Privacy died last century, the only way to go is off-grid - The Register

[justaprogressive]

Opinion I was going to write a story about how Amazon is no longer even pretending to respect your privacy. But, really, why bother?

What do I mean by that? Well, take, for example, that recently, Amazon announced a significant change in its Alexa device privacy policy. Starting March 28, 2025, Amazon will remove the option to process Alexa voice requests locally on specific Echo devices. Instead, all voice recordings will be sent to the cloud for processing, a move intended to support Amazon's new generative AI features in Alexa Plus.

I'd find that very scary, except, well, you see, I already reported that security flaws in Amazon Fire 7 Kids tablets could potentially be exploited to snoop on every last Amazon device in your home. With security like this, were Amazon gadgets ever trustworthy?

snip

For instance, there was the National Public Data (NPD) breach in 2024. This catastrophic incident exposed the sensitive personal information of nearly 2.9 billion US, Canadian, and British citizens. This included their Social Security Numbers, addresses, and birth dates. The breach led to NPD's bankruptcy.

Then there was the UnitedHealth Group ransomware attack, which compromised the data of more than 100 million individuals. The company paid a substantial ransom to attackers, but is the data "safe"? Who knows. I doubt very much UnitedHealth does.

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/31/privacy_dead_opinion/

[unc70]

1. 2.9 billion RECORDS, not PEOPLE

Sloppy writing by The Register.

[CrispyQ]

2. I've said this for a long time: Privacy is dead. We traded it for convenience.

Makes sense, though. Convenience usually saves you time & what is your life made of but time?

I assume nothing is private outside your home anymore. There are bird feeders with cameras in them for less than $50. You can't scratch your butt anywhere without fear of it being caught on camera.

Usonian posted this link a few weeks ago which is full of great info, & if you want to get a burner phone I suggest reading this first so you don't inadvertently undo the whole purpose of your burner phone.

The Protesters' Guide to Smartphone Security
https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/01/23/activists-guide-securing-your-smartphone/

[JCMach1]

4. Orbot, Telegram, Signal, VPN's

Then scrub your social media

Whats App is encrypted but has tags (not safe)
Pretty much anything else you do is not safe or secure.

Also, look into anti-facial recognition.

[hunter]

3. My grandfather had three different birth dates.

His Army birth date, his Social Security birth date, and his California Drivers License birth date. His Drivers License had a different first name too.

My dad was the executor of my grandfather's estate and this caused a lot of problems.

My grandfather's generation was probably the last in the U.S.A. where one could simply move to another state and recreate themselves.