Question
Your privacy related tech stack?
We are surrounded and use tons of apps and website, leaving a digital footprint behind. What apps do you use to keep your digital footprint as minimal as possible?
I recently discovered an app called Jumbo privacy which has some interesting features.
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Interesting question!
I use Safari as my main browser, which prevents cross-site tracking by default and generally makes it harder to fingerprint individual users (even to annoying degrees, since Safari hides personally installed typefaces from sites so they can't identify you based on the fonts you've installed—but that also means you can't use custom fonts in web apps in Safari).
I then generate new passwords with 1Password and use it to sync and fill in account data, while keeping 2fa codes in Authy. And I only allow apps to access location when I know I want them to use location data (e.g. Maps and transit apps), and then only give them access to location while the app is running.
Safari has some extensions—so I've got extensions right now for Instapaper, 1Password, and have the Evernote extension installed though I don't actively use it right now.
I then keep Chrome around for some other extensions, and switch to it when I need them.
The situation should improve with Safari 14 which will support Chrome-style web extensions—excited to see how that shapes up.
I use Bitwarden as my password manager, and Authy for 2FA.
For data protection, I use Brave Browser’s built-in adblocker that perform well for ads and cookies. Even though adblocking is one of my dilemma, because I work for company that uses ads for the income too, I enable ads for some website that I want to support indirectly.
I also use less Google product if I can. I use OpenStreetMap, Invidio.us (eventhough I subscribed to Youtube Premium), and Runnaroo or DuckDuckGo. I disabled Google’s profiling in their Privacy Settings, I’m not sure whether they still collect my data or not, at least it is a peace of mind after disabling that.
No, I use Apple Map for that. I use OpenStreetMap primarily to share location for others (eventhough most of them complained because I dont share google map). Not all people use Apple products, so I try to share a link that everyone can open.
I try use openstreetmap more than Apple Maps. Kinda funny because putting myself in difficult position for a trivial goal. For half a year I did this, but I don’t know whether I can endure this for more than a year 😂
Gottcha—even using Apple Maps alone for directions can be difficult, though I would assume (without actually digging into privacy policies) that Apple's privacy protection is higher than Google's.
Then, Apple Maps links redirect to Google Maps on unsupported devices, so that helps there. I'm surprised Apple hasn't made a full-featured web app version of Apple Maps yet, as they do have "Apple Maps on the Web" to embed maps in your site.
"I'm surprised Apple hasn't made a full-featured web app version of Apple Maps yet"
I find that weird too. DuckDuckGo has bang command for !applemaps, but it also redirects to Google Maps (tested on macOS and Linux)
just found out how to use apple maps on duck duck go.
set the default service to use maps on DDG settings
then try to search anything and navigate to Maps.
Voilà, Apple Maps on the browser.
Oh wow that works! And if you click the "View on Apple Maps" link, it opens a maps.apple.com/place page with almost the full Apple Maps UI in the browser.
Only issue is that if you click Directions it opens the Apple Maps app, where it'd be nice to at least have direction preview in the browser. Still, this is a cool start!
"Apple Maps links redirect to Google Maps on unsupported devices"
Today I Learned. Just tested this, and it actually works! Thanks for the info.
I might reconsider my decision to share OSM link.
Interesting apps, i will definitely try OpenStreetMap and Invidio.us. I also use Brave Browser and i am super happy with the security and ad blocking features.
I also use Canary Mail on iOS and macOS, with Fastmail as email provider. Canary supports PGP encryption out of the box, encrypted email is easy.
- Browser: Brave or Firefox
- Search engine: DuckDuckGo or Startpage
- DNS (instead of your ISP): AdGuard or Cloudflare
- Email: Protonmail
- Messenger: Signal
For more alternatives I recommend having a look at PrivacyTools.io
Hadn't come across Startpage before! How well does it do at search in your experience?
It uses Google results so it is good. The only notable difference is that the results will not be customized to your profile, so it can sometimes feel a bit less relevant than the true Google search.
Ahhh gottcha—essentially a Google search in an Incognito window then. That’s a cool other option then.
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How do you live without extensions with using safari ?
I love safari but then it lacks extensions, which brings me back to Chrome. Hoping with BigSur safari will encourage developers to create extensions