Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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I have an online business. How f*cked am I ? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by Tiritibambix@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Hi there,

I'm currently going through some significant changes in my life. I'll be making a professional transition soon by leaving Paris for a more rural area, but I won't bore you with all the details.

My issue is that I really value my privacy and dislike big tech companies like gafam. To protect myself, I use Pihole and only allow an old phone to have access to meta products.

I recently caved in and reactivated my old Facebook and Instagram accounts to help with advertising, along with using a platform similar to Hootsuite to streamline things. When responding to private messages on Instagram, I use Aeroinsta to block ads and telemetry.

I'm managing okay so far, but I've seen the success some people have on TikTok and feel tempted to create an account. The thought of it turns my stomach, though.

If you're in a similar situation where online communication is vital, how do you navigate it? Have you found any alternative apps for TikTok like Aerosinsta ?

I'd really appreciate hearing from you and getting some insights. Thank you for your input.

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[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

IMHO the question isn't as much you as a user of such platforms is "f*cked" because you sound both mindful and technically savvy. So, on that front, you will be OK.

The harder question I would say is how morally bankrupt you will feel by contributing to worsening the privacy of others for profit. Namely that yes by using Facebook/Insta/TikTok/etc you will gain more customers but those customers are gradually losing their privacy while you make those companies bigger by paying them. That means you depend on those companies more while they get more power.

Because of that I would argue that sure, do everything you can to protect yourself but it can't stop there. I would argue then than the question is rather, where else can you find more clients, and maybe even "better" clients who are more aligned with your own views on privacy, and maybe even more. It's definitely a challenge, especially seeing the trend of surveillance capitalism, but as you acknowledge yourself by using Lemmy, there are actual alternatives.

[–] Tiritibambix@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 months ago

That's great reading something else than "use a work computer".

Actually, this is the root of my problem, I don't really seek clients that are people using tiktok. My target customer doesn't use any of this crap, but before I can count on word of mouth, I need to eat, and I'll make some profit when I've finally met my target customers.

In the meantime, it's thin line to walk on.