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On privacy and control

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Re: On privacy and control

#101

Post by pona-a »

andrepd wrote: post #79
mtone wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just looked - Microsoft Authenticator doesn't appear to work. I might be able to get off of it but it will take some prep. My banks are supported so that's good.

Why would you use Microsoft Authenticator when there are hundreds of other apps that manage OTPs? Use aegis https://f-droid.org/packages/com.beemdevelopment.aegis/

Because many admins are horrible and disable TOTP for "security".

My uni does it and I've had use the only alternative option, cell call, and rigged Tasker to automatically answered and play the needed tone so I don't need to carry it with me.

Re: On privacy and control

#102

Post by martin-t »

sfRattan wrote: post #44
kgwxd wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't but it seems a LOT of people do. They even seem to prefer it.

Control means ownership. Ownership means work. Until they've been burned by unspoken realities of not owning some piece of their own digital lives, most people will continue to prefer being tenants, rather than owners. Technology is only the most recent domain in which we can observe the human tendency to prefer the short term, incurious ease and license not to think that tenancy provides over the long term, ongoing…

> Until they've been burned

Or as someone put it: "You can't make people care".

Most western countries are democracies because people in the past got burned by dictatorships (including monarchies). Many of them died because of the dictators (whether they were forced to fight a war of conquest or imprisoned for saying the wrong thing). Many of them died to remove (kill, execute, make flee) the dictators.

There are 2 domains remaining where we still have dictatorships:

- Corporations. Not only do workers usually not have any way make decisions but they produce much more wealth than they actually capture. Cory Doctorow said that an average programmer makes $1M in profits for the company - how much does actually go into his pocket and to whom does the rest go? This is the core of rising economic inequality.

- Technology. This is what OP's article is about. There's not a clean hierarchical power structure you can point to but it's obvious companies have a huge power advantage over users.

Re: On privacy and control

#103

Post by mac-attack »

nyx wrote: post #9

Agree that "control" is a much better framing, since it doesn't suggest a need for secrecy and therefore embarrassing/unacceptable/untoward behavior that needs to stay behind drawn window blinds. I'm also fond of "agency" and "digital self-sovereignty" as alternatives. But fine, I'll be the one to say it: Cloudflare isn't one of the good guys here and as an entity it shouldn't be trusted. It doesn't matter how pure t…

The article definitely took a sharp and unexpected left towards the end.

Re: On privacy and control

#104

Post by class3shock »

arionmiles wrote: post #11

As much as I'd love to daily drive an OS like GrapheneOS, the risk of running into apps that use Google Integrity API thereby making it impossible to run those apps on Graphene is too much of an inconvenience. I took a look at this curated list of bank apps[1] supported on Graphene OS and I'm glad that a large majority of them work on Graphene. However, just my luck that one of the banks I use on this list isn't supp…

I've used GrapheneOS for years now and it is the easiest-to-use, lowest friction privacy oriented software I've interacted with.

I'm not sure why one banking app not working would be a deal breaker (Can you not live without that specific banking app?) or why things being "digital-first" would be an issue (Are you talking about a government app not working?). The only people I think that it isn't practical for are those that need a specific dual factor authentication app for their job that doesn't work on it or someone that uses there phone for their business as a payment processor that requires an app that doesn't work on it. Otherwise it's kinda install it and forget about it, which is how I wish more privacy focused software worked.

Re: On privacy and control

#105

Post by class3shock »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #59
arionmiles wrote: post #11

As much as I'd love to daily drive an OS like GrapheneOS, the risk of running into apps that use Google Integrity API thereby making it impossible to run those apps on Graphene is too much of an inconvenience. I took a look at this curated list of bank apps[1] supported on Graphene OS and I'm glad that a large majority of them work on Graphene. However, just my luck that one of the banks I use on this list isn't supp…

Another daily GrapheneOS driver here. I've kept banking apps off my phone anyway, and I do banking via desktop/website (I don't understand why people need to do banking 'on the go') and just use a physical credit card for tap payments when I'm out and about. I do have older Android devices that I have run banking apps on, that I can revert to if necessary, but there's a fair bit of inconvenience I would be happy to e…

Atleast for me I still need atleast two banking apps so I can: - Send money to friends - Deposit checks

That being said I haven't had issues with using them.

