I have been reading about internet privacy for a long time. As time went on, I got a vpn subcription, a custom domain, a paid email hosting, etc. No regrets on the services themselves.
I recently had this conversation with a colleague of mine, complaining about the rising cost of everything including internet subscription services: netflix, spotify, youtube, you name it. I could simply disregard my colleague’s complaints as I didn’t have any of those and know the ways of obtaining materials. However, once I start adding up the privacy related services I’m willingly paying instead… they also add up into a considerable amount.
So, do you pay for anything privacy related, how much do you pay in total, and is it affordable for you? For example, many VPN providers offer yearly subscriptions around 40-50 USD.
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I agree.
I feel like certain providers are better than others. It is worth investigating imo.
Some providers use in memory security devices so that if the device was stolen, it would be useless.
Some offer 100% in country services designed to meet in country security & privacy needs , albeit at a higher price.
All privacy and security is a risk / reward scenario. What is the risk of an event, what is the personal reward for mitigating that event, what is the cost to do so.
Personally, I think the most important thing to do is try, and not gatekeep.
A bad actor is a bad actor and no amount of privacy practice is going to stop them.
Also worth asking genuine questions as it’s not like Google is going to roll out step by step avoidance practices to escape the various metadata machines, both theirs and their competitors.
I like privacy based practices because it is form of self reliance, one that requires a community to succeed!