Your threat model shouldn't be about three letter agencies unless you're running a terrorist group. It should be about porn spammers or something.
I can assure you that if you’re doing AI research, glowies likely spy on you, but it’s the “good” kind of spying where you might get a job offer some day instead of the kind where they Guantanamo bay you…
Unless of course you are not based in a US-allied country, as stated very explicitly in my comment.
Ah the neverending American centricism on this site.
How likely is it that seemingly well-intentioned companies/open source projects like Mullvad, Wireguard, Qubes OS, Monero etc. are infiltrated by the US government? Or are you talking about the presence of Intel ME and the like in modern hardware?
I’m talking about the simple fact that Five Eyes have so many resources put together that you will never hide forever, unless you are willing to drastically change your life. The good news is you are not important enough for them to care about you unless you are an Iranian general with nuclear access or some shit. Even these ransomware groups aren’t even on the radar of the people who are actually being targeted, I’m…
I appreciate you, and thanks for the "You're not that important" reminder for the average reader of this comment. However I must state I personally really am in need of an answer. Hypothetically, what if I am that important? What if I am not yet a target but think there's a decent chance that I will be targeted by nation-states, the most capable being US one day? You seem pretty knowledgeable. In the age of ML-assisted mass data scanning and ISP data collection & correlation, what would the lifestyle changes I must undergo to remain truly pseudonymous on the internet look like?