Is there a way for me create an account on a social media and say whatever i want, without having to worry that these platforms can give away my data because of a court order, because they wouldnt have any actual personal data on me? Like what do I need for that? Tor browser, a brand new phone and internet from a public place?

I am usually not preoccupied with privacy and cookies. I always knew that loads of user data is used for advertisement purposes. However, this one got me surprised and mildly infuriated. I have recently bought a new belt from a specific online store. I did a lot of research on different belts before that, so I keep receiving related ads on different app. My girlfriend, however, have not googled anything about any belts lately and have never used that specific clothing store app.

Today I received my parcel with the belt. I've sent a couple of pictures of it to my gf on instagram. Note: not in the chat, but disappearing pictures. An hour later she is on Duolingo and the identical belt ad has popped up for her. How can this be explained?! If instagram is using content of disappearing pictures and shares it immediately with other apps, that's pretty concerning. Especially since it would requires using quite advanced technologies to recognise the very same belt model.

My other explanations are that it could be due to the same wifi that we shared before. We are in different towns now, though, and the timing is too specific for the belt ad to appear on her phone. It could also be through messages, yet we are not chatting in English + no mentions of belt's brand or where was it bought from were made.

I wonder what people in this sub think?

I'm in several large public group chats that are local to areas I travel to that keep me informed of local social events. This exposes my real phone number and I get spam calls / texts.

I want to either stay in the group chats for when I visit those locations next or save a reference to the chat so I can join again later. I know there's whatsapp group links but do those stay valid over a long period of time, months?

Or can I create a WhatsApp account with a paid temporary number online like using smspva.com?

Hi there folks!

Today i ran in weird situation. I use 2 phone numbers to have 2 different telegram accounts (one personal one for work), on work number i chat with foreigners mostly, and nobody from my personal number dont know my work number, so these 2 groups of people never cross. But for some weird reasons today i got message on my personal number on whatsapp from a guy who said i was recommended by the guy i chat only with my working number on telegram. How is this possible am i tripping? For the record i dont use SIM card of my working number, i used it once to create telegram account and stashed it, and i never used or registered whatsapp on my work number. So how the hell they got my personal number???

Thanks for replies in advance!

Hello All,

I’m very humbled by this sub. As a non-technical founder, I’m amazed by how educated and passionate a lot of devs can be when it comes to data privacy. I have a different angle when it comes to data privacy. I worked in data privacy and compliance law at a global company for a few years.

Now, i’m working on a social enterprise that aims to provide independent journalists with public sentiment data sets. In essence, disrupting the very bias-driven, commission polling industry.

One of the project’s cornerstones is transparency with the corporate activity but utmost security and privacy on the user-side.

It’s essential we are able ensure the most astute privacy minds that our technology will not abuse user privacy.

If anyone has any white page, tech stack provider, or general information about how to achieve this, that would be fantastic. Thank you!

Just bought a new tv. Set it up in basic -- no internet connection, and toggled off mic, camera, and bluetooth. (All come toggled on.)

Cannot find via internet search or manuals where the mic and camera are so I can cover them appropriately on the actual tv. (I don't trust toggles with a device that has built-in Wifi.)

The TV manufacturer site only handles "issues," no illustrations of where anything is on the exterior tv. Their chat box is only programmed to cover problems, etc. It could not respond to my question.

Then tried a live agent (which I could only reach if I raised my voice and yelled at their AI.) Simple question: Where are the mic and camera located on model xyz? The agent refused to answer unless I first provided a bunch of personal information like full name, email, etc. I hung up. (The agent: too much noise in the background anyway, phone static, heavy accent, in a room of people chatting.)

How do others find mic/camera location easily?

I mostly use GitHub and GitLab for work, and outside of that, I use Twitter. I'm wondering if I should use different usernames for all these platforms. I don’t want my profiles to show up when someone searches my name or username on Google, because when I search a username on Google, it often shows all profiles linked to that username.

My threat level is low, and I just don't want big tech companies tracking me across different platforms for profiling. What do you guys suggest?

The "FUPS with a Turkish credit card from Plati.io method" seems dead if you want to stay anonymous, as FUPS now requires you to fill in an ID Number.

Anyone know if there are other methods to make payments with a (virtual) credit card that do not ask for ID verification?

We currently use OneTrust for 3rd party risk management but they have basically ghosted us and I'm pissed. Does anyone use any 3rd party risk management tools that are worth a look at?

I have a voip phone number settled in USA and I can change my number with simple touch, I can get sms as well and that's the reason why I have it, for privacy.

However, I cant create a WhatsApp account, it's banned just a second after is created, the same for telegram.

That happens also with a Canadian number, why?how do they know? Is that a public data? Or these companies have specifically got that information from governments?

Just wanted to thx u/mumarm for pushing me in the right direction on priorising privacy over gaming capability. Hopefully starting for today, I won't go back to using Windows. I installed PopOs late last night and so far so good 😊 I'll link the discussion in comments if anyone is on the fence and want to try switching to Linux but still want to be able to enjoy gaming.

