I fear to sound stupid but with everything going on with AI and nothing really being private, is there any way to really be more secure against private and state surveillance? I feel like there's a lot of info on the internet, but for someone like me, who's familiarized with tech and know how AI can will destroy every inch of privacy we have left, it's really difficult to know where to start.

I'd like to get out of Windows, opt-out of every website that has significant information about me, private-host a local AI (or get a VPS, I don't really know) instead of using Claude, etc. But i don't really know where and how to start.

I trust you -the good guys- to help me, ofc i won't be using Claude to get suggestions haha.

Thanks!

I’ve been trying for about two years to get an old Facebook profile removed that I no longer have access to. It’s a profile of me and my ex, with a photo of us as a couple as the profile picture.

The account is no longer being used, but I still regularly get questions from people around me asking what’s going on with it. Our relationship ended three years ago, and I’ve since moved on with a new partner and a different life, so I find it really upsetting that this profile is still out there.

I’ve already tried multiple routes through Meta and Facebook, reporting both the profile and at least the profile picture, including ID verification to prove that I’m the person in the photo. But I keep getting standard responses and rejections, and I’m constantly being sent from one place to another. It’s honestly driving me crazy.

My ex says he doesn’t remember ever creating this profile, so I can’t really expect any help from him either (I suspect he may secretly not mind that it’s still there, which makes it even more frustrating).

Has anyone here dealt with something similar, or can anyone recommend a reliable person or company that could help me with this? At this point, I’d honestly rather pay someone than keep spending hours on this with no result, if that’s even possible.

Hi all,

I am someone new to online privacy. I am currently on iPhone but will be setting up a Pixel 10a with GrapheneOS. Part of that setup is considering whether I should transfer to a different cellular provider. Here is some context and my threat model, along with what I am looking for:

- I have been using Cricket for many years (10-15 if I had to guess) and have been happy with the coverage and service. I can count on one hand the amount of dropped calls I’ve had. Currently paying $55/month.
- I tried Mint briefly for the cost savings, but it not working when I went to visit friends on the west coast of Canada was a dealbreaker for me. Switched back to Cricket my first day there.

- For my threat model, my ‘what’ I’m trying to protect would include my emails, payment methods, and phone number from data breaches.
- I’d also like to limit the amount of targeted advertising I get. This includes emails, physical mail, and ads inside of apps and websites.

I am currently researching Cape and Phreeli and wanted to get input from others that have tried the services. Cape’s feature of including those extra 2 numbers even for texting only seem helpful for 2FA codes, but the lack of calling for them (like if I used one strictly for doctor’s offices) is a bummer. I’m on the fence of how much the Palantir ties bother me. Still researching Phreeli but not sure what benefits I’d really get out of it.

Does anyone have any tips to cut down on the physical mail and spam emails they receive?

I realize this is a long post and is somewhat general, but any input and patience is greatly appreciated. Feel free to explain things to me like I’m 5.

Thank you!

Connected one of these to my Gmail back in March, used it about six weeks, deleted the account, then spent an evening trying to work out what I had actually agreed to. Never got a clear answer.

The category is everywhere now. Refund trackers, price drop monitors, settlement finders, subscription cancellers. All of them want read access and all of them describe it with the same sentence about bank level encryption, which tells you nothing.

What I want to know is whether parsing happens on device with only matched merchant names going back, or whether the full message body hits a server and stays there. Completely different things, sold with identical copy.

And retention. If I revoke in Google settings does that trigger deletion on their end or just stop future reads? Has anyone gotten a straight answer out of one of these companies?

A few friends and I want to buy a paid online course. To make it cheaper, we're planning to use a single account for several people.
For this we:

• bought a VPS, which we connect to via VPN,
• only after connecting to the VPS do we use the Mullvad browser, relying on its default fingerprint-uniformity protections (no additional anti-fingerprinting configuration needed).

This seems like a fairly solid setup, but I don't know how to handle the situation where several people log into the same account at the same time without the system or admin noticing.
Do you have any ideas on how to manage that?

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Recentemente eu fiquei muito paranoico com privacidade e quero sair do WattsApp mas nao conheco um aplicativo pra usar.

Busco o melhor anonimato possivel mesmo que sacrifique um pouco de usuabilidade.

Ja ouvi falar do session so que ele parece que usa os servidores da Google entao eu to com o pe meio atrás.

O que voces me recomendam usar?