Privacy Guides – Tools and Resources for Protecting Your Data
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Is anyone been using Cryptee for long time?

I'm planning to move from Standard Notes to Cryptee and have few questions.

Use case : I needed a Document editor for journals and personal notes which I can access from anywhere app or no app.

1. Is it still snappy if you have 100+ notes and is offline mode reliable?
2. Is there any roadmap of upcoming changes and improvements because it has stellar document editor while photo manager is clunky with no folder or auto upload.

https://redd.it/sqq84y
@PrivacyGuides
icloud 3rd party encryption?

I noticed that there is a market for 3rd party services that will encrypt your data on the fly from your iphone to icloud. I don't use icloud but there are a couple apps that I wouldn't mind if they were synced across multiple devices. Has anyone had an experience with these 3rd party services that do it?

https://redd.it/sqfki2
@PrivacyGuides
Why does PrivacyGuides direct people on their site to services that they recommend against using

Why does PrivacyGuides tell people to check them out on Reddit or Twitter even though they recommend against using these sites

https://redd.it/sqdo7y
@PrivacyGuides
WebDAV and 2FA

I would like to access my cloud storage via WebDAV but also keep 2FA switched on. Nextcloud implements this via a device passcode that I understood serves as a client specific password. Is this actually as safe / secure as using the “global” password plus a TOTP? Thanks for your advice!

https://redd.it/sqyaet
@PrivacyGuides
Google recognizes a person's passing away?

I recently lost my uncle. There were lot of exchanged photos, messages, Whatsapp statuses, Facebook statuses around this event by various family members.

However, a day after his passing away, my Google Photos shows a spotlight of my uncle! (Spotlight is a feature where photos of a person/pet are auto-clubbed in a 'story' format and presented for viewing/saving)

I know all of these tech companies are really creepy, but how did Google 'recognize' that an important event surrounding my uncle has occurred? Because neither Whatsapp nor Facebook are owned by Google. No emails (Gmail or otherwise) were sent amongst the large family.

This is creepy max pro.

https://redd.it/sqzvj5
@PrivacyGuides
Redact and other similar scripts to delete Facebook content

Following this post, does anyone have experience with Redact.dev? I keep finding conflicting feedback and could use some guidance. Also read that one could just use their own script to do something similar; anyone has experience with this?

XS

https://redd.it/sr0qjz
@PrivacyGuides
Redact and other similar scripts to delete Facebook content

Following this post, does anyone have experience with Redact.dev? I keep finding conflicting feedback and could use some guidance. Also read that one could just use their own script to do something similar; anyone has experience with this?

XS

https://redd.it/sr0qjz
@PrivacyGuides
Numerous Advanced GrapheneOS Questions

1. Is there technically any way to verify that WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, etc. won't ever leak or even flash for a second when in airplane mode? Specifically the MAC addresses or unique identifiers. I'm sure any such verification would involve auditing millions of lines of code but still just asking.


2. How possible is it that any MAC addresses or unique identifiers leak/flash briefly upon the very first part of startup or very last part of shutdown when still in airplane mode?


3. Is it plausible that Google could or has a backdoor on the actual Pixel hardware or lowest firmware levels of the Pixel? Or baked in zero days? Is all such firmware code verifiable or audit-able?


4. How possible would it be for a nation state or rogue carrier to use its infrastructure/towers to passively locate the phone via the LTE hardware or another way if it's always on airplane mode and only ever connected to the internet via WiFi mode, assuming the attacker had learned unique identifiers about the phone? (Could a carrier track a WiFi-only GrapheneOS if the Pixel was never signed up for cell service or has since abandoned the previous owner's cell service if the carrier still knew the IMEI, etc.?)


5. When WiFi is enabled, is Bluetooth always enabled and on at the same time? (On a software level or hardware level?)


6. Is having an isolated guest profile for potentially malicious apps the same level of protection that VM software such as VirtualBox provides? How is it different?


