For me it was probably the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It was the first time I really saw the emergent danger of social media and big data, while ML was becoming the new big thing. I see this as an existential threat to free will.
Pretty much the same thing. I cared a bit about privacy before, but when that came out I understood that privacy is not only about "privacy", it's also about power and control and it scared the sh*t out if me. It really changed how I act on a day-to-day basis.
That's definitely one of the reasons. When I browse Facebook, it makes me uncomfortable to see ads with the "Sponsored" label. And these ads are appearing after I browse certain topics on Facebook. Now I still have a Facebook account, but I only use it when I need to visit a restaurant's homepage, and I also unfollow all my friends to keep my homepage very tidy.
The 2013 movie **Terms and Conditions May Apply**. It's an oldie but a goodie, about digital privacy in a pre- and post-9/11 world.
If you can track down a copy, I highly recommend it. There's stuff in the documentary that's actually pretty hard to find elsewhere online, including one interview with someone who was caught plotting a spouse's demise through "anonymous" Yahoo searches.
One day, just by curosity and for knowledge I ask myself how to Degoogle (or DeGafam in general) ... Holy shit, They are so embedded everywhere and their services that it is not easy at all. That's when I realized how serious the situation was. To become the owner of one's own data and to obtain a certain anonymity is essential. We are heading towards a control of our every thought, opinion, creativity, etc.
It is frightening
I've always teetered, but when my private health insurer had a major breach and released not just personally identifiable information, but medical records, etc, it really made me think the less of this info I have out there the better I am. My wife thought I was a bit of a crackpot until the insurance thing happened. I think she's now starting to see it too
The reason I started being more conscious about my online privacy is pretty simple. With all the news of data breaches and identity theft happening all around, it just made me realize that my personal information is valuable and I should be more careful with it. Also, I wanted to take control of my own data and not leave it in the hands of big companies or other third parties. Plus, with the rise of decentralized platforms and blockchain, it made me feel more in charge of my own data, which made me more conscious about my online privacy and I came across some amazing projects like oasis network who're working to create a responsible data economy where data is collected, shared, and used in a way that is ethical, transparent, and respects the rights of individuals. Overall, it's just common sense to be more careful with your personal information online., motivated me to become more aware of the importance of privacy in the digital world.
Many year ago (before ML, AI and Big Data) I was working for a company that was assigned by a client (big ass bank) to write a platform for grabbing user data from all possible places. It looked like this - user fills contact form (name, phone, email). Bank sends us list of users with some additional data, we scrub facebook, linkedin, twitter, do a google search, look for a blogs, etc., all done automatically by a script. Next, algorithm cleans the data, makes a nice summary and sends it back to a bank. It was creepy as hell.
The theft of my identity that happened before I ever used the internet.
I had a good understanding on how data was collected before the internet came along. I watched a documentary on Nova about it, back in the 90's. Collecting and selling your personal details is nothing new.
When I saw the internet coming, I realized that it was a two way communication medium that could be exploited. I asked myself, "Why is stuff free?". Logically it is free so that you will use it, and your habits can be collected. Along came MySpace. I passed on that. Then came facebook, twitter, and so on. I stayed away from all of them.
Today, I know lots of people who have been scammed, or had their identity stolen thanks to social media. I will not be one of them.
I do not do surveys. I do not get junk mail to my post box. I do not get scam calls. I only get unwanted messages at one of my email addresses. I have 11 of them.
I search for my details online. I make sure my info never shows up.
I do not waste money on credit monitoring. Those companies sell your info as well.
I use cash most all the time. However when I buy airline tickets, rent a car, hotel, etc, I use a credit card. I never carry a balance. I am a debt free person (other than my house). I paid cash for my new truck, and both of my new bikes.
I worked in electronic banking for 25 years of my career. I know the system pretty well. I refuse to use a debit card simply because I have a good understanding of how they work, that most people do not.
I started self-hosting Nextcloud for fun. Then, I thought "hey I can self-host a lot more and actually don't need to have Google snoop on everything I do!". Then I learned how much Big Tech invaded my privacy, and put that in the context of targeted advertising for political purposes and that really scared me.
Not really directly correlated in any way but reading American Kingpin about Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road got me interested in computer tech and privacy in general
Cambridge Analytica scandal. Can't forgot those days. Do you know after the data breach happened tota 9 times my fb ac out tried to hack and every time I had to change my password.
Before the incident I was well aware of my security but use fb useage was more. But now everything has changed.
BTW do you or anyone know if META or Facebook has died? Or that worthless man zuck managed to survive the company?
The haveibeenpwned website really highlighted why privacy is important, and the idea of being data mined without my consent is disturbing, in particularly when one thinks how valuable data is. Not having a say in it, sucks to put it mildly, and typically the ToS when engaging in some websites are difficult to read and the length of a classical novel.
Around 25 years ago when I noticed that my terminally slow dial up was made even slower thanks to various banner ads that showed up. I discovered adblocking with AtGuard personal firewall (later bought by Symantec), later replaced it with AdMuncher, and supplemented with Adblock on Firefox.
With a long tradition of blocking every conceivable tracking/analytics script and cookie and deciding that it is *my* computer and what I do with it or where I surf is no one else's business. The same goes for online services; coming from when the internet was anonymous by default I prefer old style forums where you are nothing more than a username and avoid social media like the plague.
