PROTECT THYSELF: Tips & Top Apps Used To Protect My Privacy

I recently chat with a good friend about what apps I was using to protect myself from all the crazy Google blacklisting and biased search results, the third-party sharing/tracking and more. I mean, gosh, we’re basically not safe anymore! Not to mention this whole FaceApp drama…oy! I fell prey to it – I won’t even get into all of that. But between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, filters, ads and all that craze…there’s a lot of our info out there. *Nervous laugh*

Anyways, she mentioned I should share because everyone wants to protect themselves better right? (I HOPE!) Welp, here we are…I’m gonna share a brief summary of some of my tips/advice and apps I use to secure my info a bit better! It’s all suuuuper accessible and nothing crazy drastic has to be done, other than deleting and downloading new apps/browsers! ;)

GET RID OF YOUR GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER AND SWITCH TO BRAVE BROWSER

While it might appear that this is just another manifestation of Big Tech’s collusion with Big Pharma, which has deep pockets and thus plenty of influence, the truth is that Google has actually morphed into its own pharmaceutical conglomerate, which means it now has a vested interest in censoring the truth about superfoods, dietary supplements, and other non-pharma approaches to healthy living that threaten drug and vaccine profits.
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We don’t all have to be on the same page about this, but I’m just gonna go ahead and say that we probably don’t want our search engine’s to be recommending biased information. Especially from a corrupt company like Google. ANYWHO – let’s move on. I use Brave Browser and really like it a lot, mainly cus it’s not owned by Google AND I can use the default browser of my choice: Duck Duck Go.

Insight on Brave Browser

The Brave browser is natively secure with ad blocking, and HTTPS Everywhere. Most users tend to trust Brave because it does not require third-party extensions to guarantee browsing security. A Brave user is allowed to chose what data to delete at the end of a browsing session. That is derived from blocking fingerprinting attempts and scripts from loading. Users have numerous ways to customise their browsing experience to be secure.
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Brave does not also support many third-party add-ons. Extra extensions might be annoying to some users. This capability ensures that no malicious extensions compromise the user’s security. This is also an issue on the other hand, as some extensions are really useful for day-to-day activities.
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Insight on Duck Duck Go

They don’t track your information…

Each time you search on DuckDuckGo, it’s as if you’ve never been there before. We simply don’t store anything that can tie your searches to you personally, or even tie them together into a search history that could later be tied back to you.
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They block Google trackers lurking everywhere, you won’t receive biased results, their search results aren’t loaded with ads, they strive for a world where we have control over our personal information, they listen and respond if something crashes or you get locked out..they got you!

Here’s the rest of the great article on why you should be using Duck Duck Go and not Google search browser.

DO NOT USE GMAIL IF YOU WANT TO SECURELY SEND OVER PRIVATE INFORMATION, USE PROTONMAIL

Oops…it’s been years that I’ve used Google Mail (aka gmail) and I know it may be too late – but STILL. I am using my personal gmail account for the light stuff and my business email account for similar. If I’m wanting to send over information that’s private or needs to be securely shared – I’m using ProtonMail. Why is it better, you ask?

I made two accounts on it: personal and business, so I can keep them separate. I know it’ll be secure through there, and it’s highly encrypted. You can also get the ProtonMail app!

QUIT USING GOOGLE MAPS, AND DON’T USE WAZE (OWNED BY GOOGLE)

Listen, Google is basically the devil lol. Google Maps has been implicated in smartphone tracking – privacy is a major issue when it comes to Google Maps. In 2018, it was reported that Google uses its mapping app to track mobile phone users wherever they go, despite users choosing privacy settings in their Google console. Just opening Maps causes a snapshot of your current location to be stored, and if you don’t think to change your settings, a whole host of information gets stashed away by Google’s snoopers. They track, they corrupt…I mean, heck, they have a product where you can see where you’ve been in the past. It’s called Google Timeline. While I can see why some would love this feature, I 100% do not. I am still not stoked that I’m having to use Apple, but oh well – I do like Apple’s Privacy Policy a lot more than Google’s.

You don’t have to sign in to use Maps. Personalized features, like letting you know when it’s time to leave for your next appointment, are created using data on your device. The data that Maps collects while you use the app — like search terms, navigation routing, and traffic information — is associated with random identifiers so it can’t be tied to your Apple ID. These identifiers reset themselves as you use the app to ensure the best possible experience and to improve Maps. Maps extensions that are used in ride-booking and reservation apps run in their own sandboxes and share permissions with their own parent apps. For ride-booking apps, Maps shares only your starting point and destination with the extension. And when you reserve a table at a restaurant, the extension knows only the point of interest you tapped.
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Other options that I am currently testing out are HERE WeGo maps and classic MapQuest app (which has had a lot of upgrades so that’s cool). I will report back with my thoughts once I test them out more! Remember the old days, when you had to get out the Tom-Tom and put in your directions on the screen? Simpler times.

TEXT SECURELY AND PRIVATELY USING SIGNAL APP

I still use Apple iMessages to text cus let’s face it – it’s a habit. But if it’s private, or personal and I don’t want my messages and private convo just floating around…there’s something about the fact that Signal (as long as both parties are using the app to message each other) makes sure that every single message sent is encrypted, that makes me feel so much better. Also, the encryption Signal uses is available under an open-source license, so experts have had the chance to test and poke the app to make sure it stays as secure as what’s intended. (Source) Ummmm, yes please.

Signal messages and calls are always end-to-end encrypted and painstakingly engineered to keep your communication safe. We can’t read your messages or see your calls, and no one else can either.
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IMPROVE YOUR IPHONE PRIVACY

I could go step-by-step for this one – but alas, someone’s already done it for me! Click HERE to check it out!

Alright…that’s all she wrote. (Literally!) I am done sharing for now, but will for sure be back with more information and tips as time goes by! So, stay tuned and definitely let me know in the comments if you have any questions, advice, apps you love using to protect your info/privacy and more!