RE: https://stefanbohacek.online/@stefan/115584352297149608
Yikes, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes me glad I left Gmail years ago. 😬
#Privacy #DitchGoogle #Gmail #ReclaimYourPrivacy #Google #TechForGood #AI #MyDataMyChoice #DataPrivacy #DontBeEvil #DigitalRights #OptOut #EmailPrivacy #BigTech
So @naomibrockwell blew my mind about how are smart TVs are spying on us with Automatic Content Recognition and other advertising profile scripts. Yikes! Thanks for the heads up!
https://youtu.be/jeq2m-OM53A?si=DPW7TQiDSopBdqiS
I don’t have the resources to switch to a more secure streaming device yet (I’m gonna build one with mini PC running LibreELEC with Kodi hopefully).
In the meantime, I setup a Pi-Hole on an old Raspberry Pi 3B I had laying around last night to block as many ads and outgoing unwanted scripts as I could.
https://pi-hole.net/
It is working great from what I tell! Even removed the ads from my Roku TV home pages lol! I’m sure some stuff is getting through, but at least it’s minimal.
Here is the PiHole install video I watched from Micro Center, but I also added SSH via private/public keys too. How to Block Ads Using a Pi-Hole With A Raspberry Pi
https://youtu.be/oX4NqFisC5Y?si=-AdahVN0F6UchwnP
Oh and it has a built-in Star Trek NG LCARS theme!
https://github.com/MichalSvatos/pi-hole-star-trek-picard
#pihole #pi-hole #raspberrypi #linux #adblocking #cybersecurity #homenetworking #homelab #privacy #dataprivacy #digitalrights #mydatamychoice #privacyisahumanright #privacymatters #blockads #surveillancecapitalism #optout #FOSS #startrek #microcenter
Okay, big one: What more privacy-focused Ai platforms do you use instead of Google Gemini? :chatgpt:
I use Brave browser, but have been using Gemini a lot for random stuff. Obviously wanting to move away from it now. Haha
#privacy #dataprivacy #degoogle #degoogled #deletegoogle #digitalrights #mydatamychoice #privacyisahumanright #surveillancecapitalism #optout #FOSS #fediverse
Just unplugged my Google Homes *cough. listening devices*. Thanks, I can use Siri or native app to control my own lights thank you.
#privacy #dataprivacy #degoogle #degoogled #deletegoogle #digitalrights #mydatamychoice #privacyisahumanright #surveillancecapitalism #optout #FOSS #fediverse
Finally got through the process of downloading my old Facebook and couple of Instagram accounts data today. Pretty extensive! Had wait several days on Facebook alone.
Just clicked to confirm deletion of ALL my Meta accounts and couldn't be happier!
I have also mostly finished moving all +200 online accounts using my various gmail and outlook emails over to Proton Mail aliases! Coming for you next Google and Microsoft, so watch out!
It's hard work, but take back your data, privacy, and peace of mind from these big tech companies that profit from your doomscrolling and selling your data!
Thanks to all the folks on here, Reddit, and YouTube that have given insight, especially @techlore. Thank you!
#privacy #dataprivacy #demeta #degoogle #degoogled #defacebook #deinstagram #deletefacebook #deletegoogle #digitalrights #mydatamychoice #privacyisahumanright #surveillancecapitalism #optout #protonmail #FOSS #fediverse
@shauna I want an open hardware home health scanner, where it takes a scan of your eye, tongue and maybe you spit into a vial (and urinate?), and then it gives you a fast diagnostic on where your levels are low.
Your low on magnesium today, take 2 tablets and eat a handful of almonds.
No i dont want some corporation to develop this to advertise to me and sell my data to an authoritarian state.
One of the things I've been advocating for years - and where I want to raise my voice even louder - is the importance of owning your data. #OwnYourData
Over the past few days, I’ve come across two examples of how misinformation is causing immense damage, leading people to believe that there's no alternative but to hand over their data to big corporations, putting themselves entirely in their hands.
- A well-known lawyer, just before a meeting, warned about using Teams and its new "virtual assistant," which joins conferences before anyone else and transcribes everything. When I pointed out that it would be wise to use alternative tools (like Jitsi, for example, but there are others), he abruptly ended the conversation, saying, "We've lost this war. There's no alternative anymore."
That wasn’t the right moment for a detailed discussion, so I just noted that alternatives do exist - but if no one starts using them, and if we passively accept certain behaviors from certain companies, things will never improve for us.
- Just now, I received another one of those emails that hurt more in the heart than in the wallet: "Our e-commerce is taking off, so we’re moving it to Shopify to better manage our growth."
I replied, trying to explain that handing over a growing e-commerce business to a third-party company (right now, they have full access to their own server - meaning all their databases, data, etc., are under their control) means losing ownership of it. Prices could change at any moment, contract terms could shift negatively, and, worst case scenario, if Shopify itself faced issues (which seems impossible today, but think of giants like Kodak), they could lose everything. Of course, they’ll do what they think is best, but I feel obligated to warn them.
Luckily, others are making the opposite choice. But I keep wondering: since these big platforms aren’t exactly cheap, rather than "selling themselves" to them just for (potentially) fewer headaches, wouldn’t it be worth paying someone (not me, of course, but someone working exclusively for them) to handle these things - ensuring they retain full ownership of their business and their data?
#DataOwnership #Decentralization #BigTech #DataRights #MyDataMyChoice #TakeBackControl
My Data My Choice
As we welcome another wave of people fleeing toxic corporate
platforms, we are reminded what differentiates Mastodon is that it's not owned by anyone, and you own your own content.
What you post here is yours. It does not become the property of billionaires or venture capitalists to monetize, limit or otherwise manipulate. It's yours.
Yesterday in a great post about leaving corporate platforms (https://lgbtqia.space/@alice/113801225828650990), @alice nailed it: "My Data My Choice"
I deleted my #Twitter / #X account forever ago.
I deleted my #Reddit account shortly after.
A few days ago I messaged all the people I know on #WhatsApp to tell them I'd be deleting my account. A few minutes ago I deleted it and uninstalled the app.
A few minutes ago I also requested a download of my #Facebook and #Instagram content (both have been locked down and unused for years). A few seconds ago I deleted both accounts.
#LinkedIn comes out of the archive when I'm looking for work, and goes back in as soon as I get hired again. I'm strongly considering deleting that account as well, because fuck LinkedIn and #FuckCapitalism.
---
So what am I doing in place of all these toxic, bullshit platforms? I'm glad you asked...
#Mastodon, #Signal, #Matrix, #Proton (mail, drive), #Lovense (hey, it's a social platform 😋).
@Drezil @luap42
No, I just refuse to accept and refuse to deal with asshole corporations / sites that just refuse to respect my decisions!
Cuz #MyDataMyChoice because #Privacy is an inalienable #HumanRight...
That's not "Victim Blaming" but enforcement of boundaries.
And if you think that't too hard just use @torproject / #TorBorwser cust that does the heavy lifting for ya...
