The Privacy Palliative
Is it all pretense?
Your Privacy Matters Because It Impacts Your Future
Anyone who tells you they can keep you completely private on the internet is lying to you. It really is that simple. They probably have something to sell you.
I run a search engine and I can see first hand just what is delivered to my servers. It’s amazing how much data about ourselves we give up every moment we’re on line and no one is going to stop it and there are no technologies to really protect you from it. There is better and worse, and that’s as good as it gets.
It’s simple: in order to even use the internet you’re sending information about yourself (or, at least, your computer or device) to another computer. It’s just the way the internet works. The websites you visit, the VPN you’re using (more about VPNs below), the entertainment you stream, and the web apps you use, they all need to know where to send the information or the service you want, and that information reveals a lot about you.
And, if what you mean by “private” is that no one will be able to know what you’re doing, saying, thinking, feeling, or writing without your express permission, well…that hasn’t been truly possible since way before computers and the internet and it’s a lot less possible now.
The best choice we all have is to try to use companies that are expressly not in the business of capturing our data and selling it as part of their business. Like Plumb. It’s not all doom and gloom, and we don’t mean to sound like that here, and…there is a lot of hype and we are attempting to shed a little light on what we see is often a murky area.
Let’s talk “privacy”
What do we mean by “private,” anyway? When you think “privacy,” what do you mean? Is it the same as when (for instance) DuckDuckGo (DDG) says they’re a “privacy engine”? Or when Mozilla says they are a “private browser”? We connect to the internet through all sorts of software these days, so “private” browsers and browser extensions are only partial solution, at best.
“Privacy” is a term that’s thrown around a lot these days and I have come to believe that can mean anything (=nothing). Does your definition of “privacy” presume anonymity? (It never does, not on the internet). Does it mean the website you’re on doesn’t track you? Does it mean that, if they do track you, they don’t do anything underhanded with your information?
Before any of us believe anyone who tells us that they are keeping us “private,” we all need to decide what that means…for ourselves. Once we do that we can look at the various “privacy” vendors out there and see if they meet what we want. There are only tradeoffs.
For instance, say you use DDG (or Brave or FireFox or whatever browser extensions) for search and its browser extensions to keep you “safe” while you search and surf the web. If, at the same time, you use TikTok, then your biometric data is being sent to the Chinese Communist Party and DDG has nothing to say about that. Use a web app like WebFlow or Calendly? No one can “protect” you there.
Again, it’s all tradeoffs; what are you willing to give up to get the content (entertainment, education, information, etc.) and services you want? Once you decide that, you can mindfully (stress on “mindfully”) make rational, reasonable, decisions about what you can and can’t keep more protected (and, no, there is no choice to keep everything private).
Let’s get completely practical for a moment, and look at the most private way you can use the internet. (hint: it’s with a phone)
The most private internet
After long discussions with cybersecurity experts, I believe we have come up with the most anonymous way to use the internet. But, and it’s a big but, you probably won’t be able to access a lot of the services you want and it’s completely inconvenient.
- Go find a store — preferably one without surveillance cameras — that sell burner phones.
- Buy one with cash. Buy minutes with cash.
- Sign up for services but not using your real name or any identifier that is tied to you.
- Whatever apps, websites, and services that are available to you, you can now use them anonymously.
- Again, not very convenient and if the store has surveillance cameras, that may defeat the whole process, but…it’s close as you can get to real anonymity on the internet.
What about VPNs?
If — and this turns out to be a big if — you can find a good one, yes a VPN can help you stay more private. The bottom line here is that they are still companies run by people, so there are still open questions…lots of them. Some VPNs have been found to be clearly scams (like FaceBook’s Onavo) and even the better ones, like Nord, have had problems.
According to PCMAG’s Max Eddy (a longtime reviewer of VPNs and industry observer):
“…the culture around VPNs and how some of these products are marketed has become incredibly toxic.”
And, Mr. Eddy goes further,
“Nor is it particularly easy to verify if VPNs are actually doing anything. How can we tell that a VPN is actually preventing an ISP or a hacker from figuring out who you are or intercepting your traffic? How can we verify that every single one of the company’s servers and apps are configured properly? How can we be sure the company isn’t selling our data or injecting ads into our web traffic? Even checking that a given VPN product is actually encrypting your traffic is difficult and time-consuming.”
And even with a “good” VPN, there can still be a lot of questions about “privacy.”