7. Would an attacker need an actual Android exploit to break out of a guest profile and onto the main host software or another user profile?


8. Assume you're connecting to a malicious WiFi router or portal which an attacker owns and intends to exploit and infect your phone in some way via the JavaScript being enabled in the WiFi portal page. What protections prevent this or could prevent it?


9. Is there a Live mode of GrapheneOS? For example a guest profile where you can make it persistent or non-persistent?


10. Is there a way to randomize the Bluetooth MAC address?

https://redd.it/sr39a7
@PrivacyGuides
Redact and other similar scripts to delete Facebook content

Following this post, does anyone have experience with Redact.dev? I keep finding conflicting feedback and could use some guidance. Also read that one could just use their own script to do something similar; anyone has experience with this?

XS

https://redd.it/sr0qjz
@PrivacyGuides
Are Old iPods in Airplane Mode Secure?

I located and found a few old iPods from 2008ish. Some don't even have cameras. If I keep them in airplane mode and don't ever plug them into any computer, assuming there's no malware on the iPods, will they stay secure from exploit, tracking, etc.?

For example, I've heard Apple has features that detect other Apple devices, even if they're turned off, and report their locations to other Apple devices near them. Are my iPods able to be tracked by this while in airplane mode?

What about when they are first fired up or lastly shut down; does the MAC of the WiFi or the Bluetooth flash at all to any devices?

Are they vulnerable to Bluetooth bugs and exploits if they stay in airplane mode forever, despite no updates? For example, there was a Bluetooth bug that allowed anyone to take over "billions" of devices some recent years back and despite a fix, "billions" of older devices remained permanently vulnerable to it. Does this apply if they're always in airplane mode?

https://redd.it/sr56md
@PrivacyGuides
I would like to automatically replace/redirect youtube links with links to a privacy respecting alternative front-end

I would like to automatically replace/redirect youtube links with links to a privacy respecting alternative front-end. What would be the best way to accomplish this in Firefox.

For instance, a youtube video at the URL: youtube[dot\]comwatch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

With an invidious link ot the same video: yewtu[dot\]bewatch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

There is an extension "privacy redirect" that accomplishes this, but I try to minimize the number of extensions I install on my system, I wonder if there is a way to do this without the need for an additional extension (maybe using firefox itself, or uBlock Origin?)

​

edit 1: video links appear not to be allowed which is fine, the links are for example only to show the URL pattern.

edit 2: looks like it is probably not possible to accomplish this using uBlock Origin.

https://redd.it/sr69hb
@PrivacyGuides
Does it matter what Linux distro I use if I only want privacy on the web and from the os itself

The title

I just visited the PrivacyGuides site to find out alternatives to software I use I never visited it to find out what OS is the best for privacy and security

Also I don't care about the best security as long as the distro releases some sort of updates once in while to fix security vulnerabilities and the distro's community is helpful and the distro itself doesn't track me I'll be fine

Also I'm not a target for hackers or the government or anybody malicious so I mostly don't need to protect against those

https://redd.it/sr8toc
@PrivacyGuides
Moving forward and slowly increasing privacy

I'm glad I found this fascinating subreddit. As you all know, privacy and security can be so overwhelming that even technically inclined people give up.

I've been using Windows with Private Internet Access / Android with Signal and figured that was reasonably good. I've decided to at least take a few more steps in the right direction. I am technical in that I can understand concepts with enough research, but I often get myself into trouble. I also prefer to research a lot, make a decision and then put it out of mind and move on to the next project. This is my current project and I hope to build good habits out of this, but I'm going to lean towards convenience for a lot of things. Here are the changes I'm considering with a few questions:

Desktop

I'm running Win10 and I was using Opera, Edge and FF to do different bits and pieces each day. I've removed Opera and Edge and I'm only using FF now and made a separate profile for other work. Strict settings. I'm considering moving over to Linux but I do like to game. I may just move any sensitive work over to my laptop, which is MacOS with FF on strict.

