Online privacy: Best privacy related thing I’ve done is use a nickname. If I search my real name on Google, only two results show up (and my Instagram, but I deleted it) from the same site, my place in some school competition. That’s it! But if I search my made-up nickname… Github, Gitlab, Reddit, StackOverflow, LocalMonero, fucking SuperTuxKart and A LOT MORE related results - basically my whole internet life. I stared using randomly generated username for each account in case my name is somehow leaked from my nickname account.
A month ago I also bought Pixel 7a and installed GrapheneOS as my daily driver. Separate accounts are AWESOME. I have account for personal use (family, photos, friends, etc.), (not basic) internet use (Lemmy, podcasts, torrenting, youtube/newpipe, etc.), google apps (maps, drive, galaxy wearable, etc.), finances (banking app, Paypal, crypto wallets, etc.), school apps (teams & ms office, Canva, etc.), and anonymous account (Tor, OnionShare, Session, Briar, etc.).
On personal profile I have “always on” VPN to my house, so anywhere I am, apps think I’m home and it’s useful for public Wi-Fi-s. On the internet profile I have “always on” MullvadVPN. On anonymous profile I have "always
I use self-hosted Bitwarden. Can this de-anonymous me on the internet profile, because traffic from Bitwarden goes to my home, or will this know only Mullvad (that already knows my home IP, because it has to)?
I also switched to ProtonMail, LibreWolf, and Startpage. I self-host Nextcloud, Syncthing, Monero node, Pi-Hole, etc.
Recently I started deleting all my accounts that I don’t use anymore. Now I’m pretty happy about my anonymity online.
Physical privacy & security: I weak ago I got a RFID blocking wallet. I bought it in a store where I am signed in for news and sales, and I also get a lot of cheaper things because of it. But they basically track everything I buy, where and when. And that is with all stores if you have the stores card (I only have one, because parents pay for everything currently). Does anyone know if this stores share data between each other or with someone else? I live in Europe, I know we have better privacy laws than US but it’s still bad, right? I am also joined in club of students in my city - cheaper movies, skiing, tickets, etc. Is that also a privacy concern?
Payments: For privacy reasons only pay in cash, I know. What about if there is no cash option? I’ve heard of prepaid debit cards, but they only work in US. Is there any way for private payments in Europe? If not would something like Revolut be more private than traditional banks?
For online payments I can buy prepaid debit cards for US services in XMR. And for not US services like ProtonMail? Is there something like privacy.com (with virtual cards) in Europe?
Thank you for all comments :)
How easy was it to intall Graphene? Honestly, the whole unlocking bootloader, flash a new OS thing sounds confusing.
from experience: it basically could not be simpler, even without any tech knowledge. the installation guide is clear and comprehensive. basically install some files to your computer, plug in the phone, toggle some android settings, and click install. all done from the browser (i would suggest using chrome)
“I would suggest using Chrome” Maybe in another universe
yeah i know. chrome is awful, i personally use librewolf. but the installation uses usb-control browser features, which may not work well in other browsers ive found. its just less headache to use chrome for this one important task, then you can uninstall it if you wish. brave or chromium also may work idk
Its honestly pretty easy. Read through the guide making sure you understand each point before you do it. Several times if necessary. Any point(s) youre unsure of, just ask.
Make shure that your distro is relatively up to date when I tryed to install graphene from KDE neon (ubuntu lts) it won’t work because my my tools were out of date