Re: On privacy and control

#106

Post by martin-t »

Slash65 wrote: post #56
ismailmaj wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, if your setup is too niche (e.g. browsing privacy configuration) you can be easily tracked, though no one will bother, but captcha's will certainly not miss you.

This is the rub, tech is able to track you based on your browser, viewport size, os, location (a vpn still has a location if you aren’t rotating) and more. I use Firefox for privacy and just that measure alone rules out 97% of internet traffic and zeros down who I am within 3%. How private am I if I default to that 3%. 1440p monitor and a half screen Firefox viewport? Now we’re building an advertising profile!

If targeted advertising is your main threat, then you are lucky to _currently_ live in a country whose government _currently_ does not consider you an enemy or potential enemy. Many people are not that lucky and many people will become unlucky despite not changing anything about themselves.

Re: On privacy and control

#107

Post by martin-t »

dinkleberg wrote: post #12
riskeet wrote: post #4

The average person won’t go through even 2% of the trouble. Your self inflicted lockdown is a niche within a niche. I respect it though!

Who cares what the average person will go through and do though? We’re each responsible for ourselves and how we choose to go about life, even if vastly differs from the general population.

Leaking bits of individuality is one issue.

The other is that once a tech choice becomes too niche, it stops being supported:

- Technically anyone can run their own email server but from what I hear if you do, some providers will treat you as spam.

- Niche features get removed from products.

- Some niche usecases depend on legal support. Running programs on a device you own without going through a gatekeeper ("sideloading") may be required in some jurisdictions (EU, any others?) but there's nothing stopping the almost-monopolies from making it impossible elsewhere.

Re: On privacy and control

#108

Post by b3nji »

arionmiles wrote: post #11

As much as I'd love to daily drive an OS like GrapheneOS, the risk of running into apps that use Google Integrity API thereby making it impossible to run those apps on Graphene is too much of an inconvenience. I took a look at this curated list of bank apps[1] supported on Graphene OS and I'm glad that a large majority of them work on Graphene. However, just my luck that one of the banks I use on this list isn't supp…

I've been using GrapheneOS for years, I can't go back to another OS due to its ease of use, speed, and awesome features baked into my day to day use now.

There is one banking app that stopped working, and you know what? I dont use it now. I'm not about to let a bank dictate how I use my most personal device. I use a desktop if I need to access that info, and it forces me to be deliberate about it too.

Re: On privacy and control

#109

Post by mr_woozy »

nextos wrote: post #8
OGEnthusiast wrote: post #6

What's the story for maps and POI search on GrapheneOS? I'm assuming using Google Maps is a non-starter since that defeats the whole point of all these privacy protections in the first place.

OSMAnd and others can do offline maps and POI search if you want. You could also run Google Maps web through Tor if needed. Tor is easy to use on Android.

[dead]

Re: On privacy and control

#110

Post by mixmastamyk »

socalgal2 wrote: post #99
mixmastamyk wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Control is the other end of freedom. Do they hate freedom? ;-) People often say they have nothing to hide, but they don’t get to decide, the powers that be will make that determination. Law enforcement, civil judgements, corporate penalties, etc. Everyone breaks some rules. For example, Ford knows you’re speeding while GM sells that info to your insurance company.

That example of Ford knownig you're speeding wouldn't change their mind. In fact I'm not sure it I have a problem with it. You already need a license to drive. Given how bad drivers are getting I actually feel like I wish all cars were tracked and tickets given out. Bad driving risks other people's lives. On the other hand, it's likely the traffic violations will go down as self driving car usage increased. Though of…

If you are trying to convince people to care about their privacy etc, you’re doing a lousy job.

They also know when you’re having sex in the car, but I didn’t mention it out of politeness.

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