Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

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much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

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I prefer Librewolf as it is easier and simpler to use

427
 
 

TL;DR I am looking for confidential genetic testing, as I am concerned about potential misuse of my genetic information could lead to a conservatorship or loss of autonomy. I am willing to travel, and I would like all records destroyed after testing. I am also open to international options to ensure my privacy.

I'm seeking a confidential method for genetic testing, as I have concerns about my privacy. I reside in the USA and suspect I might have a mosaic genetic condition based on certain phenotype traits I observe. I'm not comfortable with my genetic information being stored in databases or shared, and I'd prefer the lab records, testing data, and results all be destroyed after completion. I'm open to traveling for this testing if necessary, especially since I do not trust US laws to provide adequate privacy protection or the right to delete medical records.

I've had experiences that have shaken my trust in institutions and governments handling sensitive information ethically, including having medical information shared without my consent by a hospital and it later being legally determined they did not violate my HIPPA rights in the process. I'm worried that my genetic information could be used against me, potentially leading to conservatorship or loss of financial autonomy. I'd like to avoid providing any legal documentation for the testing, if possible.

I'm also concerned about the security of genetic databases and the potential for breaches. Ideally, I'd like all records of the testing and medical records to be destroyed after completion to prevent unauthorized access.

Is there a way to ensure my privacy while getting the genetic testing I need? I'm open to exploring options in other countries, as long as I can ensure my privacy is protected. Please address only my privacy concerns related to genetic testing. I'm not interested in suggestions about mental health support or therapy at this time.

I do not authorize or approve of any unauthorized data scraping or AI training using this post; such actions would be unethical and without my permission.

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How are you storing passwords and 2FA keys that proliferate across every conceivable online service these days?

What made you choose that solution and have you considered what would happen in life altering situations like, hardware failure, theft, fire, divorce, death?

If you're using an online solution, has it been hacked and how did that impact you?

429
 
 

I want to be logged in so I can do most things on Reddit like post and comment. I want it to be a web frontend rather than an app because I keep many tabs on Reddit open in my browser while doing research on things (like digital privacy for instance!). I did some searching and didn't find any currently working frontends with login support.

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cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/post/163062

Last year Danny Mekić wrote this article : https://dannymekic.com/202310/undermining-democracy-the-european-commissions-controversial-push-for-digital-surveillance which was published in a newspaper and then the author got shadow-banned on X. Today the same Dutch newspaper reported that Mekić won two court-cases about this.

X is not allowed to shadow-ban users easily the judge said. Only during the court-case X explained why the account of Meki was shadow-banned : He had shared an article about the CSAM law on X. "I still
do not understand why X this only said in the court hall, rather than telling me right away when I
asked about it" Mekić said.

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It seems like the main benefit of such frontends is the lack of trackers and fingerprinting, but what if the browser, like Firefox, already did that with UBlock Origin and fingerprinting protection?

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submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

It's kind of common for me to change DNS servers frequently, so I created a light page which list all the DNS servers that I know of that does not log DNS requests.

Link: https://secu.pages.dev/

I wanted to post it here for people who are like me and needed a project like this.

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submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Using anonymous global or regional data esims not only improves your privacy, but gives you better service. Because you are usually in roaming, if the coverage of one operator is not good, or they have an outage, you can usually use a different one, which is not possible if you're "at home".

Also you can have one as a backup. Mobimatter has so far the best prices and 1 year validity of data. Keepgo has also good programs. Bitrefill has shorter term, but can be cheaper per gb. All three support crypto payments for additional privacy.

Came across this tip on nostr

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I am wondering if an ISP or network admin on my network would be able to change where a DNS server is located at (ex: if a DNS server is located at 132.192.175.210, the ISP/netadmin can redirect it to their own server at 11.29.102.201 to change where the DNS records point to). Does DNSSEC and DoH/DoT combat this, and how? Why is it safe to use a domain for DoH/DoT if it requires going through insecure DNS to get to a secure DNS?

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It's now been two weeks since I created an account and tried making a post, but immediately so I got a message saying my account is on hold. I tried emailing Jonah Aragon who's listed on the site, and messaging the mods on the forum, but still haven't heard back. Any ideas for what to do? This is really annoying.

