r/privacy

So I opened a website on incognito, after browsing opened IG app on mobile, and first thing I see is an ad from the very company. How are they even tracking me ? even with incognito ?

Can Meta access photos I have sitting in my camera roll that I don’t specifically upload to their platform and if I later deny access or delete the account do they still retain it or is the access only while the permission is actively granted?

I've read the Sub rules.

I don't have a defined threat model, I'm just trying to learn.

So I have a hardened device (no sim/esim) which isn't really tied to my identity. As far as I know it's put together pretty solid so far. No obvious trail.

I want to use a popular encrypted messaging app account that I used to use on my old device, on my new hardened device (messenger rymes with shingle, i don't know if I can say it), but it occurs to me it might be a bad idea because it's linked to my real contact# and was networked with others who I communicated with previously.

What is your advice, should I keep it off my hardened device or should I risk it? How risky is it to use the messenger if my purpose was to try to keep the device as anonymous as I can?

Let me know your thoughts.

I just received another email from a company who had a data breach. This was a logistics company associated with the Netherlands/Belgium equivalent of Amazon. This included name, address details, track and trace numbers etc.

It feels like these breaches are happening more and more often - almost every website/company takes copious personal details from you and I highly doubt they have anyone that has done a good once over to their security/data policies.

I have started using email aliases and populate fake data into almost all forms I fill out (obv excluding government websites etc). One thing I haven't looked into is your address and how to protect that. I am willing to give up some convenience for not entering my home address in a million places.

What have people done to reduce the amount they give out their address for deliveries? Are PO boxes still a thing?

Just received an email saying “x person is your friend on Facebook as (real name)” and a list of about 5 people.

I have double checked my settings and I have never ever synced contacts or Facebook with the TikTok app. These people would otherwise be completely anonymous, I wouldn’t have a clue who they are if it wasn’t for an email calling them out.
My own profile is the same, completely anonymous - why and how is it possible to be outing people’s real identities without permission??
I can only assume my own profile is being outed in these emails too.

with all the new companies and types popping up, how can I tell if they are smart glasses? I live in a two party consent state for recording (USA), how do I protect my privacy?

any tips would be appreciated or apps to track, thanks!

edit: for two party consent I am talking about private spaces (ie. Bathrooms, inside private housing complexes). I have even seen cases of doctors wearing them in closed offices so how do I know where the data is being shared?

I'm looking for the best model of a non-smart TV, ditching my one that is full of spyware. Need help, thanks in advance guys! ❤️

The gist: don't just switch providers, get you own domain.

I've been thinking about how so many websites/organizations have apps. Like, my doctor's office has an app. Even just going to the CVS website, I keep getting asked if I want to continue through the app. So I'm wondering, what is the benefit for a company to have an app customers use rather than their website? Does it make it easier for them to collect data on customers? Are customers more likely to use or return to a business with an app? I figure for medical stuff maybe the app is more secure.

These companies get so pushy with them, so I doubt it's just *for a better user experience*. Especially considering apps are constantly sending out push notifications, unless they are turned off. Some sites won't even allow mobile access through a browser and just keep redirecting to the app store for their app.

Auto content recognition, or ACR, found on all major brands, analyzes what is appearing on the TV screen, including what comes through HDMI, so it can determine what you're watching and use that information for advertising, audience measurement, and profiling. 

The good news is you can turn it off. 

Look in your TV’s privacy settings for terms like:

Live Plus (LG)

Viewing Information Services (Samsung)

Viewing Data (Vizio) Smart TV Experience / “Use Info from TV Inputs” (Roku TVs, including many TCL/Hisense models running Roku OS)

Automatic Content Recognition (Amazon Fire TV / Fire TV televisions)

Enhanced Viewing Service (Hisense)

Samba Interactive TV (certain Sony Bravia models)

Automatic Content Recognition / ACR (TCL models using TCL’s own services; exact menu varies by operating system)

Find yours. And turn it off.

Don't want to sound schizo, or paranoid but just think about it, like in this very recent era, companies about privacy skyrocketed in numbers. Which seems good in theory, but there has been no undermining by big tech, or government. And I know what you will say. Oh, the government right now is collecting that data with the idea of decrypting it later, you know, with those super quantum computers. I just don't trust that idea like why would they play nice since you know, every encryption company is making a change to post-quantum encryption instead of the classic encryption that can easily be decrypted by said quantum computers(which I will just call qc). Sure not all modern encryption is succeptible to qc decryption but a big chunk of it is.

Maybe I'm just tired or not very knowledgeable about this but any answer that isn't insulting me or calling me crazy is appreciated

Every. Voice changer app I find either requires complicated and heavy set up to work locally or or uploads your voice for processing on cloud

I'm in need of an app that could change my voice even slightly because for reasons I need to start making content and post it on socials but in the era of voice cloning the idea makes me so uncomfortable