Reclaim Your Digital Life

In a nutshell, this blog is about the steps I have taken to minimise the degree to which online entities can spy on me online.  It is a road map that others can use to achieve the same.  Let me explain…

It’s no secret that many mainstream online services collect data about us, for various reasons.  Some of these reasons are good, but that’s not the point.  Also many of us freely give our data to these online services (by writing posts, filling out forms, or uploading images), and that’s not really the point either.

The main point is this:

This blog is about protecting yourself form having your data stolen online.  Stolen data is data that you didn’t choose to share, but that you shared by accident.  It is data that was collected about you without your consent, or at least without your conscious consent, and in some cases even without your knowledge.

Sometimes we share data willingly and knowingly, but only because we couldn’t find a better option.  What if we did use Dropbox of our own free will, but only because we didn’t know of a more privacy-friendly alternative?  This blog has you covered there as well.

Before I move onto the final point, I want to address a common opinion question I hear from people: “If I have nothing to hide, why should I care?“. Firstly, if you have something to hide, then your threat model is quite different from mine, and this website is the wrong one for you. Secondly, I conceptually disapprove of organisations creating databases about me without my consent. But thirdly, even if you don’t disapprove of that, you should still carefully consider the fact that once this data is collected, you will likely have control over how it is used for or against you. Already, you can be charged more for car insurance based on your driving history, health insurance based on your genetics, or a loan based on your repayment history. Already, companies like _____ this ____ and ____ this ____ profile you without your knowledge and use the data for things such as fraud detection, etc. More than once I have made a purchase online only to have my transaction denied because the third party fraud detection software accused my transaction of being fraudulent, simply because they didn’t have a profile that matched me. This stuff happens behind the scenes without our knowledge, and that is the issue I have with it. But furthermore, I see a future where you may be charged more for a gym membership if you are too motivated, or given a discount at a restaurant if they identify you as someone who forms habits easily (ie more likely to return). One day you might be denied a test drive of a car you would like to buy, or entry to a university course you want to take. No explanation may be given to you: all this is based on some behind the scenes non-transparent algorithms using data about you from the Internet. This is the future I fear, even though I “have nothing to hide”.

And the final point is this:

I am no expert on this topic. I am a medical professional from Australia, and this blog represents a passion of mine but not my area of expertise.  But that’s the whole point: As a normal person, I have spent years trying to reduce the degree to which I fall victim to the mass surveillance of innocent people online.  I want to do this without giving up social media, or going completely offline.  I’ve put in THOUSANDS OF HOURS and made THOUSANDS of changes, but I’ve sacrificed NOTHING in terms of convenience. While it has taken me years to get to where I am, and to find all of the tools/services I need to be where I am today, I can now fast-track this path for others so that they can achieve it in just weeks or even days.  Of course, nothing is perfect, but this blog can fast-track other privacy seekers to where I am today.

How, Exactly, you ask?

See my “privacy checklist” page, and follow the links for a more detailed explanation of each change I have made.