Harden Digital Life Series – Part 5: Managing Privacy

A short word on how to establish a desired privacy baseline which reflects your privacy needs and balances those with practicality. In an ideal world everyone could choose to conduct everything online anonymously – but we live in a very imperfect world and the effort required to get close to privacy nirvana can be overwhelming, cumbersome, and somewhat expensive.

Realize your personal threat model is a very important factor in relation to privacy because it will set parameters to aim for and guide steps needed. There is no point spending a huge amount time setting up an anonymous LLC or creating a hardened Linux phone if you all you wish to do is mitigate Facebook's and Google's data collection. There is a major difference between Privacy and Anonymity:

Privacy – knowing Jack uses Protonmail but not knowing what Jack is saying on it

Anonymity – not knowing Jack is using Protonmail

The overwhelming majority do not want wish (or need) to become anonymous, they just do not want big tech and/or nefarious agencies separately or together sweeping up their data and private information. If you are aiming for full anonymity, then great. But know that you are facing a massive mountain and this path will create lots of annoyance in the daily routine – it is not a journey to embark on without total commitment.

Ironically – Taking extreme measures to become truly anonymous could tip off the very groups you wish to evade, as they ponder why such lengths are being taken if they trip across you. A private investigator's or government agency's eyebrows may be raised at such secrecy. You would have to be highly confident of being completely perfect in your approach to not worry that you were raising a red flag to Big Brother.

My personal method is to conduct myself in a wholly anonymous fashion with any elements of my life that I absolutely want in no one's hands. I lock that *hit down. Beyond that, with data or information of no life-changing consequence to self, family, or others I say have a go! You will struggle to access those parts but if you do then you will only discover my shopping list or children discussions.

There are four main levels and the latter two require a deeper strategy. The last is pretty insane to aim for but circumstances are changing fast for many. We should all be aiming for at least level 2. They are interchangeable and not set in stone but achieving level 2 will certainly help hugely in mitigating level 3 and 4 becoming essential – and it would make that stepping stone to deeper privacy much easier as and when required

Level One: 'Normies'

I want to keep my tech private from family, friends & basic criminals

Pretty straightforward and not requiring any extreme changes in your life. Using passwords on phone and computer etc.

Examples

- Securing all devices with a password

- Keeping credit/debit card numbers offline

- Not showing current location on social media

- Not leaving yourself logged-on at computers you do not own.

Level Two: Locking Down More

I want to keep my information private from corporations & Gov snooping agencies

- Firefox instead of Chrome

- Encrypted messaging instead of SMS

- Shutdown social media

- Freezing credit

- PO Boxes

Level Three: Locked Down

I want to keep my information private from PI's, Hackers etc.

- Monitor and delete info from data brokers

- Home/Vehicle not in name

- Using a modified Android phone

- Hardened Linux laptop

Level Four: Gone

I want to keep my information private from Alphabet agencies & Foreign governments

- Avoid electronic devices

- Everything in name of anonymous trust or LLC

- Multiple aliases

- Misinformation posted online

Everyone has their own tolerance level for disruption to their life weighed against the benefit of going all in (or some in) on privacy. The above examples are not exhaustive, and some may disagree with the levels, but I hope this has provided a decent grounding into how you need to start thinking.