Online privacy is a meme
Yes, this is indirectly in response to the Firefox debacle
It irks me quite a bit to see such a large amount of people become deeply paranoid in frustrating and inconsistent ways. One of the most jarring things I saw today was a wide berth of people on Twitter -- a social media platform that sucks data out of you like a leech -- screaming about Mozilla Firefox's alleged data harvesting. This is just one more compounded example of people having strange and jarring positions on online privacy, but it made me realize I had to give my two cents.
It is important to understand the biggest threat to your online privacy is not some app collecting anonymous data or your preferred operating system, it is the enormous, intertwined social web of relationships online you are likely a part of. It does not matter whether you, individually, have near-perfect ability to cover your ass if you have an overzealous aunt willing to post about you constantly on Facebook. It does not matter when your friend group or your immediate family flaunts around their living situation, mother's maiden name, and exact coordinates online. Ultimately, privacy is a collective and societal goal to achieve and not something that can be done on your own.
A lot of privacy advocates have certain biases and expectations that do not align with reality. One of the most prevalent is an insistence a VPN is keeping you safe online. It is not. VPNs simply have you funnel your data into a third party that you put your faith into. Despite this, people will sink hundreds of dollars a year into NordVPN or whatever the hell's in style right now. A lot of people also cram their web browsers full of "privacy extensions" with the hope it will keep them safe from the elements. As it slows down their browser and drains battery, the reality sinks in that these add-ons generally do not offer much benefit anymore. A lot of these features are now provided out of the box in web browsers and do not require fiddling around with modifications that will inevitably increase your fingerprint.
There is a typical "shock" many people online have to very innocuous telemetry collection, claiming their trust has been violated. This can be seen in the recent Firefox fiasco where Mozilla clarified their language in regards to data collection. Several grifters found the opportunity to latch on promptly to drama and spread false ideas about what is going on. The reality is most TOS agreements, EULAs, whatever, are making the same claims for your data just to cover their ass. Many people have a tendency to narrativize companies as being in kahoots with the CCP or whatever suspicious boogeyman in their head, but the reality is most of the stuff being harvested is junk data used as analytics. There ARE some exceptions, like Google.
What you should do
Group-focused privacy measures are by FAR the most meaningful. If you can get a friend group to migrate to Signal for communication, that's a huge win. Same thing for work. Getting a large, intertwined part of your life to become a little bit more privacy-conscious has a major ripple effect -- if your buddies are on Signal, they can advocate for THEIR buddies and so on and so forth. This is far more effective than the usual tinfoil hat tantrums online where many people act shocked when the people around them don't want to throw away every facet of their online life. iPhones and other Apple products are the arguable gold standard for widely-used privacy-friendly gear. While this is unfortunately not always a guarantee, Apple hs a good track record on privacy. Having easy to use AND reasonably secure and private devices and a thorough ecosystem means people can actually have improved quality of life by leaving behind data-harvesting products. Care less about your privacy and more about your security. Password managers, hardened passwords in those managers, authenticator apps, and YubiKeys are all great measures to take. Even if someone's able to find you (trust me, it's not the hardest thing ever!) they may have some trouble getting any meaningful info out of you.
Privacy still matters
There ARE a lot of reasons why someone would care about their online privacy, even on an individual level:
- Journalists and politicians escaping persecution
- Victims of harassment and bullying can stay safe
- Medicine can be obtained quietly without making noise
- Transgender people must obtain DIY HRT in relatively private fashion
- Recreational drugs access
- Sex work
But it needs to be understood these measures fall apart when you openly talk about them on Twitter or Facebook or something. If you want to keep your DIY HRT vials on the down low, don't talk about it constantly on Instagram. You have to cultivate a safe environment for yourself, and this is less a specific piece of software and more a mental model to adjust to.
Spend less time online!
The more you put yourself on the Internet, the more of a fingerprint you inevitably create. Limiting screen time and just going out and socializing creates more intimate experiences further away from the panopticon. The people with the most rock-solid online privacy aren't always the paranoid STEMlords, they're often just Normal Dudes that step away from a screen and don't feel the need to proclaim their entire life story to everyone.