Image: Privacy Guides / Jordan Warne
Is it possible to collect data from a large group of people but protect each individual's privacy? In this entry of my series on privacy-enhancing technologies, we'll discuss differential privacy and how it can do just that.
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In the early hours of 6 June 2020, Nicole Smallman and her sister Bibaa Henry had just finished celebrating Bibaa's birthday with friends in a park in London. Alone and in the dark, they were both fatally and repeatedly stabbed 36 times.
Illustration: Jordan Warne / Privacy Guides
We know how to secure data in storage using E2EE, but is it possible to ensure data privacy even while processing it server-side? This is the first in a series of articles I'll be writing covering the privacy-enhancing technologies being rolled out.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Photo: Ramaz Bluashvili / Pexels
If you've heard of Chat Control already, bad news: it's back. If you haven't, this is a pressing issue you should urgently learn more about if you value privacy, democracy, and human rights. This is happening right now, and we must act to stop it right now.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Photo: Lilartsy / Unsplash
They all claim "Your privacy is important to us." How can we know if that's true? With privacy washing being normalized by big tech and startups alike, it becomes increasingly difficult to evaluate who we can trust with our personal data. Fortunately, there are red (and green) flags we can look for to help us.
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Perhaps you haven't heard the term privacy washing before. Nonetheless, it's likely that you have already been exposed to this scheme in the wild. Regrettably, privacy washing is a widespread deceptive strategy.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides
If you are just starting the journey to improve your privacy online, you might feel overwhelmed by all the information you recently learned. This is normal, don't panic!
Montage: Em / Privacy Guides | Illustration: @dopatwo@mastodon.social (1)
Increasingly, more and more people have joined Mastodon in recent years. The advantages provided by a decentralized network and using open-source software maintained by a nonprofit organization are undeniable. Mastodon offers much more robust protections for your privacy than commercial social media platforms do. This tutorial will show you how to make the most of it.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Logo: Mastodon gGmbH
Mastodon is an open-source and decentralized social network that has been growing in popularity for the past few years.
While most social media rely on commercial models harvesting users' data to sell to advertisers, Mastodon offers a human-centric alternative that doesn't seek profits from your data and attention. This means better social connections, better controls, and better privacy.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Photo: Surasak Ch / Unsplash
When discussing the intersection of data privacy and LGBTQ+ experiences, it's inevitable to also talk about queer dating apps. Due to a smaller percentage of the population and a number of factors complicating in-person dating, people part of the queer community are more likely to seek online platforms to meet lovers and friends. Unfortunately, using queer dating apps can be very dangerous for privacy, and even for safety.
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In the age of facial recognition and age verification, it might feel like our data is being harvested left and right, completely outside our control or consent. Yet, we still have a powerful weapon to fight back against surveillance: The power to say no.
Illustration: Jonah Aragon / Privacy Guides
In this guide, we will walk you through setting up a very powerful Monero server on TrueNAS. By completing these steps, you will be able to connect to your own self-hosted Monero node with the official Monero wallet and Cake Wallet, and you will be able to connect to your own self-hosted Monero LWS server with Edge Wallet and MyMonero.
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In data privacy, we often talk about the dangers of data collection and exposed data. It can get overwhelming to learn more about all the information that is collected on us, especially at the beginning. As a coping mechanism, some people react by downplaying concerns, disregarding dangers, and ignoring precautions altogether. Others react the opposite way: by isolating themselves, and no longer sharing anything with anyone. But neither is a viable solution.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Photo: Zeki Okur / Unsplash
Increasingly, surveillance is being normalized and integrated in our lives. Under the guise of convenience, applications and features are sold to us as being the new better way to do things. While some might be useful, this convenience is a Trojan horse. The cost of it is the continuous degradation of our privacy rights, with all that that entails.
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Photo: Chris Robert / Unsplash
Data privacy is important for everyone. But for some marginalized populations, data privacy is indispensable for social connection, access to information, and physical safety. For Pride month this year, we will discuss topics at the intersection of data privacy and experiences specific to the LGBTQ+ community.
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With the popularity of generative AI, it's becoming more and more difficult to distinguish reality from fiction. Can this problem be solved using cryptography? What are the privacy implications of the currently proposed systems?
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If you, like myself, have been inhabiting the internet for a few decades, you're probably familiar with the old adage IRL: In Real Life.
The acronym was used a lot when the distinction between online life and offline life was much greater than it is now. In today's world, can we really keep referring to our digital life as being somehow disconnected from our "real life"?
Illustration: Em / Privacy Guides | Photo: PicJumbo / Pexels
If you have been looking for a password manager giving you full control over your data, KeePassium is a fantastic option. The application available for iOS and macOS keeps your password database offline by default. KeePassium still offers synchronization and backup options, but allows you to choose which storage provider to trust with your database, and change it whenever you want.
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Last week, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman announced in San Francisco that the World project he co-founded, formerly known as Worldcoin, is opening six stores across the United States, allowing users of the project's app to scan their eyeballs.
Simply put, the premise is this: scan your eyeball, get a biometric tag, verify yourself, buy our apps (and cryptocurrency). The scary part is the for-profit company developing the project has now gathered millions in venture capital investment, powerful partners, and is ready to expand and impose its Minority Report style technology everywhere. Welcome to Dystopialand.
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Age verification laws and propositions forcing platforms to restrict content accessed by children and teens have been multiplying in recent years. The problem is, implementing such measures necessarily requires identifying each user accessing this content, one way or another. This is bad news for your privacy.