My Top 4 Favorite Privacy Apps
Not everyone needs to read your messages.
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With state-led mass surveillance, cybercrime, and surveillance capitalism on the rise, being aware of some of the tools and services you can use to protect your privacy and data is arguably more important than ever.
In this week’s issue, I want to introduce you to four privacy apps I use.
So let’s dive right in.
Signal
If you have followed the recent WhatsApp privacy policy update saga, you will have probably heard of Signal.
Signal is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted messaging app that allows you to talk to your friends and loved ones without having to worry about anyone reading your messages.
I have been using Signal for a long time for private conversations. While it is not as user-friendly as WhatsApp or Telegram, it’s currently the go-to app for private messaging.
Even Edward Snowden uses Signal and recommends it.
Signal @signalapp
We've started rolling out Signal for Android! TextSecure and RedPhone are now just Signal: https://t.co/m7nGFxRg1lVPNs
Yes, I know.
Not the most exciting pick. But I use a VPN almost every day.
A virtual private network (VPN) enhances your online privacy by providing you with a private connection on a public network.
Whenever I work in a public space and log onto a shared WiFi, my VPN is on. That way, others in the network cannot snoop on my traffic.
If you regularly log into public WiFi, make sure you have a VPN switched on!
PRO TIP: If you log onto PayPal or online banking, hotspot using your smartphone and switch off the VPN. PayPal may close down your account if you have a VPN on when logging in and your bank may send you fraud alerts if you are logging in from a different country or continent because you have your VPN server switched to Hong Kong or New York.
DuckDuckGo + Tor
When I research sensitive subject matters that could easily be taken out of context if they appeared in public records, I use the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo in combination with the Tor browser.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that does not store your data.
If you don’t want to give all your search data to Google, you may want to check out DuckDuckGo.
Tor is the world’s leading private internet browser that allows you to surf the web without revealing your location or identity.
While it’s not as user-friendly as Google Chrome, the Tor Browser has become the go-to web browser for journalists, dissidents, and individuals located in countries where freedom of speech is greatly restricted.
Alright, beautiful people of the internet. That’s it for this week. You will hear from me again next Friday.
Until then, stay sexy!
Peace, love, and anarchy,
Alex Lielacher