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Solution: I came up with this uBlock Origin filter rule: startpage.com$removeparam=/abp|lui/, I started by removing all the paramters and then took them out one by one while testing if searches made on startpage.com worked with them: startpage.com$removeparam=/abp|t|lui|sc|cat/. I also got a response from u/SPSupport that the paramters don't show when I search from the URL bar with my search engine set to https://www.startpage.com/sp/search?query=%s, which I did.

I want to be able to see the search query in the URL, and have a URL that I can always go back to if I restart my browser. I set the HTTP request method in settings to GET instead of POST since that shows the query, but it adds a bunch of extra paramters:

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It’s been a while since I last downloaded anaconda. But I remember when clicking on the download page, it would show the usual “choose your OS > download binary” (eg this archived version in 2019).

Recently I helped someone else set it up and it showed a form to put on email, with smaller gray text near the bottom of the form about skipping it.

Does this count as a dark pattern?

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Even though i have Proton VPN blocking trackers and use firefox with arkenfox EFF always says my browser has a unique fingerprint. Same with Mullvad browser and Tor. When I switched Tor to "Safer" it said near unique fingerprint, and only when i switched it to safest did it say i am protected from fingerprinting

from my results id guess that it has no fingerprit thanks to no javascript, but 90% of websites are useless without js

441
 
 

I can’t upload the images here for some reason so I can describe what I’m seeing.

In the Sensors list, I am seeing stuff like “3 Button Navigation Bar” “Android Easter Egg” “Android Shared Library” “Android System Angle.” In Networks I am seeing url-like names like “com.android.federatedcom[…]” “com.android.sdksandbox” “DeviceLockController.”

Is this malware? Is this virus? Is this safe or how do I remove them? Is it after I installed a sandboxed version of Play Store? I have spent all evening working on GOS and I am exhausted and the physical SIM card won’t work and I’m driving myself mad and it feels like nothing is working or I did something wrong and I can’t undo it. I just need some guidance please.

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Plexus V2 is Live! (discuss.techlore.tech)
submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Hi, my post is focusing specifically on YouTube since I observed the following categories have less intrusive solutions or privacy focused solutions, even if they are paid:

  • Operating Systems (Linux, for example)
  • Instant Messaging (Element, for example)
  • Community Messaging (Revolt, for example)
  • E-Mail (Proton, for example)
  • Office (libreoffice, for example)
  • Password Managers (Bitwarden, for example)

However, how do we distribute videos and watch them without data collection? I am NOT asking how do I use a privacy-focused front-end for YouTube, by the way, I am aware they exist.

I am wondering how we obtain a FOSS solution to something super critical such as YouTube. It is critical since it contains a lot of educational content (I'd wager more than any other platform), and arguably the most informative platform, despite having to filter through a lot of trash. During COVID, we even saw lecturers from universities upload their content on YouTube and telling students to watch those lectures. (I have first-hand experience with this at a respectable university).

I refuse to accept that there is nothing we can do about it.

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Been stuck in this place for a while now. I checked for Windows updates and installed the Android LeMobile driver a few minutes ago. Should I wait until the bootloader interface appears or do I press “reboot system / reboot to bootloader interface”?

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I tried Startpage and Searx but when I search things celebrity info or health conditions, the kind of searches where Google and other 1st party search engines would show info cards on the right, they show them on the left above all the search results rather than on the right side like Google search does. Its bad design because I have to scroll down to see the results when I wouldn't have to otherwise, and I'm used to the Google search layout, it probably takes some getting used to for other people as well. Its a waste of screen real estate on wide screens, it looks like the UI was made for mobile only.

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Howdy privacy experts,

I'm trying to de-google myself, what are your thoughts on HERE We Go? I have OsmAnd which I love for hiking and so on but it doesn't offer traffic altered directions since it can't look at overlays for routing.

I know HERE We Go is owned by car companies but it seems to be the best I can do, thoughts?

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I'm eligible for the US Lifeline program to get a phone number for free. I would use it on websites that require a phone number, like Discord, which doesn't accept numbers on services like Google Voice, and replace my personal phone number with it wherever necessary. And I would start using my personal phone number only with friends and family. I would NOT be using a provided lifeline phone, but rather a sim on my iPhone.

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SimpleLogin doesn't allow too many aliases for a given site like Reddit, even with a custom domain. I get that services don't want to ruin their own email domains, but I should be allowed to do whatever I want with my own domain.

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I don't know if there are other ways to use Reddit without using its own client, but I wanted to inform you.

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