In the last week:

I started using Syncthing. I was using cloud storage as a way of copying files from one device to another. Syncthing is so much better.

I signed up with Mullvad VPN yesterday.

Deleted my Surfshark account today which I signed up with over two years ago when I didn’t care about privacy.

Finally convinced my sister to start using Signal.

    • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
      8·
      1 year ago

      Was that a privacy concern?

      I mean fuck Reddit, but with tracking blocked was it ever more of a concern than other websites?

        • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
          6·
          1 year ago

          Is that posting history or more than that? Because stuff that I’ve posted in a public forum is for public consumption, same as on here. If there’s underhanded tracking involved for things I do outside of Reddit that’s more concerning, but back when I signed up to Reddit it didn’t even need an email address, my Reddit account could have just been a fictional character for all Reddit knows.

            • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
              4·
              1 year ago

              I understand that, and that’s why I block ad servers, but the subreddits I’m active on is also something I’ve shared publicly, albeit under a pseudonym, I kind of think of that as fair game for algorithms to analyse because it’s done in public. Good luck to them showing me ads because I’ve not seen an ad on the internet since the early 00s. Sneaky tracking of activity off of Reddit is another matter.

          • Revan343@lemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            I would assume IP address, browser fingerprint, and handle if you reuse it are all being tracked between sessions, even assuming no tracking cookies.

            Obviously some of these are more trackable than others, but there’s the risk of re-establishing identity between sessions-- say if your user-agent resets when you close your browser, but you sign in to a site that keeps track of you and shares it.

            I’m very lax about opsec places like here or Reddit, my username is enough for you to find my city without much effort, and almost certainly find me in person with significant effort, and is certainly an easy start for trying to find me elsewhere online. My main defense there is that my password is different across every site, but many people aren’t even that careful, and that’s like the barest level of careful

    • tyrefyre@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Same, I’ve only been back when I need to reference game guides etc that I was already using in June. But I don’t have the app anymore and I access it anonymously.

  • Evkob@lemmy.caEnglish
    35·
    1 year ago

    Finally switched from from Windows to Linux (specifically EndeavourOS, an Arch-based distro with a GUI installer).

    I also bought a new phone, on which I intend to install GrapheneOS and distance myself from Google’s ecosystem.

    I signed up for Proton Mail.

    LibRedirect browser addon to switch to privacy-respecting frontends for popular websites.

    • vgpunks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      I just did too but I went with manjaro. After getting it all set up I’m thinking of jumping to endeavor but I’m not sure I want to go through the entire setup again.

      • dasprii@lemmy.froztbyte.devEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Manjaro will break on you a lot more often than EndeavorOS will because of their release schedule. Should be ok if you stay away from the AUR but that kinda defeats the biggest selling point of using an Arch-based distro in the first place. Manjaro is the one and only distro that I actively ward people away from.

  • Rocinante@lemmy.oneEnglish
    22·
    1 year ago

    Stopped using google search. Started using duckduckgo, brave, startpage, or SearXNG instead. Been using SearXNG the most.

  • Tiritibambix@lemmy.mlEnglish
    19·
    1 year ago

    I’ve been using signal for a long time and managed to pull my family and close friends with me (I don’t know how but fuck yeah).

    I use pihole on my home network and mobile with wireguard. I blocked all meta / twitter / google / amazon domains.

    I host my own instance of searxng.

    I deleted all my content on Reddit and kept my account to delete restored comments / posts. I ask them to stop restoring my content under GDPR “right to be forgotten” and am waiting the 30 days delay to report them to the authorities with the proofs I gather.

    I blocked threads.com threads.net on my mastodon account.

    I live a fucking hell but it feels great messing up with big tech. Fuck them.

    • aname@lemmy.oneEnglish
      17·
      1 year ago

      Why do you expect Apple to increase your privacy over Google? It’s just moving from one megacorporation to another. You have no reason to expect better privacy.

      • ritchie@lemmy.oneEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        At least apple uses the data to sell you their stuff to my knowledge. On the other hand, google bombards you with ads from tons of different firms and sells you out to these companies.

          • ritchie@lemmy.oneEnglish
            2·
            1 year ago

            They don’t have an adsense banner on almost every single website or mobile app that tries to sell me something based on the data they have collected from me. This is already an indicator. They even made zuckerberg mad by making it possible to opt out of sharing certain data with them. I am not saying apple is privacy example, but I would definitely put them higher on a list compared to google.

    • Aetherion@feddit.deEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      did that too are you using a mac and plan to switch to some linux laptop in time? The new M1 Macs are too good :(

  • kikuchiyo@lemmy.mlEnglish
    13·
    1 year ago
    • I deleted all my Meta accounts and started using Signal.
    • I’m moving all accounts linked to Gmail and Outlook to Proton Mail and Tutanota.
    • I’m using many privacy-oriented extensions on Firefox.
    • I’m trying to change all software to Open Source if that’s possible.
    • I have a Nextcloud and i’m using it to sync my Calendar, Task and Photos.
    • I started using Bitwarden for my passwords (and deleted them from all Microsoft, Apple and Google cloud services).
    • I’m setting up my home server to host Nextcloud and Bitwarden.
    • Einar@lemmy.ml
      3·
      1 year ago

      It’s actually quite liberating to switch it off every now and then and just go about ones business without it.

  • NightOwl@lemmy.oneEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    I started using freetube on the desktop. It’s like newpipe with how you have local subscriptions and feed without an account. I like it a lot.

    • metaStatic@kbin.social
      2·
      1 year ago

      oof, probably the best I’ve seen and still suffers from youtube just being total trash in general without a dozen or so extensions. there’s some channels I follow I had no idea had clickbait thumbnails and there absolutely will be sponsored content.

      We need something like this for peertube

  • REEELAAAAAYYcted@lemmy.kya.moeEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    last week i deleted reddit, github, steam, google, discord, facebook and probably more I forgot about

    I only keep my Microsoft account cuz I got Minecraft on it, otherwise I use fedi, xmpp, irc and matrix for everything else

        • ßrando@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          I was mostly just lamenting that I could never be as hardcore as you. I am too addicted to gaming to give up steam haha

          • REEELAAAAAYYcted@lemmy.kya.moeEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            I only play offline indie games 99% of the times (using the 🏴‍☠️ method) which means I dont have to worry about DRM or mandatory login/internet connection

            so technically the only thing I had on my steam was my status/scores, which are meaningless since I dont have friends lol

    • Sebo@lemmy.oneEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I have the exact same problem not being able to delete my Microsoft accounts since they’re linked to paid Minecraft accounts :(

    • understandable@lemmy.mlEnglish
      9·
      1 year ago

      This actually drastically decreases privacy and makes you more trackable. The best thing to do with your user agent is to set it to the most common one and leave it at that. Anything else (especially an ever-changing one) is a much more uniquely identifying piece of information.

      • Qualanqui@lemmy.fmhy.mlEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        Try Vivaldi browser, it’s old school Opera with a Chrome dress on. So you get the benefits of Chrome with the focus on privacy and innovation of old school Opera.

        (Replied to the wrong comment but you get the gist.)

  • MXX53@programming.devEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    I have moved my personal knowledge base and task lists to logseq and using syncthing to sync with my other devices . Finally migrated my google drive data completely over to Nextcloud and then encrypted all of the data on google drive using cryptomater(just another more reliable backup over my local host until I can get enough money to configure redundant backups). Moved to Lemmy from Reddit. And started my plan to move back to GrapheneOS from my iPhone. Just need to get some money to migrate to a pixel.