Privacy is a buzz word that everybody is using these days to get you to trust an app, a website,
a mobile device, a home camera system…you name it.
Unfortunately, most companies are never held accountable to these marketing tactics and
the times when they are, that usually means you’ve already been screwed.
I could spend hours telling you stories of false privacy claims, but to make things as
useful for you as I can, I’m boiling it down to 7 categories that are the worst privacy
offenders and what you can do about it.
A few years ago, an FCC investigation revealed that four of the largest telecom providers
in the US - AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon - were selling data they had collected on
us, including demographics, websites visited, GPS location data, and more - to anybody who
was willing to pay for it.
And this happens everywhere around the world, not just the US, I promise you.
So when you read statements like “We take the privacy and security of our customers
very seriously”, you ought to take that with a grain of salt.
Whether its your wireless provider or your internet service provider at your home, you
need to be aware that general data about what you do and where you go is at least visible
to the company you use.
And even when you’re told that this data is “anonymized” or “aggregated”, don’t
let that fool you.
If late night host John Oliver can legally track diplomats in the Washington D.C. area…
“…so we could now take steps to identify him just like we could with all these others
who clicked on one of our ads in the capital hill area this week, including at least 3
who may have been inside the capital building itself…”
…then it’s scary to think what your mobile provider or ISP can track about you as well.
Using a VPN or virtual private network to encrypt your data before it reaches these
companies is one step you can take, but…
VPNs land in the number two spot of this list of the worst privacy guarantees.
If you visit most any VPN website you’ll see bold claims of complete anonymity and
privacy, some going as far as to include it in their name.
I’ve said this many times before and I’ll say it here again.
A VPN is a tool, not a cloak of invisibility.
Using a VPN to hide internet browsing activity from your mobile provider or internet service
provider is effective, but what you’re effectively doing is trading your distrust in one company
for blind trust in another.
And since most of these VPN companies are based outside of any major country jurisdiction,
a feature that many online influencers present as a strength, then they have zero accountability
to their privacy claims.
The mobile providers I mentioned earlier were fined hundreds of millions of dollars for
their privacy violations.
I don’t know of any VPN company that has ever been fined or disciplined in any way.
I use a VPN just like I use a mobile phone, but I’m also aware of these limitations
and am careful how I use it.
I hate to say it, but the credit cards you keep in your wallet are another part of our
lives that we assume have some level of privacy when they absolutely do not.
Your purchasing habits and history are extremely valuable to advertisers, retailers and banks,
and these credit card companies know it.
It’s a lucrative part of their business.
Although credit cards aren’t exactly promoting privacy as a selling point, I feel like it’s
an implied feature.
You don’t want everyone to know how much you spend and where you spend it, right?
You can pay with cash, but that’s annoying.
You can opt out of data sharing with many financial institutions, but there are loopholes
and they really don’t make it easy.
If you’ve been watching All Things Secured videos for a while, you know that you can
also use virtual cards to hide your data from merchants and even your bank.
You can learn more about that here or hey, just subscribe to the channel.
It costs you nothing and in return I promise you an increase in your overall privacy and
security online.
Speaking of which, did you know that a lot of your personal data is already floating
around on the internet?
Things like your home address, your cell phone number, your property records, court records,
and more are available to any company or person who wants to purchase it.
That’s one of the reasons I use and you’ve heard me recommend DeleteMe, a service that
erases you from the multitude of data brokers that sell your info.
They’ve also made this video possible through sponsorship, which I’m grateful for, but
hopefully you know me well enought to trust that I only recommend services and products
that I use myself.
Until recently, this service was available only to US residents and you can still get
a discount using the code ATS at checkout, but I’m happy to say that they’ve expanded
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Dating apps…oooh.
Really any app or service where you’re given the option to create a pseudonym is dangerous.
The danger isn’t really in the app or service itself, but rather in the feeling of security
that comes when we think our profile is anonymous.
Last year Grindr, a kind of social media and dating app, was caught collecting highly detailed
user data and selling it to third parties.
Now they’ve since claimed that they’re no longer doing that, but as with many of
these companies, there’s really no way to verify these privacy claims.
Whenever you’re using a pseudonym on sites like Reddit, dating apps or other social platforms,
it’s best to assume that whatever you say or do can be traced back to your real identity.
Unfortunately this problem has been exposed in places where privacy is a legitimate expectation
and concern.
Recently BetterHelp, an online counselling service, had to settle charges that they shared
user data with Facebook and Snapchat for purposes of advertising.
We’re talking about sensitive mental health or counselling for a variety of very personal
issues.
I’m glad that the FTC has cracked down on this to avoid a major erosion of trust, because
I know in some cases online help is the only option.
If you can get help with a counsellor in-person, that would be ideal, but I know that’s not
always possible.
Please be careful when you’re dealing with your health data.
Scrutinize those who request it and make sure you trust the companies to whom you provide
it.
It’s becoming more and more common for people to set up cameras not just outside their house
for security, but also inside for monitoring.
The assumption of privacy here is pretty strong, yet last year the popular Eufy security cameras
were caught uploading videos and even facial recognition data to their servers, even when
that setting was turned off.
Personally, I don’t trust these security cameras, but if I did, it would be on a closed,
local network where the footage is being recorded to a hard drive, not to the cloud and definitely
not accessible from the internet.
Yes, I realize that limits the usefulness of these cameras, but I mean, we’ve made
it this far as a human race without cameras in our personal space.
I don’t know why it’s suddenly a neccessary evil now.
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies have long been hailed as the decentralized savior of
the data-hungry internet world.
And there’s some truth to that, but there’s also nuance.
Public blockchains, such as the one that serves Bitcoin, is by nature public.
Everything that is done on the chain is recorded and publicly available and although identities
may not be tied to specific wallet addresses, there are ways to gather that kind of info,
espeically if you’re using exchange platforms like Coinbase, Binance or others.
There are privacy-focused projects like Monero that claim to be untraceable, but if you’re
under the impression that all crypto in general is a privacy tool, that’s simply not true.
If you’ve learned anything from this list, my hope is that you never assume privacy even
when a company markets it as a feature.
And if you disagree with what I’ve shared here, please type out your constructive criticism
as a comment below.
Thanks to DeleteMe for their support of All Things Secured and please visit their website
to find out how they can help you build better privacy here.