Great guidelines! I’ve shared this with others and will cross post later.
I also use Proton services for mail, cloud storage, VPN - which I run at all times (on my iPhone, too) disabling only when a site I need to use blocks me. Then it becomes even more important to have a good privacy browser. I currently use Opera for most things, Tor when I really want to be sure I’m protected.
I stopped using Amazon years ago for a variety of reasons, not least of which is how they flood the market with cheaply made Chinese goods most likely manufactured from the theft of American intellectual property. Knowing now how complicit they are in the authoritarian globalist agenda, I’m glad I cut the cord then. I did cave twice in the intervening years because there were a couple of things I could not get elsewhere, despite many hours of searching. I swear I still feel guilty about it.
I’m a bit of a contrarian, so I’ve long made it a practice to use alternatives to companies such as Microsoft, Google and Apple whenever possible. I rarely use any of the default apps on my iPhone, seeking out independently developed apps instead, and have everything possible shut down to minimize invasion of privacy. It’s also a good idea not to use default texting apps, especially for important things, since surveillance is constant.
You can’t opt out. If you want to do anything online, you are in the system, by definition. The system is built that way.
You can only limit your exposure to the system - by not using it. Live offline. Make real friends, in real world. Do not use PIMs, calendars, smartphones, or any cell phones - you don’t need it. Use your memory, enjoy making appointments with your family or friends mind-to-mind - and learn to keep your word. You will be amazed how much a small phone destroys your social reliability simply because you can send a message and call off whatever YOU wanted to have just a few hours ago.
You don’t need GPS. Learn your surroundings. Drive and learn. Jog and learn. This is your life, your world - all around you, not in a 4” Mind-Limiter.
If you like biking, don’t use all those fancy meters. You don’t need them. What difference does it make whether you ride at 10 or 11 mph? Stop pretending to be an achiever - enjoy your rides. Try new routes, watch the trees, enjoy the wind on your face.
Throw out that headset. Walk out, enjoy all sounds. Listen to your environment. Stop dumbing your mind with constant music, news, or whatever you are addicted to listening.
Never go out with a cell phone. You don’t need it. Look around. Enjoy where you are - you won’t live anywhere else. This is the only space you have in your life.
If you like hiking, enjoy. Have a turned off phone hidden deep in the rucksack and don’t use it unless a real real emergency happens. Use wrong trails, get lost, find your trail back, waste a lot of time, get tired, become exhausted. This is what hiking is about. Learn your limits and learn to respect the nature. You don’t need any email account for it.
I have a beef on the topic of censorship, which is gently waded into in this article:
“DuckDuckGo is probably the most mainstream out of the above list, but lately, they have developed closer ties to Microsoft and are using more search results from Bing which has greater amounts of censorship. I’m not saying to stop using it but just to be aware and maintain caution.”
You are much too generous with Duck Duck Go here.
Duck Duck Go, for almost 4 years, had been the unquestionable reigning champ of having the most censored search engine. In that regard, it is worse that Google, worse than Yahoo, worse even than Bing. I’ve written a thirty page report on that topic. I do not believe Duck Duck Go belongs in this list. It deserves only a dishonorable mention in this article. The Bing results sadly improve the Duck Duck Go results. Its management team somehow has figured out how to be even more heavily censored than a Bill Gates owner search engine (Bing).
That report elaborating on why Duck Duck Go is the absolute most censored of all the majors is here https://RealStevo.com/search
These are all good suggestions. I'm always pleased to see these lists and find that I've done most of them already. I can personally vouch for most of the suggested alternatives.
Proton (of Proton Mail) also has a very good zero-knowledge cloud storage setup now.
One thing I can tell you is that going cold turkey on Amazon takes patience. I pulled all my content off Amazon about two years ago, and have been avoiding them for virtually all purchases now. I have only made two purchases in that time, in both cases because it was something I needed and could not find anywhere else after a diligent search.
3. You missed the obvious one - Firefox. Or at least Librewolf.
There's also getting off mainstream social media. The Fediverse has grown massively in recent years - Mastodon, Frendica and Kbin or Lemmy. It's all well and good to detox from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Google (Alphabet) but if you're still using Facebook and it's messenger, they still have your private data.
I've deleted my Amazon account, use cash and shop locally MOST of the time. I was in the dog house so many times on FB that I left for a year, just returned so I could catch up with a few international friends in one group and stay out of the political fray. FB "virtually" stunned my one of a kind art doll business by blocking me and true posts on the scam we've had to navigate over the last four years. Losing 5000 "friends" on FB was mighty unfriendly but worth the price to shed light on the global crimes, eugenics, and atrocities we face daily now. I've rid myself of chase, twit, Instagram, weeding out gooooooewgle, started using brave, qwant, proton mail and totally dis wickedpedia. Not dem or repub or any of the other parties of the same demented crew, wearing different colors and hats. Life IS so much different since 2019. Not as enjoyable. That joy is returning......one peacefully noncompliant moment at a time.
