Digital privacy is for everyone not a select few tech nerds, and the tools have never been more widely available and convenient than today.
Understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind simple choices is the first step to reclaiming control over your data and reducing your digital footprint. Let’s break down some common swaps you can make in one weekend.
Messaging
First, consider your messaging application on your phone. WhatsApp is certainly convenient, but it collects metadata – information about who you message, when, for how long, the size of images and videos shared as well as groups you’re part of. This data builds a detailed picture of your social and professional life, which Meta then uses for advertising. Eventually, this data gets leaked and sold to the highest bidder after an inevitable data breach occurs down the line.
Though there are other privacy-first messaging applications, one alternative is Signal, which does not collect metadata at all. Through its open-source protocol and design that prioritises minimal data retention, Signal is the gold-standard for private messaging (despite efforts to undermine it from the European Union).
To make the switch, simply download Signal from your mobile Application Store and encourage your contacts to do the same.
Next is your email provider. Gmail’s ‘free’ service is partly funded by scanning your emails for targeted ads. Every purchase confirmation, travel booking, or personal discussion is analysed to build a profile about you. To stop this from happening, you need only switch email service providers, potentially keeping Gmail as a throw-away account.
Services such as ProtonMail or Tuta Mail use end-to-end encryption, meaning only you and the recipient can read the message. The switch involves creating a new account and migrating your contacts and accounts to it over time.
Operating system(s)
Another win is the choice of operating system (OS) you use for your digital day to day activities. Increasingly, Windows is not up for the job, with forced AI features like Copilot actively collecting your search queries, file contents, time spent on applications, cursor movements – everything. All this is supposedly meant to ‘enhance’ your experience, but the forced trade-off is one where you surrender privacy for features you probably do not even want.
Linux offers a different path, one where you are in driver’s seat. There are many distributions to choose from, Mint or Ubuntu being two of the most accessible and popular ones today. The open-source OS put your in control. You decide what gets installed, and there is no corporation mining your behaviour or profiling you. Certainly, making the switch is a bit more involved, but the result is a computer which is under your full control by design.
For an even greater leap, consider GrapheneOS on your Google Pixel phone. It’s a hardened version of Android that strips away Google’s data collection and puts you in charge of app permissions, effectively preventing the OS from spying on you. Installing it requires some technical skill, but it transforms your phone into a truly private device.
Browser choice
Now, your web browser is the primary window into the digital world, and it’s also a major potential source for data leakage. Standard ‘out of the box’ browsers track your history, location and browsing habits. A good starting point is Brave browser, which automatically blocks tracks and adverts by default.
You can also use a hardened version of Firefox, which means rolling up your sleeves and tinkering with some settings to disable telemetry and fingerprinting – do not worry, there are plenty of guides out there. Crucially, it’s vital to install add-ons to effectively stop trackers – Ad Block, Ublock Origin and Ghostery are popular options.
You could also use Librewolf, a forked version of Firefox that’s designed with privacy in mind.
The nuclear option is TOR Browser, which routes your traffic through multiple relays to mask your location and identity. It’s inadvisable to use a virtual private network with TOR since you’ll stick out like a sore thumb and it will do more harm than good.
Financial privacy
Finally, your financial transactions can expose you to unwanted and invasive data harvesting. Public blockchains may have been sufficiently pseudonymous ten years ago, but advancements in data analytics allow companies and governments to link addresses and map out identities.
When you use Bitcoin or Litecoin, your address and transaction amounts are recorded on a public ledger. This permanent transaction history is not okay for a laundry-list of reasons which we will not get into at this time.
However, there are solutions for financial privacy. One such solution is using Litecoin’s built-in confidentiality feature. After installing a mobile wallet such as Cake Wallet or Nexus Wallet, Litecoin with MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Blocks) allows you to opt-in to confidential transactions, where the sender, receiver, and amount are hidden from the public. That’s the long and short of it.
To use this privacy feature, you simply need a wallet that supports MWEB, after which you can send your Litecoin to an MWEB address, effectively turning your financial activity into something resembling physical cash transactions.
Privacy is normal
Keep in mind, privacy is not only normal, but a recognised constitutional right across the globe that’s deeply embedded in every aspect of our lives. When lawmakers threaten to undermine this sacrosanct pillar of human existence (while exempting themselves from the consequences of such proposals), as is the case with the EU’s abominable Chat Control bill, then lawmakers are in a morally indefensible position. They are in the wrong. It is as simple as that.
At the end of the day, these precautions are not just technical tweaks either. They fundamentally alter your relationship with technology from the ground up. Neither software nor hardware should not have unwanted invasive technology latched onto it – no ifs and no buts.
Thankfully, the tools for opting out have never been more available than today.
By choosing tools that respect privacy by design, you actively opt out of the surveillance economy, from your messages to your money.
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