I don't think most truly understand that corporations don't follow a moral compass when it comes to respecting boundaries
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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While that may be true, I don't think understanding that companies are evil is enough to convince anyone to care about privacy. I've known corporations are evil for well over a decade but I only started caring about privacy at all a few weeks ago. the issue is that privacy feels so unnatainable to average people that it may as well be a myth. how can you even think about if your internet history is private when you don't even know how to access internet history yourself? even if you do, it's not like these companies gossip to your friends about your mundane secrets anyway, it's just some faceless entity filing it away somewhere to probably be forgotten. that's the perception I had at least, and I know I wasn't the only one. what really changed my mind about privacy was being immersed in a community of people that cared about privacy and took time to show that it can be achievable and even convenient both to understand the forces and technologies at play and to actually live a more privacy focused life.
I want to give this comment an award. Maybe instead of metals, we can use food which have inherent / immediate value.
So, gilding with Lemmy Sashimi
Or something
🍋
lemons for lemmings?
I like the idea of awards that donate proceeds to food security charities, even though it's only tangential to what you said.
I think most people are just overwhelmed most of the time and just want to live their lives and feel connected. There’s no immediate pain of giving up personal information just a vague threat of some future danger. We’re bad at caring about those types of things, generally speaking, just look at how we are handling climate change.
they're laughing at him for pissing in the lemonade pool (he drank lots of water)
They're pissing on him for laughing in the water pool (he drank lots of lemonade)
I often wonder if this is some sort of lack of self worth thing. Like, people don't see their data as important because they don't see themselves as important in the grand scheme of things? Do they thing one person isn't gonna change anything?
I get algorithms and shit are designed to be addicted and keep you coming back, but is there a deeper part to this?
Or am I just the crazy one? Does all of this not matter? I mean, I know it doesn't, in the grand scheme nothing matters. But at this time in space does it matter? My friends enjoy TikTok and Facebook and Twitter and whatever else they use. I do end up being the crazed loser? Is the pool full of piss and I'm in water? Or is it a lemonade pool and I'm full of Powerade piss
Nope. It's just a convince thing. They aren't aware what can be done with their data and when they are aware they think "there are millions of people using it so why should MY data be that interesting"
If people are given a choice, they almost always will decline if it's as convenient as accepting.
I've told various people over the years how easy it is to move away from tracking and how valuable their data is. They don't care. Which makes me thing it's something else at least in part
The problem is: it's not easy. It's easy for you because you're used to it. Most people are not interested in technology at all.
So maybe start with small things that actually improve the experience. Instead of asking "do you want to get away from trackers" ask "do you never want to see ads in your life ever again". Then show them how to install an ad blocker.
Don't try to talk about everything at once. You also don't try to teach advanced chemistry someone who has absolutely no idea and interest in Chemistry. You have to teach them small steps at a time and make it sound intresting and easy.
And it's not easy when you tell them "it's easy. You just have to install this, this and this and have to change your whole habit of using your devices by using a different browser and learn a different client for apps. Oh, and most of them aren't available on the play store and give a warning when you want to install them."
You have to make them care about their data, you have to make them care about what you tell them. And that's the hard part
That's a very fair assessment and actually answers my questions perfectly.
I completely agree with what you say here, the frustrating part is how much people use technology without wanting to understand it. I don't know how to code and I'm not saying everyone needs to, we can leave it to the people who actually like doing it.
But it seems like people are intimidated by fairly simple instructions if it's something even slightly unfamiliar. Given how distraught those same people would be if their tech stopped working I feel like a basic understanding would be a good thing to have. Especially when it's something they're using for leisure, like social media.
It's like, the fact you should put pressure on a wound is generally good knowlege to have, even if you aren't a doctor. But then again a non negligable percent of adults don't understand how babies are conceived so maybe I'm being overly optimistic.
Yeah, I'm often thinking "am I sounding crazy right now?" when I ever mention that I care about privacy.
I kind of understand the issues with privacy, but not really. What don't you want online companies to know and why?
I don't want them to know anything that isn't completely necessary, and even that should be wiped as soon as it's no longer relevant. Why should I be okay with corps recording all of my online behavior and preferences just so they can sell that info for a bit of extra profit?
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Anything more than necessary. Why do you want them to know? I wouldn't let a stranger follow me around, so why should I allow a tracking cookie on my browser? It's scary and offensive.
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I think a lot of people have an apathetic outlook towards privacy because they're cynical that anything they can do will have the desired effect. The belief that they can't possibly outsmart these data hungry corporations without putting in what they consider to be hard work is enough to sacrifice it.
Right.
Like when I excitedly try to explain the cool way the websites can track you as a user even when you're incognito 😨
People just have a blank stare, like "what's incognito"
feelsbadman.jpg
Are they able to track us in incognito using our IP ? Please explain a little to a rookie like me 😀
Incognito doesn't do much beyond not account for your history.
It's good if you and your mom use the same computer and you don't want her browser to auto complete with your porn searches. Not for much else.
It's usually a number of different data points about your browser like the user agent string that identifies what browser you use and what OS, screen resolution, language settings, timezone, whether or not you use and adblocker etc... and of course IP addresses
One trick a few years ago (that has been patched in all browsers now) was using favicons.
If you ever clicked a link between 2010 and 2021 and noticed that your browser redirected you several times before taking yo to the correct destination, that was a successful attempt at de-anonymizing you.
What was happening was there was a web of redirects. Each location had a different favicons (the little picture in your browser tab that ids the site visually for you). If your browser had been to that destination before, your browser would have the favicon in cache.
if favicon found, send to redirect free A. If redirect not found, send to redirect tree B.
Then repeat the process. With like 35 redirects you'd have enough binary data to uniquely ID every internet connected device ever made.
Wild.
This was fixed in 2021.
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I absolutely agree with this point, but what is this image lmfao
I read a lot of / am highly into cypherpunk ideology. I work hard to protect my privacy.
But I also have shitty bottom rung / entry level jobs. ALL of them use apps with atrocious privacy policies for group messaging and posting schedules.
A) I am a cashier. Why do you need to be able to reach me 24/7?
B) It makes all my effort trying to keep a minimal digital footprint moot when I am forced to share tons of personal info to register. And I am also required to get the app.
C) No corporate manager who also hates their job is trying to listen to my diatribe about why "WhatsApp" is evil.
I am seriously considering buying a prepaid flip phone and pretending that's my "real" phone for my next job. That's the only solution I can think of. But I just hate that it's a problem at every $10/ hour job.
I currently have a old samsung that im using as a work phone ive installed lineageOS and its been great so far, i just create burner accounts for anything my work wants me to use
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I like this meme.
You can upvote on lemmy :)
What we don't realize is the guy in the center drank a lot of Powerade, and is relieving himself in the lemonade pool.
I agree so much, I got my own vpn on a private vps just to I can make sure there is no logging happening, so that I can live happy knowing that my data isn't being sold and my webteam workmates were like "What? Why? Have you got anything to hide?". No I don't I just don't want anything to listen in hugh...
Ask them if they'd go nude in public, to prove that they have nothing hidden under their clothes, or if they'd let their parents/the authorities see their porn collection, to make sure it's all legal and above board. Then pivot the conversation to the dignity of not being surveilled constant just in case you might be doing something wrong, with zero suspicion.
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They're coming for the communists now.
When they come for the trade-unionists and Jews, my neighbors will have long stoned the trail to my door.
And when they come for the rest of my neighborhood, no one will understand how they knew about dinner-table thoughts of dissent or wavering patriotism.
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