Respectfully, DuckDuckGo is a TERRIBLE recommendation for a search engine as an alternative to Google & Bing. Proton are also technology partners of the WEF!
Prepare to meet the challenge of the "NEW FRONTIER"!
We are the (Digital) Early Pioneers on a different landscape now.
It's as exciting and uncertain, as it is daunting!
Our liability and assets are drastically evolving. (even Einstein would be scratching his head)
New skills you never thought you would ever need become an education of wisdoms.
The speed of which is no longer a snails pace. It's like lightning bolt fast.
Keep a note pad like a secret diary of days gone by, and write down dates and passwords/codes.
Don't use the same password for everything.
Be creative then jot them on down on paper.
I have kept a copper wire land line next to my desktop in the office.
As was the case in days gone by if the power was out at home, the low voltage telephone line was still in service as long as the power poles lines remained unaffected and intact. I think it is still true.
Learning to use a password manager/safe will help with the proposals. I use KeePass or KeePassXC when on MacOS by importing my primary database occasionally. I only add new passwords to my primary database. I have the primary on a USB stick on my daily driver and make copies on other machines if I need a new password.
If you use syncing then learning to run your own server would be a great exercise. It allows the access of your passwords and browser tabs from any device. I don't use internet on my phone so do not miss the feature but would be loath to sync with an outside party that could monitor usage or control access to my information.
This is great! I'm already doing most of these things, and have for several years, we are also off grid for power(solar, wind and diesel), grow a lot of our own food too. I think the most important thing to do is use cash for all face to face transaction; anonymity is going to be just about our most important asset into the future. If we can retain cash, anonymity, avoid SMART phones(tracking, radiation and back door 'spying')then I think we will win this. Our difficulty is that there are a lot of people out there who are blissfully ignorant of reality and what is coming down the line. Those people are the Achilles Heel of our endeavors.
Also go look at Gabriels Libre substack as he has done an enormous amount of work on this already and broken it down so you can work on one part at a time.
Great guidelines! I’ve shared this with others and will cross post later.
I also use Proton services for mail, cloud storage, VPN - which I run at all times (on my iPhone, too) disabling only when a site I need to use blocks me. Then it becomes even more important to have a good privacy browser. I currently use Opera for most things, Tor when I really want to be sure I’m protected.
I stopped using Amazon years ago for a variety of reasons, not least of which is how they flood the market with cheaply made Chinese goods most likely manufactured from the theft of American intellectual property. Knowing now how complicit they are in the authoritarian globalist agenda, I’m glad I cut the cord then. I did cave twice in the intervening years because there were a couple of things I could not get elsewhere, despite many hours of searching. I swear I still feel guilty about it.
I’m a bit of a contrarian, so I’ve long made it a practice to use alternatives to companies such as Microsoft, Google and Apple whenever possible. I rarely use any of the default apps on my iPhone, seeking out independently developed apps instead, and have everything possible shut down to minimize invasion of privacy. It’s also a good idea not to use default texting apps, especially for important things, since surveillance is constant.
#10 Cash is the biggest and most important item here IMO. I'd add to find a local credit union to do your banking with as much as possible.
You can’t opt out. If you want to do anything online, you are in the system, by definition. The system is built that way.
You can only limit your exposure to the system - by not using it. Live offline. Make real friends, in real world. Do not use PIMs, calendars, smartphones, or any cell phones - you don’t need it. Use your memory, enjoy making appointments with your family or friends mind-to-mind - and learn to keep your word. You will be amazed how much a small phone destroys your social reliability simply because you can send a message and call off whatever YOU wanted to have just a few hours ago.
You don’t need GPS. Learn your surroundings. Drive and learn. Jog and learn. This is your life, your world - all around you, not in a 4” Mind-Limiter.
If you like biking, don’t use all those fancy meters. You don’t need them. What difference does it make whether you ride at 10 or 11 mph? Stop pretending to be an achiever - enjoy your rides. Try new routes, watch the trees, enjoy the wind on your face.
Throw out that headset. Walk out, enjoy all sounds. Listen to your environment. Stop dumbing your mind with constant music, news, or whatever you are addicted to listening.
Never go out with a cell phone. You don’t need it. Look around. Enjoy where you are - you won’t live anywhere else. This is the only space you have in your life.
If you like hiking, enjoy. Have a turned off phone hidden deep in the rucksack and don’t use it unless a real real emergency happens. Use wrong trails, get lost, find your trail back, waste a lot of time, get tired, become exhausted. This is what hiking is about. Learn your limits and learn to respect the nature. You don’t need any email account for it.
Cool article on privacy. Thank you.
