In a world filled with technology, it can be hard ditching your phone/computer.
We, as humans, are designed to socialize and technology allows us to stay connected with friends and loved ones.
But that also makes us vulnerable to invasion of privacy and security.
Companies like Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Alphabet/Google, Twitter/X, Oracle/TikTok, etc. have many issues like mass surveillance, targeted ads, lack of privacy, and personalized algorythms that lead to information bubbles.
We prefer to meet in person for this reason, contact us for information on events or to join our general weekly meetins.
Your phone is always listening, but you know that already-lol
We recommend phones operating on GrapheneOS or using phones that lack the hardware/software of tracking.
Turn off camera and microphone access, and location services when not needed.
Meta is getting rid of "end-to-end encryption", making the videos and messages you share with your loved ones vulnerable to spying. We recommend using Signal for messaging.
We recommend switching your internet browser to Tor.
We've been using Proton for their email services and VPN. CryptPad has been a good tool we've used instead of GoogleDocs.
If at all possible, sticking to Windows 10, using Apple macOS, or switching to Linux for more privacy and security. Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition is user friendly.
Programs like LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office, GIMP instead of Adobe Photoshop, and VLC Media Player as a free open-source media player for your video and audio files.
Search Engines: Brave Search and DuckDuckGo offer better private experiences and have options for turning off AI.
AI is everywhere now. It's hard to avoid at this point. We recommend using your brain first, of course! Finding local artists instead of using photo prompts, and using your search engine instead of asking AI.
If you absolutely need to use AI, some harm reduction models are duck.ai by DuckDuckGo and Lumo by Proton, which do not track user data.
As it currently stands, however, AI is terrible for the environment. AI data centers release diesel exhaust containing fine particles, polluting the air and water and embedding into your lungs and bloodstream, increasing your chances for heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke. Data centers are targeting marginalized neighborhoods. Dr. Robert Bullard, the "father of environmental justice", was able to prove that race was the number one predictor of hazardous waste, not income.