r/ask_privacy

I keep seeing people mention data brokers when talking about privacy, spam calls, and personal info showing up online, but I’m still not totally clear on how it all works. Never have heard of it before, online it says they collect data from different companies but how does that work or where would you find them?

i want to hide my real phone number / have a different online one. so far it seems like google voice and mysudo are quite popular, but i don't want to use google and have seen mixed reviews about mysudo. are there any free/ cheap alternatives that work in australia?

i just found out my email has been leaking my ip this whole time. like i thought i was using one of those email security solutions and it turns out it does literally nothing for metadata
been using proton for like a year thinking i was safe and then i read one reddit thread and now im in full panic mode
like what even is the point of these email security solutions if your provider just logs everything anyway
what are you guys actually using?

i'm trying to find alternatives to the built in iOS apps that come installed on my iphone. so far i've switched from

google maps --> CoMaps and my countries public transport app

weather --> hello weather

i am looking for a notes and reminder app alternative that is free and can be synced across devices. currently i am testing out standard notes and minimaList but and i would like second opinions as most of the privacy focused blogs don't mention these two categories. if anyone here uses minimaList, please tell me if you found the one-off premium purchase worth it.

I checked this guys profile but it didnt even let me view his profile picture in a higher resolution, nor did it let me inspect his timeline

I would really like this for my own account. I only want my family and friends to see my activity.. How do I do that? The guide I found online is a deadend as the interface of the settings has changed

I only found a way to make each individual post private after I post it but it is quite tedious to do for each little thing I share

Any pointers for Facebook account privacy settings for the 2026 app interface? I spent over 30 minutes trying to find it on my Facebook and I didnt succeed. I know how to work with computers just fine but Facebook feels like its trying to lead me astray me on purpose.. No wonder Zuccerberg gets so much hate... The interface was way easier to work with ten years ago.. Maybe I need to edit the settings on a computer instead?

hello, i am on my journey to becoming more private, i am not very tech illiterate so please bear with me. i use instagram and whatsapp a lot. i’ve changed some settings to make them more private but i can’t stop using either app.

is there any way to make using instagram more private besides changing settings? i’ve currently deleted instagram but was wondering if using it on browsers in incognito mode would decrease tracking, or if there is some kind of privacy app that i can use to view instagram without it saving any data.

any advice is appreciated, thank you!

First of all, would it break anything on the Windows system? Secondly, how can I delete it? The button is greyed out, yet I can delete other browsers just fine

EDIT: Found the solution myself to fix the gray out.. Below
Method: Force Uninstall via Command Prompt

1. Find the Edge Installation Folder: Open File Explorer and navigate to your main drive, typically: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application.
2. Access the Version Folder: Open the folder with the version number of your current Edge installation (e.g., 120.0.2210.91 or similar), then open the Installer folder.
3. Open Command Prompt: Click inside the File Explorer address bar, type cmd, and press Enter.
4. Run the Uninstall Command: Paste the following exact command into the Command Prompt window that appears and press Enter: setup.exe --uninstall --system-level --verbose-logging --force-uninstall
5. Restart: Restart your PC to finish the process.

Hi everyone, I've been trying to figure out how to identify a sketchy website before I actually do anything on it, but i am very not sure.

I was trying to order a supplement from a site a friend linked me. It looked fine, but something felt off. The prices were lower than Amazon, the reviews all sounded similar, and there was no clear return policy. I've read that HTTPS alone doesn't mean a site is safe, which surprised me because I always thought the little lock icon was the main thing to check for. Apparently that's been outdated advice for a while now.
I ended up not buying anything, but it got me thinking about how often I just don't check properly. I've since read about WHOIS lookups and checking domain age, and I ran the site through a couple tools like URLVoid and VirusTotal. The domain was registered 3 months ago. That felt like a red flag but I still wasn't 100% sure.
The part I'm most unsure about is the visual stuff. I've read that a sketchy website can sometimes look completely professional now, so design alone doesn't tell you much. But are there still reliable visual cues? Things like mismatched fonts, stock photos of the team, or vague contact pages?

I have a few questions if anyone has time, is domain age actually a reliable signal on its own, or does it need to be combined with other checks? Are browser extensions like Netcraft or Web of Trust still worth using? What's your actual checklist when you land on a site you're not sure about?

just as title says.

i'm not an expert on this topic, and i wish to know the main limitations of it.

I am seeking some sort of tracker to take notice of where my car is while going on a holiday.

I found Apple air tags that people praise online yet I dont believe they work accurately with an Android device. Does anyone know of a similar Android alternative?

I was considering to use a secondary phone sharing location data but it seems like the setup is way too bulky to be convenient. The air tags etc seem to offer way better battery longevity which is ideal for a longer trip.

Don't need anything too crazy, as long as it would work from one side of a city to the next.

Sidenote, anyone know if there are some materials that might cause interference for the tracker signals?

Hello, I am sorry if this inquiry was already made in the past but I wasn't able to find this question asked.

My questions is not about just purging the browser stuff but the Google drive/database containing my stuff... Like their servers still contain my browsing data and I want it gone. I heard of price gouging and I have been getting pricing for car parts fluctuating. Coworker shows the rates hes getting and something is wonky with the online shopping sites I got. I suspect the past history got some sort of worm in my stuff

The settings for Google are beyond mad to navigate. Google doesn't even have support to help me through and their AI generated articles just seem useless. Do I need a computer to do this history wipe, or can it work on the phone as well?

