to use Google pay as little as possible and use my master card.

My Apologies for my english I am a little stupid when it comes to spelling and grammar.

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22 comments

I tried Graphene OS but my banking failed so back to stock Android
Any features in the mobile app that don't exist on the website? I've had good luck checking my bank balance and all sorts of other things through Firefox on Android - pre-edit: I missed that it was app only. That sucks.
For browsing on Android I use Mull and on my android Proton VPN is always on. I visit twitter and twitter ocasionly but always through mull browser.
The VPN really doesn't do much at all for privacy. It just moves the point of trust from the service provider for the current network to the VPN provider, plus now you have extra hurdles as you'll show up as a VPN IP rather than a "normal" residential or cellular IP. Realistically set your DNS to be something like Quad9 or Cloudflare and you'll already be several steps ahead on browsing privacy
For spending habniys I try to use Google pay as little as possible and use my master card.
Realistically any card is going to be selling your spending habits. Cash and crypto are about the only ways to have private purchases, and plenty of places won't accept either
Personally I had a long hard think about my privacy practices and how they only isolated me and made me unhappy, and realized that if I'm already blocking all ads so I never get to see the results of the incredibly dystopian advertising hellscape, does it really matter that much if Google knows I spent $200 on random model train shit last month when they already know I watch a few hours of train-related content on Youtube? So I take smaller steps to not fully given in, but I don't take steps that create extra hassle in participating in modern society and living my life to its fullest.
- Thanks this is really solid asvice. Actually made me feel a lot better.
  I recently was dianosed with ADHD so I have found cutting out a lot of social media and other envasibe products has really just helped with my mental health and has hinder my everyday life.
  My bank is an App only so I have to use the app.
  In regards to the DNS advice should I use that for both my PC and android ? And when would I use a vpn?
  
  Then just keep stock android. You're already reducing a lot of data collection by using FOSS. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
  
  A VPN has it's advantages, mostly to avoid your ISP snooping on you (while having to trust another party not to snoop) and giving you access to stuff in the internet that may be geoblocked.
  A solid DNS provider with Doh or DOT will encrypt your browsing, so I also believe it's better than a VPN, but I use both.
  It's a matter of not overdoing it. Do it one step at a time. I feel you on the ADHD, I am also diagnosed, and now I inly check Lemmy and Mastodon every now and then. My mental health has improved dramatically since I dropped all the mainstream social networks.
  
  I recommend NextDNS, it allows you to block ads, trackers and other unwanted stuff on the DNS level. Check out this video: https://neat.tube/w/19r4YnE6fpce6e2B9MepnB
  
  In regards to the DNS advice should I use that for both my PC and android ? And when would I use a vpn?
  You should setup your preferred DNS server everything really. On your phone, on your computer and on your router if you can. DNS is the absolute easiest way to track and block/hijack browsing habits, so hardcoding your devices to use a standard one like NextDNS, Quad9 or Cloud flare will put you very far ahead
  Regarding VPNs, commercial VPNs are really overhyped, and thats because they're a cash cow for operators. See Tom Scott's video on the subject if you prefer this britishplained to you. All a VPN is is a tunnel from your device to the VPN server wherever that is, so you'll look like your traffic is originating from that VPN server, plus all of your traffic is going to that VPN server so you have to trust that that server isn't compromised nor slurping up all of the data to sell/provide security agencies. Clear text browsing traffic will also be secured between your device and the VPN server, but that's super uncommon nowadays. Realistically a commercial VPN is best for if you're doing illegal activities such as piracy because it will add layers of abstraction should a private company or public agency wish to investigate your activities and try to identify you. I do use Tailscale with an exit node on my home network when connecting to public wifi just in case the network is misconfigured, but it's really just another layer of Swiss cheese security.

22 comments