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Why should I be wary of my browsing data being sent to China? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 months ago by cybercitizen4@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Hi all,

I don’t really know how to ask this question. On one of my devices, I downloaded a web browser (Opera) and one of my friends made fun of me, saying that “you better like China knowing all the stuff you do online”.

I read the Opera website and it says it’s a Norwegian company, but on Wikipedia it does say it was bought by a Chinese company.

My question is: what does “China” do with my personal browsing data? Why is it useful for them? (and who are we referring to here, is that the Chinese government, a private company, who?)

I’m looking forward to learn more about digital privacy, but I don’t currently understand the “obviousness” of how it is wrong to use Opera.

I’m a tech enthusiast (hence why I’m here), but I’m cognizant that I have large knowledge gaps in some of these topics.

Thank you in advance.

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[–] lemmyng@lemmy.ca 24 points 3 months ago

If they control the browser they can potentially intercept everything you see and do. Banking info, whether you looked up Tianmen square, who you talk to, who you trust... They can also infer personality from your browsing history. Looked at clown outfits just before watching porn? Maybe you'll get a letter blackmailing you or else they'll divulge your fetish to your family and loved ones. This is not fiction - China has been caught doing this to political personalities, and those are only the ones that failed.

The browser can also serve as a gateway for them to install persistent monitoring software on your OS, or turning your machine into part of a botnet.