I moved into a rental home. The neighbors told me some stories about the ppl who lived here before being a big nuisance with parties and all. I just want to do a sweep of the place to make sure there’s nothing hidden at anytime, want to be able to check later if something like a new WiFi device is in range or Bluetooth devices. I don’t know if there’s other signs to look for. Here’s an example and I’ve googled it but it’s a mix that it can be a hidden camera or some Bluetooth device. I see two Bluetooth devices called ELK-BLEDOM always since I moved in. What do I do to check my property in and out?

I'm 16, and I have gained anxiety on my digital footprint. I've fell into a deep rabbit hole back when I was around 10-14 and searched up pretty "illegal" stuff after falling victim to "seductive" advertisements. Should I be concerned whether or not this'll matter later on in life? I've heard both sides of the story, where employers can't directly look at your presence on the media as long as you provide them a different email address. While some saying that you're cooked, and is wide open like a window when they try to employ you.

I'm gonna try to be unbiased and say that my actions on the media weren't violent to others nor attacked anyone. Still, my search history from my earlier teen years are.. not the smartest choices I've done. Even though the damage is already done, I still would like to know if this will stab me in back in the future.

I want a "second phone number" app that works in a desktop browser. Google Voice isn't available in my country.

I’ve been dealing with Intelius (and other PeopleConnect sites like TruthFinder, InstantCheckmate, and USSearch) for weeks, and despite all my best efforts, my data is still visible on all their platforms.

Even though they confirmed multiple times that my data was removed/or doesnt exist, it’s still accessible. I provided them with my record ID related to their suppression tool, but that didn’t work either. I’ve followed all their instructions, including clearing my cache and checking on different devices, but nothing has changed.

The sites are designed so that records are behind a paywall, which means I can’t directly access the URLs. I’ve only been able to provide screenshots and the paywall URL, but this hasn’t led to any meaningful resolution and they just say they see nothing on their end (which I find hard to believe).

Each time I contact them -- whether by phone or email -- I receive what feels like a copy/paste response that doesn’t address my specific concerns. It seems like they’re just giving me the runaround.

I've been able to remove my info off so many other sites simply by requesting it or telling them I have been a victim of stalking -- which is 100% truthful but I shouldn't have to disclose this everytime. Intelius hasn't been receptive at all when I communicate this issue either and I'm just at my wits end.

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of issue with Intelius or other PeopleConnect sites? What did you do to finally get your data removed, and do you have any advice on how I should move forward?

Hi everyone, this is my first post.

I'm looking for recommendations for an open-source and privacy respecting SMS receiver application to use for SMS-based 2FA. I understand that relying on SMS for two-factor authentication has its risks, such as vulnerability to SIM swap attacks and the potential exposure of sensitive information. Nonetheless, I need a solution to receive SMS for 2FA, and I'm not comfortable using Google Messages for this purpose due to trust concerns.

If anyone knows of a reliable and secure open-source app for this purpose, I'd greatly appreciate your suggestion!

Hi everyone, last year I bought the book Extreme Privacy by Michael Bazzell 4th edition. Which I really enjoyed by the way.

I just noticed that the 5th edition is out, and was wondering if it has changed enough to make it worth buying considered I already have the 4th edition?

Thank you!

I have a feeling Hobart City made it difficult to find out if you're actually allowed/entitled the footage as a citizen, on top of that a $150 AUD fee for just a request. Some looking into for this by someone would be great; i dont wanna waste $150.

Information Regarding the Cameras

https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Community/Safe-City

Request to Obtain Footage - PDF

https://www.hobartcity.com.au/files/assets/public/v/4/community/safe-city/request-to-obtain-cctv-footage-terms-and-conditions.pdf

I'm looking for recommendations for a way to securely share photos. It would need to allow "liking" and commenting on photos by those who the photos are shared with. I would be looking at self-hosting. I'm new to how self-hosting would work.

Is the built-in Disk manager’s app on Mac any good for passwording flashdrives? Do they maybe work on Mac only? I’m new to this, thanks!

Hi, what are the alternatives to Majorphones for non VOIP phone numbers? Majorphones.com stopped working

Advice ?

Hi r/privacy,

Can someone please recommend information or a guide for limiting tracking/data acquisition from meta products such as facebook and instagram to maximise privacy.

Please only respond if it is actual advice. I am fully aware that meta is a predatory company that harvests as much data as possible and that deleting the accounts is the only way to be fully private.

Regards

is it possible/easy to get multiple google voice numbers on 1 device? If not can you recommend me alternatives to google voice preferably as anonymous/private as possible. I'd like to have multiple numbers coming to 1 number in a perfect world. Or at least be able to create a email without my real phone number. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m wondering if anyone here has ever requested Facebook to delete their old messages or other personal data under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). I’ve heard that you can request the removal of your personal information, but I’m unsure of the specifics.

I also know there are scripts online that claim to be able to delete messages and photos you’ve sent, but I’m a bit skeptical about their effectiveness and security. 🤔

Has anyone tried this process with Facebook? What were the results? And what about the online tools for deleting this data?

Thanks for your input!

i'm new to just, staying private online in general. i want to encrypt my flashdrive but i just have no clue how.