I have a beef on the topic of censorship, which is gently waded into in this article:
“DuckDuckGo is probably the most mainstream out of the above list, but lately, they have developed closer ties to Microsoft and are using more search results from Bing which has greater amounts of censorship. I’m not saying to stop using it but just to be aware and maintain caution.”
You are much too generous with Duck Duck Go here.
Duck Duck Go, for almost 4 years, had been the unquestionable reigning champ of having the most censored search engine. In that regard, it is worse that Google, worse than Yahoo, worse even than Bing. I’ve written a thirty page report on that topic. I do not believe Duck Duck Go belongs in this list. It deserves only a dishonorable mention in this article. The Bing results sadly improve the Duck Duck Go results. Its management team somehow has figured out how to be even more heavily censored than a Bill Gates owner search engine (Bing).
That report elaborating on why Duck Duck Go is the absolute most censored of all the majors is here https://RealStevo.com/search
Thank you again for the post.
Allan
These are all good suggestions. I'm always pleased to see these lists and find that I've done most of them already. I can personally vouch for most of the suggested alternatives.
Proton (of Proton Mail) also has a very good zero-knowledge cloud storage setup now.
One thing I can tell you is that going cold turkey on Amazon takes patience. I pulled all my content off Amazon about two years ago, and have been avoiding them for virtually all purchases now. I have only made two purchases in that time, in both cases because it was something I needed and could not find anywhere else after a diligent search.
This website is ultimately all most people need: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/
3. You missed the obvious one - Firefox. Or at least Librewolf.
There's also getting off mainstream social media. The Fediverse has grown massively in recent years - Mastodon, Frendica and Kbin or Lemmy. It's all well and good to detox from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Google (Alphabet) but if you're still using Facebook and it's messenger, they still have your private data.
Speaking of which. Use Signal.
I've deleted my Amazon account, use cash and shop locally MOST of the time. I was in the dog house so many times on FB that I left for a year, just returned so I could catch up with a few international friends in one group and stay out of the political fray. FB "virtually" stunned my one of a kind art doll business by blocking me and true posts on the scam we've had to navigate over the last four years. Losing 5000 "friends" on FB was mighty unfriendly but worth the price to shed light on the global crimes, eugenics, and atrocities we face daily now. I've rid myself of chase, twit, Instagram, weeding out gooooooewgle, started using brave, qwant, proton mail and totally dis wickedpedia. Not dem or repub or any of the other parties of the same demented crew, wearing different colors and hats. Life IS so much different since 2019. Not as enjoyable. That joy is returning......one peacefully noncompliant moment at a time.
Respectfully, DuckDuckGo is a TERRIBLE recommendation for a search engine as an alternative to Google & Bing. Proton are also technology partners of the WEF!
https://actionabletruth.substack.com/i/126308952/private-search-engine
"...the United States with its vibrant history of democracy and open freedoms."
The key word here is "history".
Tor was set up with Navy intelligence and DARPA money. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(network)
None of this will work.
Prepare to meet the challenge of the "NEW FRONTIER"!
We are the (Digital) Early Pioneers on a different landscape now.
It's as exciting and uncertain, as it is daunting!
Our liability and assets are drastically evolving. (even Einstein would be scratching his head)
New skills you never thought you would ever need become an education of wisdoms.
The speed of which is no longer a snails pace. It's like lightning bolt fast.
Keep a note pad like a secret diary of days gone by, and write down dates and passwords/codes.
Don't use the same password for everything.
Be creative then jot them on down on paper.
I have kept a copper wire land line next to my desktop in the office.
As was the case in days gone by if the power was out at home, the low voltage telephone line was still in service as long as the power poles lines remained unaffected and intact. I think it is still true.
Learning to use a password manager/safe will help with the proposals. I use KeePass or KeePassXC when on MacOS by importing my primary database occasionally. I only add new passwords to my primary database. I have the primary on a USB stick on my daily driver and make copies on other machines if I need a new password.
If you use syncing then learning to run your own server would be a great exercise. It allows the access of your passwords and browser tabs from any device. I don't use internet on my phone so do not miss the feature but would be loath to sync with an outside party that could monitor usage or control access to my information.
This is great! I'm already doing most of these things, and have for several years, we are also off grid for power(solar, wind and diesel), grow a lot of our own food too. I think the most important thing to do is use cash for all face to face transaction; anonymity is going to be just about our most important asset into the future. If we can retain cash, anonymity, avoid SMART phones(tracking, radiation and back door 'spying')then I think we will win this. Our difficulty is that there are a lot of people out there who are blissfully ignorant of reality and what is coming down the line. Those people are the Achilles Heel of our endeavors.
Also go look at Gabriels Libre substack as he has done an enormous amount of work on this already and broken it down so you can work on one part at a time.
Consider presearch.com for a search engine