For instance, Nord, certainly one of the best and most respected providers in the industry, is quite opaque about their ownership. They’re clear about being incorporated in Panama, but not much beyond that.
So…are they really “private”? Who knows?
Ultimately, whether through a VPN or not, you still connect to a website that gets all your information, and browsers give up a lot of it.
And, speaking of browsers…
What about “private” browsers?
This is an area that I personally find quite troubling, because there is a lot of hype and misinformation out there and a lot of people feel safer with certain browsers, but…it’s mostly marketing.
For instance, is FireFox (Mozilla) “private browser”? Most people seem to think so, but Mozilla was just caught capturing the keystrokes of the searches their customers make in the address bar in FireFox. Is this “private”?
Brave? Well there’s this and this. Not that the Brave folks aren’t trying, my point here is that, even with the best-intended companies, no one bats 1000.
And then there’s Chrome, which can’t even pretend. Know that if you use Chrome and are logged in, you have no privacy whatsoever, no matter what VPN, blocker, or other protection you might be using. And even not logged in, Chrome is a Google product and they are the apex predator when it comes to data collection.
Most people also ask about DuckDuckGo, which has gone from being a search engine to “an internet privacy company” (https://duckduckgo.com/about). We have to applaud their efforts to reduce the amount of tracking their customers are subjected to, and we are happy to join them in the world of providing top-notch search without the surveillance so many of us are subjected to. Nonetheless, the reality is, there are no panaceas.
We all have to remember we’re working in an environment where our privacy is constantly under threat, and one company won’t fix it, whatever their claims may be.
So, what’s the answer?
The first part is to remember Benjamin Franklin’s maxim,
“Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.”
The more you share information the less private it is. It really comes down to trusting who you’re dealing with, and…on the internet that’s really hard.
That being said, there are ways you can limit how exposed you are online:
- Work with companies, like Plumb, that expressly do not collect or trade in personal information. On Plumb, for instance, we don’t track any information that can identify you and one of our founding documents makes clear that our belief that your data deserves the same respect you do as an individual. It’s the DoDI — the Declaration of Digital Independence.
- Be wary of any free service — like free VPNs. Every business needs to support itself and, if you’re not paying for the service with money, you’re paying with your digital self (your data).
- For those activities you do online that you do want to keep more secure (and we all have them; searches for personal things like maladies, communications you want to keep private, or websites you visit that are guilty pleasures) use the available tools to keep them as private as possible — find them on Plumb, use a (paid) VPN to access them, and — always a good practice — stay aware of your digital environment.
- Finally, please, please, please, if you’re using a public wifi — like in a Starbucks or any other public place — either use a VPN or, even better, just don’t use it for anything you want to keep private. Using your bank from a public wifi is like using an ATM in Times Square and shouting your PIN for the crowds to hear.
Ultimately it’s up to each of us to protect ourselves, and…be aware that when you’re using social media (TikTok or any social media) you’re intentionally broadcasting yourself. Try to remember not to be in that same frame of mind when you’re doing something you really want private, and use companies, like Plumb, that respect the integrity of you and your data.
Remember, your privacy matters. It may not seem like it today, so please remember: your privacy is your power. The more you ignore this today, the more likely it is to cause you trouble in the future.
And, in closing, to quote a favorite old TV show:
Citations
This priest probably thought he was protected, too.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/10/business/location-data-privacy-apps.html
An example of why browser extensions and other technologies aren’t enough to protect you.
https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-privacy-test-vpn-security.html
Just how hard it is to test if your VPN is even working right
https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/nordvpn-and-torguard-vpn-breaches-what-you-need-to-know
The attack and its disclosure show another critical problem with VPNs: a reliance on third-party contractors to supply the servers necessary to run the company.
When there is this much disinformation and counter-disinformation (which may also be disinformation) it’s impossible to tell who is telling the truth.
https://nordvpn.com/blog/what-anonymous-vpn-mean/
Even with a VPN, the websites can see the operating system and the browser you use, the plugins you have installed, your CPU and even whether you are currently logged into any social media platforms.
https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2021/metadata--vpns--and-tor.html
VPN companies tend to be headquartered in countries with minimal government oversight in order to avoid regulatory hurdles like mandatory data retention regimes.
Unfortunately, this means taking these companies’ claims about privacy and security on face value, which brings its own set of problems.
https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2020/06/09/brave-browser-accused-of-trust-breach/
