New to Privacy? Don't Boil the Ocean.
You've decided to reclaim your privacy, and that's a great choice. But after watching a few videos or reading some articles, the task can quickly feel impossible. The good news is that you don't have to do it all at once. The best way to approach your privacy is by making small, consistent changes over time.
Where to Begin?
Every journey starts with a single step. To help you figure out your ultimate destination, you might want to read our post, "Privacy: What's Your Level?". For now, let's focus on two key goals: reducing the amount of information that is collected and removing as much of it as possible. The easiest way to start is by tackling the first goal.
One simple and impactful first step is to switch your default browser to a privacy-focused one like "Brave Browser".
What Is Brave Browser?
Although millions use it daily, you may not have heard of Brave. Brave Browser is a privacy-first option that limits data collection in several key ways. Here's a quick overview of what it does:
- Blocks ads and trackers: It blocks third-party ads and trackers by default, which limits how much data websites can collect.
- Limits fingerprinting: It reduces the data points websites use to identify you based on your browser and device.
- Encrypts connections: It automatically uses HTTPS to secure data transmission.
- Minimizes data sharing: It doesn't store your browsing history and encrypts synced data, ensuring less data is collected overall.
Best of all, it's free and easy to switch on all platforms. This is one small but significant step in the right direction.
Switch Your Search Engine
Another easy change is to switch to a privacy-preserving search engine. As we discuss in "Your Search History Tells a Story. Keep It Private.", most search engines are designed to collect information about you. Services like Brave Search and StartPage.com allow you to search without having everything you do recorded.
Ditch the Apps
A bigger step you can take is to start replacing mobile apps with mobile websites. As we discussed in our post "Privacy Strategy: Ditch the Apps", most mobile apps have excessive access to your device, allowing them to collect a shocking amount of data. In most cases, the mobile website offers all the same features as the app, and when you use Brave Browser, much less data is collected.
Get a New Messaging App
Switching to an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform like Signal is another great step. Most messaging platforms collect data to generate a profile about you, and even worse, your chat history can be subpoenaed at any time. Encrypted messaging apps like Signal allow only you and the person you're chatting with to see the messages. That includes all the information about the message that might be interesting to some.
Small Steps, Big Rewards
There are many more steps you can take on your privacy journey, and we'll cover them in other posts. But for now, start with these simple changes and notice the difference they can make. You can also check out our Privacy Toolbox to discover other tools that may fit your needs, many with links to more information about how the tool protects your privacy.
Remember, we may not have anything to hide, but we have everything to protect.