Mobile

I fortunately already have a Pixel 5, so I'll be moving this to CalyxOS. One of my concerns is international travel - I like that I have the option to reset the phone with the emergency button. I also rely heavily on Google Maps / Android Auto - best option sounds like having a dedicated device in my car.

First step\- shifted from PIA to Mullvad - speeds are good in Australia but I may shift to Proton to get more than 5 devices.

Email \- Gmail addict forever. This will be one of the harder items to shift. I like the look of CTemplar but if I'm going to shift to Proton I might as well get the package with ProtonMail. Or perhaps it's better to keep them separate...

Domain \- If I purchase a domain, can I then use that domain to create aliases in CTemplar/Protonmail? Does the domain also needs to be hosted somewhere if I'm only using it for email?

Password Manager / Auth \- I've used Last Pass for a few years without issue - is it worth shifting to Bitwarden and then using their authenticator (currently using Google).

Messaging \- using Signal but the majority of my contacts do not. WhatsApp is my secondary

​

Haven't looked into but on my radar

Notes \- currently using Evernote - I'll look into Standard Notes

File Encryption \- is this to protect against the possibility that someone steals your computer and brute forces your Windows password (which I assume is quite easy)?

Video streaming \- I watch a lot of Youtube content - I'll look into Freetube

Google Drive \- I do a lot of work in Google Drive, especially using excel/sheets. What are my alternatives here? This may be even worse than shifting email services.

Thank you for all the interesting discussions and threads.

https://redd.it/sr1yxc
@PrivacyGuides
the PrivacyGuides team fooled me.

First, I want to thank you and u/BurungHantu for helping make the transition to digital privacy easy.

Now, your lack of continued transparency with the split from r/privacytoolsIO left me very confused. Seeing the PTIO sub "discontinued" led me to believe that the website, privacytools.io was old and obsolete. I spent a few weeks disregarding any information I found there, but after being continually disappointed by your selections of tools (doing my own fair share of research about the tools along my way) AND your very inconvenient way of browsing your choices, by spreading them all out by category and not compiling them into a single page, I kept finding myself back on privacytools.io (despite them having sus affiliate links) for easy reference.

So, I just spent a few hours (procrastinating) reading countless discussions around Reddit and Twitter to understand what happened. As far as I can tell, this is how the story goes.

r/privacytoolsIO was growing and the founder, BurungHantu was deemed unresponsive and so, unable to add more moderators to the subreddit. You have considered that to be detrimental to the growth of the project (fairly) and "Rebranded" in to r/PrivacyGuides.

>What will happen to the r/privacytoolsIO subreddit?
>
>Most likely it will be shut down eventually in favor of this subreddit, it does not make sense to us to rebrand it — even though there is a clear benefit to keeping the existing community intact — because the name/URL itself can never be changed, so it seems like that would only serve to confuse newcomers. Hence the creation of r/PrivacyGuides!

What an ironic outcome. BurungHantu came back and you didn't let him keep the subreddit! You claim to be cooperative, but your actions have proven otherwise.

privacytools.io is alive and well, thanks to the dedication of the founder, BurungHantu.

You could have had posted, r/privacytoolsIO split and r/PrivacyGuides is here while the original founder stayed.

You could have mentioned the validity of privacytools.io.

To say that the project has transitioned in to PrivacyGuides but then not give current, accurate updates is very misleading and almost seems intentional.

https://redd.it/sr9xe3
@PrivacyGuides
Why are moderators deleting posts with comments in them?

I (and others) posted comments in the post about Linux distros - it had 60+ comments in it, and now it is no longer searchable and is much harder to reference or discuss.

Deleting posts with significant numbers of comments on them - especially ones posted by moderators - feel like moderators don't have a lot of respect for the time people put into their comments.

I would personally have far preferred that the post was locked if the post wasn't going to be useful for the project. Deleting it is just bad.

https://redd.it/srcgvy
@PrivacyGuides