Thank you for your openness to a rational discussion! For transparency’s sake (since I have a firm belief that correspondence with higher powers should be publicized), I am willing to address your points one by one publicly.

TailsOS is not for “fun” purposes.

While you are correct that Tails is not designed for entertainment purposes, because I have a passion in technology and privacy alike, I find it an enjoyable experience to use Tails, learn about some of its features, and overall have a peace of mind that none of my “shenanigans” will affect my daily operating system.

I use a Faraday bag to store my device when I’m in public

Nobody uses their phone like this. When you stop using the communicator as a communicator, you have made the phone essentially a glass brick you lug around for no purpose.

I hardly use my phone for communication purposes, as phones have been designed to be used for a multitude of different tasks. Some of these are: gaming, photography, a calculator, note-taking, music streaming, and many more. Phones today are essentially used as portable pocket computers. While I do use my phone for communication, I am not constantly in contact with people in my social circle. It’s a healthier way to use a digital device, because it means when you are at work or with friends, you aren’t constantly distracted using your phone. This helps me to live the moment, and be present. The Faraday bag adds extra security while doing so. I am by no means telling you how to use your phone, but that is how I use mine. After all, it’s my phone, not yours.

“NSA style” zomg cool blonde hair tech whiz kid?

This was a poke at this comment: “If you want paranoid levels of security, consider following the NSA’s Rule of Two, which means two completely independent layers of encryption.”

I am not blonde, by the way. Nor a minor.

iOS is a privacy nightmare. https://gist.github.com/iosecure/357e724811fe04167332ef54e736670d And its security has been worse than that of Android for years now. https://www.wired.com/story/android-zero-day-more-than-ios-zerodium/

Thank you for providing helpful links! While I am well aware of the privacy invasive nature of iOS, I currently don’t have the funds to switch to my preferred alternative, GrapheneOS. This is my personal preference, and YMMV.

GrapheneOS is complete snake oil. Read more here to know about “security” cultists in FOSS/privacy community.

https://old.reddit.com/r/privatelife/comments/ug9qnc/writeup_criticism_of_rprivacyguides_grapheneos/

https://old.reddit.com/r/privatelife/comments/13teoo9/grapheneos_corporate_foss_loving_witch_hunting/

It’s not very appropriate to discriminate against a group of people, even if their views do not align with yours. They are still people, after all. While I don’t share your views about GrapheneOS, I do appreciate providing sources to back up your claims. Kudos to you for using old.reddit.

This post is a massive joke.

This is not nice and does not contribute to the post at all, and is therefore unnecessary. If you have negative opinions regarding a post, consider simply downvoting and potentially having a conversation with the creator (me) about it.

This person made a rough guide, and not merely shared their own setup.

If my post has been perceived as a guide, I apologize. It was not my intention. I’m not exactly sure if you were referring to a privacy guide, or a guide on how to format answers (which many people have followed). I don’t see any parts that encourage people to use the same services that I use (as a privacy guide would), but I could be wrong. Would you mind elaborating with specific examples?

And if someone is going to suggest their setup, let alone a guide, there will be people who pick it apart. Most will be trolls, some will be constructive.

This is the sole reason I placed the rules directly in the post, to discourage that behavior. Obviously it’s not foolproof, but it has significantly helped prevent it.

“Hardened iOS” is an oxymoron at some level, for example.

I agree that, in some sense, it is an oxymoron: considering that iOS cannot be fully hardened due to multiple factors. The reasons I chose to use that terminology are explained below.

If you use iOS, stop trying to conform to “cool” privacy notions, and be okay with it.

I tried my best to refrain from using terms that beginner privacy enthusiasts would not understand, which led to certain creative solutions to be used, such as “hardened” as an adjective to describe a more locked-down service. If you have any suggestions on alternatives, I am happy to hear them!

Switch to Android and harden it when comfortable.

I do not have the finances to switch to a device capable of running Android yet. I am doing the best with what I can. Thank you for understanding my situation!

Yes I mocked the post, but I did not berate the user, and I consider it fair enough.

Mocking any content created with detail and care is not a kind thing to do, and goes against c/privacy’s 6th rule “Be nice :)”, which I am sure you are well aware of, considering you are a moderator in that community.

I come with a lot of privacy/anonymity experience so I suggest things in a more hardline manner, while being able to see through if someone is okay with a more basic threat model. I am not a snobby elitist. I make guides for threat modelling, smartphones and computing.

Interesting! Would you mind linking to a few of your guides? I am very interested in reading them.

“Hardened iOS” and “GrapheneOS” often crosses my tolerance limit.

It is interesting for you to compare hardened Android (which you have stated is preferable) to iOS (which you have stated is not private). Would you mind elaborating on why GrapheneOS is not regarded as highly in comparison to other hardened Android ROMs, in your own opinion? Also, disregarding how privacy invasive Apple devices are, do you believe that Apple’s Lockdown Mode (at least) delivers on security features?

It sounds to me from experience that the person is no longer “reachable” in a reasonable manner, unless drums are loudly beaten.

I am happy to hear that I was able to exceed your expectations, with quiet instruments.

One thing I am known for is not abusing mod powers, and giving people plenty leeway. But even then, being the mod, you probably view it as an imbalance

Would you mind elaborating on why I may see your messages as an imbalance, as a result of your status as a professional moderator of this community?

If it is a simple debate in public, I welcome it as well.

I am glad you are open to a clean, transparent discussion. I look forward to hearing from you.

I cannot promise an immediate debate unless I am free, given my life circumstances, but we can try.

That’s alright, we all have hardships in the real world. Take your time.

I will admit one mistake, I did not know and assumed Secureblue is a misspelled Silverblue

It is a good quality to be able to admit your own mistakes, and I commend you for that. Until recently, I, too, was unaware as to what Secureblue is.

Nice pick. I use Debian Stable and am extremely picky with what I install, even minimising Flatpak installs and network connected programs.

Thank you! It was actually the community you moderate (c/privacy) that helped me pick it out. I, too, am somewhat picky about my installs. I am currently sticking to strictly Flatpaks.

I am eager to hear your responses! Please, get back to me when you can.

Cheers!