I know how to follow through commands, though I am not too keen on working with Google. Browser got sorted, cleaned in full, so I know I got some brains but Google is something else... I can help anyone with car troubles of any sorts, though modern computer stuff is getting me tilted

Any pointers are appreciated. Trade you know-how on cars if you can help me figure this out(as long as I am the one sorting my own account naturally)

Have a great weekend, everyone

We have four games today on June 23rd. England vs Ghana is the big one for most of us, but the other three are worth a look too. Here are times, channels, and how to watch these matches for free if you're abroad and want the English commentary instead of whatever's on locally

Match	Where to watch	UK Kick-off time	ET / PT	Venue	Stage
Portugal vs Uzbekistan	LiveModeTV via YouTube / Zo'r TV	6:00 PM	1 PM ET / 10 AM PT	Houston Stadium	Group K MD2
England vs Ghana	BBC / ITV	9:00 PM	4 PM ET / 1 PM PT	Boston Stadium	Group L MD2
Panama vs Croatia	Medcom / TVN Media / Tigo Sports / HRT	12:00 AM	7 PM ET / 4 PM PT	Toronto Stadium	Group L MD2
Colombia vs DR Congo	Caracol Televisión / Canal RCN / Win Sports	3:00 AM	10 PM ET / 7 PM PT	Guadalajara Stadium	Group K MD2

if you want to watch all four in the UK, you're basically signing up for a 9-hour shift on the sofa, lol

quick today’s match guide

Portugal vs Uzbekistan 6 PM, Houston

Nice easy one to kick the night off. Portugal should win this because of Bruno Fernandes pulling the strings, plenty of firepower up top. But Uzbekistan are at their first ever World Cup and they've looked solid, so don't expect a thrashing. Could easily be 0-0 for a long stretch before Portugal find a way through. Group K, matchday 2, so points matter.

England vs Ghana 9 PM, Boston

The big one. Group L is wide open and this probably decides who tops it. You know how England games go by now: look great for 20 minutes, sit back, give the ball away, everyone panics. Ghana have plenty of Premier League players who know exactly what to expect. BBC One, 9pm

Panama vs Croatia midnight, Toronto

The "should I stay up?" game. Croatia's midfield is still great, even if they're not as quick as they used to be. Panama will sit deep and try to make it ugly. If Croatia score early it could get messy, but if Panama hang on to half time, things get interesting. Worth a late one if you're free tomorrow

Colombia vs DR Congo 3 AM, Guadalajara

Properly late, but might be the best game of the day. Colombia are lovely to watch - quick, technical, fun. DR Congo are all pace and chaos. If you're up at 3am, you'll be rewarded. Winner is basically through to the last 32

I bought an ipad several years ago. How can i use it like its my device? And how can i minimize spyware

Based in Germany. I am so tired of the telegram vs signal argument because half the people in it clearly have not read a single line of how either app actually works.

Tested both this week. Signal on a Pixel 8 (Android 15) and linked to a Windows 11 desktop. Telegram same setup. Normal chats, a group chat, voice notes, photos.

Signal: end to end encrypted. By default. Every chat. Every call. Every device. I did not flip a switch.

Telegram: regular chats are NOT end to end encrypted. Group chats are NOT end to end encrypted. Channels are NOT end to end encrypted. The only thing that is, is a manually started "Secret Chat" between two people on one device that does not even sync.

"But Pavel Durov said." I do not care what Pavel Durov said. I care what the protocol does.

Simple version:

• Signal: e2e by default, everywhere, open audited protocol.
• Telegram: e2e only in manual one to one secret chats, on one device, using a homemade protocol cryptographers have been side-eyeing for a decade.

That is the whole comparison. Thank you

Anyone still on Telegram for anything sensitive in 2026, what is your actual reason?

Everyone's focused on whether the discord age verification system works, but the real question is whether it was ever meant to work.
Discord rolled out age verification for certain servers and content categories after regulatory pressure. most people don't know is that the verification layer they implemented is handled by a third party ID processor, not Discord directly. That means your document data is leaving Discord's infrastructure immediately. I've looked into the terms for the verification provider they use. It's not pretty. I've tested verification bypass via region switching still works in several cases, VPN use during the verification flow produces inconsistent results (sometimes flagged, sometimes not) and the system doesn't distinguish between account age and user age, which is a flaw.

The discord age verification rollout also affects server owners in ways that aren't documented. If your server gets flagged as requiring verification and users fail or skip it, those users aren't just blocked from NSFW channels. In some configurations they lose access to the whole server without any notification to the server admin.
I've been running a privacy focused server for four years. This was not in any changelog.

Has anyone actually read the full data retention clause on the verification processor Discord is using, or are we all just clicking through and hoping for the best?

I'm trying to learn how to stay safe online for a few weeks now and I think I've overwhelmed myself. I have a regular office job, nothing exciting going on but I've been using the internet like it's 2009 and I only recently realized that..
I've read that a VPN alone isn't enough, that browser fingerprinting works even in private mode, and that DNS leaks can undo basically everything. I set up ProtonMail, switched to Firefox with uBlock Origin, and downloaded a VPN I found recommended. I have no idea if I configured it right.
Most guides on how to stay safe online seem aimed at either total beginners or people hiding from governments. Nothing in between for someone who just wants to be reasonably careful.
Is DNS over HTTPS worth enabling if I'm already on a VPN? And is switching to Linux actually necessary or am I overthinking this?