this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2025
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Privacy
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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
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It comes down to the hostile actor you are trying to defend against. If you are Jason Bourne and you have been burned by your agency so multiple nation-states are looking for you, then you have to go fully off-grid and live a quiet life without ever communicating with anyone in your prior life again. It doesn't matter if you are using Signal, or SMS, or even a dial-up BBS. If you are communicating with people that are also under heavy surveillance, you cannot hide.
If you want to reduce your "digital footprint," then not using google/facebook/other social media is the most worthwhile thing you can possibly do. Your phone doesn't matter. Use iOS, never install any of the social apps, use Safari in incognito mode, and you'll never be tracekd across websites again.
Wat
It's the most private and secure phone OS you can get today. You have to have minimal trust in Apple that they won't change the terms, but that is miles better then using google who will explicitly use your data for anything they want.
It's absolutely not. It requires extraordinary trust in Apple.
The most private and secure OS is GrapheneOS, without a doubt. Google cannot use data they do not have.
This. A dumbphone is private in the sense that it's not collecting and transmitting a whole lot of data to Facebook, Google, etc., which is what most people are concerned about in this community.
If you also want encrypted communications, use something built for that purpose. But keep in mind, the other person will also have to have a compatible device, and probably isn't as concerned about maintaining hygiene.
"Use Safari in Incognito mode." I remember when they said the same thing about Firefox.
What happened with Firefox?
I think OP meant use Safari with the Apple's Privacy Relay thing that hides your IP and generalizes location data into a larger area, not just regular "private mode" that Safari has. Too bad it's subscription only on iCloud+, and who knows if it actually works as well as Apple claims it does.
I wasn't referring to the privacy relay, though if you want to use it that's fine too. More of just easy ways to reduce your digital footprint.