Why Everyone Needs an Across-the-Board Approach to Protect Online Privacy
Since the latest privacy brawl of WhatsApp, the global online community is throwing itself wildly on several other so-called privacy-friendly alternatives. The thing is: It won’t make any difference in the end if we don’t use an overall approach for privacy protection.
Let’s just truth be told, plain and simple! If you use World-Wide-Web, you are willingly giving some or more of your personal information for the taking. However, the good thing is that you can be tracked less by using certain methods and apps, but you will still be tracked anyway. I recently read an article on the MIT News website, titled “Is online privacy possible?.” In that article, Jeff Schiller, a resident network security technologist at MIT for 20 years, has this to say:
“The original purpose of the Internet was to permit computers to exchange information. Computers and the Internet were not personal.”
This quoted text from Mr. Schiller does make sense, and this is also the benefit of advice you get from a qualified person of any specific field. When we use the web, we must acknowledge its core systematics and that is to send and retrieve data feed into its system. Therefore, a user’s information will be shared on the world-wide-web server and will be accessible as well.
Now, the big question: How to protect our privacy online — especially sensitive personal information — on the internet? Well, it depends on how we use the web and what platforms we use for our purposes. When answering some of the questions on Quora recently, regarding online privacy protection, I came to realize a few things about a common web user and his/her understanding of privacy:
· They care about privacy a lot, but still unwilling to leave well-known data-hungry platforms
· They hastily look for alternative apps without knowing whether they are privacy-friendly or not
· Their focus is mostly on social apps for privacy, but they continue to use other services from the same providers (e. g. cloud, email, file synchronization, etc.)
Among these three points mentioned above, the second and third are the most crucial ones. Let me delve more into them. The usual modus operandi of seeking alternative social or messaging apps against the established ones, especially over privacy, certainly does not guarantee complete privacy anonymity. For example, after the recent crises of WhatsApp privacy policy change, many users on a global scale turned to such alternatives as Telegram, Signal, Kik, and few other social messaging apps. The questions, which I believe few might have considered before the mass exodus; do these platforms sworn to protect user privacy as they claim? How do they make a profit if they provide free services?
Here’s what an article published at MOU neatly describes how free secure messaging apps, like Telegram, Signal, and others, run:
“While Telegram is touted as a secure messaging option, privacy concerns remain regarding the source code for both its client and servers. The Telegram client is licensed under GNU GPLv2 or GPLv3, but the development team doesn’t release the client source code for scrutiny with each update.”
As for Signal, a detailed narrative published on The App Solution describes as thus:
“The thing is — there is no real answer to “how does Signal make money?” — because it doesn’t generate revenue. Signal’s developer, Whisper Systems, doesn’t operate as a business and stays afloat on government grants instead. While this stance is noble and deserves respect — there is no business angle to speak of.”
So, one can never be sure if an app out there is privacy-friendly or not. But as I have pondered on many solutions to live a privacy-friendly life on the web, one thing has struck me the most: initiating a complete switch and across-the-board approach. Let me describe this theory in a bit of detail.
When we leave a social network or a messaging app, we rarely think of leaving other fundamental web services provided by the same tech giants upon whom we have zero trust. This includes using cloud storage, search engines, business, and project management apps. Some of the shining examples of this are:
· Google Drive
· Microsoft OneDrive
· Google My Business
· Microsoft Outlook
· Bing! Business
· Bing!
· Microsoft Skype
· Google Hangouts
· Microsoft Teams
· Facebook Messenger
· Facebook Business Manager
So, think about it! We want to leave WhatsApp, Google search, Bing! apps because we have zero trust in them when it comes to privacy. Yet, we continue to use their cloud, business, and search services — for what? How can we consider ourselves as true privacy crusaders when we leave one thing because it’s been in the news, while we continue to give them heaps of data on their other services? This is like making your privacy secure 10% out of the total 100.
I believe that’s not the way, and it won’t take us anywhere in the end. The web community, when leaving a certain app, should also take an across-the-board approach and switch to everything that is completely off the spot and a proven privacy caretaker. But how do you know if a privacy-friendly alternative, whether cloud, social, or business management, is really what it’s sworn to be! Here are some indicators to consider before switching:
As the famous saying goes: “if it’s not selling you a product, then you are the product!” If you value your privacy, it is better to use partially paid services than free ones. When they are generating revenue from your usage, chances are higher than they are not going to sell your data to the third-parties. There are some paid social/massaging apps like Threema, MeWe, Wickr, Wire, etc., that are partially paid ones and have a name in the growing privacy-concerned industry.
Look for data syncing alternatives for your data, rather than cloud storage services. Whenever a service stores your data on their servers, there is every chance that they sell some of your info to generate revenue — whether paid or free alike! Instead, a platform that does not store your data on their servers and provides a device-to-device file syncing service is a much more privacy-friendly way to manage your personal data. One app that I use myself for managing my data is FriendlySync. FriendlySync syncs data without storing even a single byte on their servers, and it follows the pattern of device-to-device syncing, rather than the need for the internet’s help. When there is no internet involved, it is pretty much awesome, right?
Make sure you have a basic understanding of how web and privacy work. We cannot blame everything on the tech companies when we willingly permit them to use our data. For example, ask yourself how many times do you read privacy policy/terms and conditions before using an app or platform from the web? That document, though long, complex, and lengthy, is not a “Yada Yada” simply, it tells you what it will do with your data in compensation for providing you a service. Plus, acquaint yourself with techniques such as end-to-end encryption, SSL, HTTPS, cookies, fingerprints, cross-device tracking, etc. This will help you understand those terms and conditions regarding your privacy. Here two great sources with easy-to-understand terminology on online security/privacy you can learn from — Clearing Privacy Right & Internet Security Protocols.
In addition to following an across-the-board approach, use additional help from tracker blockers, ad blockers, and antivirus/security plugins available on most of the browsers today. These will additionally secure your online presence. Plugins like Ad-block Plus, Ghostery, Avira Browser Safety, and similar ones, can be of great help. However, make sure to avoid those which require you to sign up for operation.
Conclusion
So, fighting for your right to privacy is pretty much your fundamental right. However, no initiative prospers until it is followed with a proper approach and self-sacrificial effort. I believe if the respected web community around the world just pays a little heed to what they should know and do, rather than switching or joining self-proclaimed privacy alternatives blindly, we can ensure our privacy on a much greater level. Let’s discuss this in more detail: how do you think an across-the-board approach will be helpful or not?
