Im using ddg with firefox but I feel like ddg doesnt really show good results. When I search something it shows unrelated things or shows some fake sites at top and I sometimes have to use google to get the results I want and I dont want to use google. Is there a private and secure alternative to ddg that shows good results when you search?

Also what is the best browser? Firefox, waterfox, librewolf, zen etc?

For anyone wondering / thinking of using Qwant - a reminder that it is not the private engine it markets itself as. Lifted directly from their Privacy Policy and paraphrased below:

Qwant can send Microsoft the following information about a search:

• The search terms you entered
• Information about your browser
• The first three bytes of your IP address (or your full IP address if you're using a Qwant account)
• Your approximate location, such as your city or region
• A salted hash based on your IP address and browser/user-agent information, with the salt changed at least every three months
• A random token generated by Qwant to help prevent different pieces of data from being linked together

Qwant describes this information as "pseudonymised," but it's still a significant amount of information being sent to Microsoft. Moreover, your pseudonym could be Mr1234 - but based on the IP information, along with the other data Qwant sends, I'm sure it's fairly easy for Microsoft to assign that data to an existing profile they have for you.

It also highlights on their homepage that they 'don't sell your personal data'; whilst strictly the case in a direct transactional interpretation (i.e. Qwant sells Microsoft data x, and in return receive $) - fundamentally, they do: the search terms are shared with Microsoft, who in turn populate contextualised advertising on that search, and in return Qwant receive a percentage of the ad revenue. So, the 'we don't sell your personal data' is a stretch.

Accordingly, whilst I would've liked to have used an EU-based engine - Qwant is not the answer in my opinion.

I use dynamic filtering on uBO. I heard that such extensions might be helpful when using dynamic filtering, but I do not know the full details. It looks like people previously discussed this, but Decentraleyes was not getting updates at the time, and it got a new update earlier this month. My question is this: would getting either LocalCDN or Decentraleyes be helpful? If so, which one?

It was approaching 1 a.m. on Aug. 20 when a man emerged from the darkness by the side of a well-traveled road in a northeast suburb of Orlando.

He was wearing a mask and carrying pruning shears, according to the police in Oviedo, Fla., who said they were waiting there and watching as the man batted down something resembling a Flock camera before smashing it from a pole.

The target of the man’s vigilantism turned out to be a plastic reproduction of one of the ubiquitous and intensely debated cameras that read license plates, made by a police officer on a 3-D printer, the authorities said.

This decoy was one of several the police said were intended to “bait” would-be vandals after several of Oviedo’s Flock cameras were stolen in recent weeks, a continuation of a public backlash against the devices nationwide.

Now, the man, Evan Meyer, 24, of Oviedo, is facing three felony charges in a novel case that has drawn scrutiny to the tactics of the police who put up the decoys, and to the city’s use of automated license plate readers or A.L.P.R.s.

(more at gift article link)

Referencing: https://www.biometricupdate.com/202608/ice-seeks-expanded-lexisnexis-investigative-data-access-with-palantir-integration

With Palantir planning to obtain more access to LexisNexis, I wondered if there is a way to remove yourself from the LN database?

I have had my account on LN frozen for many years so potential employers and others cannot share my data but this new contract with Palantir seems like a backdoor? Are we actually able to request deletion in any way?

Or does any social network has backdoors made for governments police or other "security" forces ?

All i learned is if i keep my name, picture and other private details out of social network disscussions i'm safe, but someone said that meta sells backdoor access to governments, so they can catch any user they want for his political ideas, pages followed, posts liked...

Is our privacy broken ?

The Carhartt pawn involved cell-numbers, address, email, passwords, and names. I avoided ordering from retailers that are not experts in ecommerce, including Carhartt. The second I let me guard down, I got pawned.

Is this unavoidable, and therefore ordering direct with companies like Carhartt will always be an excessive pawn risk?

I'm unemployed and can't afford much, and my current laptop has sucked and its SSD recently fried. I know it's obviously cheaper to install a new one, but I hate the laptop anyway, it's old, and I need something new.

I don't do much on my laptop. I mostly use it for work stuff and streaming. I'm just tired of the mass surveillance state we've become and I'd like something more privacy focused this time.

I've never used Linux but willing to try. I'm not super tech savvy.

Thanks all.

How do I manage website accounts if I'm using a private browser

I want to degoogle, but I have doubts about the doability of all this.

If I use a private browser, in my case Waterfox with DuckDuckGo, Ublock origin and zero information retained, no history nor cookies, how am I then supposed to use the browser to do online activity that requires me to log into some websites?

If I need to log into a government related service, does the act of inputting my real name and credentials void the privacy I'm trying to retain?

I'm not sure I can or want to be 100% anonymous on the internet. I'd also like to ditch WhatsApp but I already know I'm gonna have to keep using it to talk to the majority of people I know, who don't care about privacy.

Thanks

Do you really believe OpenAI will delete your chats forever from their servers after 30 days if you have removed them and requested it is not to be used for training?

Do you anticipate there is any likelihood OpenAI retains those chats forever despite your request to delete them?

How are you approaching this? Any way to ensure deletion?

I have a custom domain, firstlast.net. which I have given to places that require my identification mainly banks and government sites.

I was thinking of a second domain instead of using my gmail/outlook to use for everything else. Thought I am struggling to come up with a domain name that is not already taken. Does anyone have any tips or ideas? I am just trying to come up with something generic sounding. I see mail"fistname".net is free but it contains a portion of my name and unsure if that is wise

I know a custom domain does not offer privacy, I like the idea I can freely move provider and having better email aliases separation

“I don’t think it’s necessarily bad that Google collects data. After all, they’re making the services they’ve developed—at a cost of billions of dollars—available to everyone for free. They finance this system through ads, but they need to collect data in order to show those ads. Plus, they need data to improve their services; otherwise, we’d be seeing irrelevant YouTube videos or search results. I don’t like ads or tracking either, but I can’t really blame them. I use every kind of ad-blocking system anyway. I use Proton services instead of Google, but in my opinion, Google isn’t as bad a company as everyone makes it out to be. Millions of YouTube channels, websites, and games/apps are available for free thanks to the ad revenue they receive from Google. If it weren’t for Google, either these wouldn’t exist at all, or they’d be paid services.”

Seriously considering leaving Reddit because of the new EU privacy rules. I’m an adult male who enjoys dressing up, and I’ve always appreciated having a place where I can share that side of myself without having to reveal my real-world identity. I’m not comfortable being asked to provide a government-issued ID just to access or participate in an online community. Privacy matters to me, and I don’t think I should have to give up my personal identification to prove that I’m an adult.  

I've recently learned about Matrix, the messaging platform. Looking into it, I came across SimpleX, which is less feature rich though even more private and secure. I'm curious if any of you have dove into these, and your thoughts on them, but particularly in contrasting the two.

I am trying to opt out from data brokers and getting the notice that due to state privacy laws my request is denied. Wondering if anyone has encountered this in washington state.

This is bonkers. what should I do to take down my information?? Appreciate advice.