Looking for a new years resolution that you will actually follow through on? How about improving your privacy this year? Many people get scared off from the idea of improving their privacy because they view it as an all-or-nothing sort of deal. That if you don’t go totally private, then it is pointless. I like to think of it more like your credit score, There are more options than Great or Bad when it comes to your credit score, and there are more options than Great or Bad when it comes to privacy. Every little bit helps to improve your standing. So I’ll list some of the biggest bang for your buck items you might want to give a crack at.
Stop using social media designed to gather your data (facebook/snapchat/whatsapp/instagram/twitter) and try using privacy focused alternatives like mastadon.
Change your search engine from Google/Microsoft to something more private like DuckDuckgo.
Change your email over to a private provider like protonmail/tutanota.
– I recommend setting your current email to forward to your new address so you don’t miss anything important and can update the contact if you so wish.
Setup an email forwarder such as AnonAddy, Blur, or SimpleLogin – This helps a lot with spam/junk control and can allow you to learn who is selling/losing your email address.
Switch to a more private mobile OS. In my opinion GrapheneOS > CalyxOS > lineageOS > iOS > android, just to rank a few.
Setup a pi-hole on your network for ad & tracker blocking in places you can’t easily block things (apps, smart tvs, etc).
Run your own cloud storage with something like nextcloud.
Consider switching to RSS feeds for your news.
Bryan's Blog 