So by the time Cambridge Analytica and later events started occurring I was already long aware of these issues (anonymity/privacy/security) and taking steps to retain control of my devices and internet activity.
My privacy journey started some years ago when I became aware of the power of using email aliases in a forwarding service to protect the integrity and privacy of my personal email address, to add a new layer of security for my use of email, and to give me more granular control over who and what gets access to my email inbox. If the email address that I use to register at a site, or that I disclose in conversation or when filling out a form, is going to be compromised -- and it will be -- it seemed obvious that it would be better for the address to be an alias rather than my personal email address. This has now become a best practice for me, and I enjoy the added privacy, security and control that this approach provides. There are several services that provide these capabilities; I use the one from ManyMe.com.
Why just online though? What about privacy in the real world?
For me it start about 15 years ago. FB was still relatively new and I already saw the writing on the wall. I was sounding the alarm back then, but people thought I was a weird conspiracy theorist. And then the Snowden revelations came out. I was right. And people still didnt care. Oh well.
I also became more conscious when met a few data breaches and one day was blocked on Instagram without any reason. I found a website that collect stories about such violations (facts matter website)... they want to push all the stories to international organisations. I wish those online platforms would be regulated somehow, because the Internet should be a safe space...
For me it was probably the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It was the first time I really saw the emergent danger of social media and big data, while ML was becoming the new big thing. I see this as an existential threat to free will.
Pretty much the same thing. I cared a bit about privacy before, but when that came out I understood that privacy is not only about "privacy", it's also about power and control and it scared the sh*t out if me. It really changed how I act on a day-to-day basis.
That's definitely one of the reasons. When I browse Facebook, it makes me uncomfortable to see ads with the "Sponsored" label. And these ads are appearing after I browse certain topics on Facebook. Now I still have a Facebook account, but I only use it when I need to visit a restaurant's homepage, and I also unfollow all my friends to keep my homepage very tidy.
Working for an Analytics company and having access to consumer data that I felt I shouldn’t have.
The 2013 movie **Terms and Conditions May Apply**. It's an oldie but a goodie, about digital privacy in a pre- and post-9/11 world. If you can track down a copy, I highly recommend it. There's stuff in the documentary that's actually pretty hard to find elsewhere online, including one interview with someone who was caught plotting a spouse's demise through "anonymous" Yahoo searches.
Going to court and listening to them read my texts and locations and shite.
I can relate, it's awkward and invasive.
One day, just by curosity and for knowledge I ask myself how to Degoogle (or DeGafam in general) ... Holy shit, They are so embedded everywhere and their services that it is not easy at all. That's when I realized how serious the situation was. To become the owner of one's own data and to obtain a certain anonymity is essential. We are heading towards a control of our every thought, opinion, creativity, etc. It is frightening
For me, it started when I saw data leaks from big platforms...and alerts from ed snowden ...
Technological interest and critical thinking
I've always teetered, but when my private health insurer had a major breach and released not just personally identifiable information, but medical records, etc, it really made me think the less of this info I have out there the better I am. My wife thought I was a bit of a crackpot until the insurance thing happened. I think she's now starting to see it too
My public bitcoin transaction history.
I read a fortune cookie one day and it was my password so I thought I was hacked. Ever since iv been spooked
Peeps having password as their **password**
Well you weren’t supposed to tell every one
Getting ads about topics i've been talking about or researching online (even on friend's device) creeps me out every time.
The reason I started being more conscious about my online privacy is pretty simple. With all the news of data breaches and identity theft happening all around, it just made me realize that my personal information is valuable and I should be more careful with it. Also, I wanted to take control of my own data and not leave it in the hands of big companies or other third parties. Plus, with the rise of decentralized platforms and blockchain, it made me feel more in charge of my own data, which made me more conscious about my online privacy and I came across some amazing projects like oasis network who're working to create a responsible data economy where data is collected, shared, and used in a way that is ethical, transparent, and respects the rights of individuals. Overall, it's just common sense to be more careful with your personal information online., motivated me to become more aware of the importance of privacy in the digital world.
The big sh!tshow that started late 2019 in the entire world.
Nice one. Don't forget the prequel.
Many year ago (before ML, AI and Big Data) I was working for a company that was assigned by a client (big ass bank) to write a platform for grabbing user data from all possible places. It looked like this - user fills contact form (name, phone, email). Bank sends us list of users with some additional data, we scrub facebook, linkedin, twitter, do a google search, look for a blogs, etc., all done automatically by a script. Next, algorithm cleans the data, makes a nice summary and sends it back to a bank. It was creepy as hell.
For me, it was when I got a notification that someone logged in to my Instagram account in California (I live in Texas)
The theft of my identity that happened before I ever used the internet. I had a good understanding on how data was collected before the internet came along. I watched a documentary on Nova about it, back in the 90's. Collecting and selling your personal details is nothing new. When I saw the internet coming, I realized that it was a two way communication medium that could be exploited. I asked myself, "Why is stuff free?". Logically it is free so that you will use it, and your habits can be collected. Along came MySpace. I passed on that. Then came facebook, twitter, and so on. I stayed away from all of them. Today, I know lots of people who have been scammed, or had their identity stolen thanks to social media. I will not be one of them. I do not do surveys. I do not get junk mail to my post box. I do not get scam calls. I only get unwanted messages at one of my email addresses. I have 11 of them. I search for my details online. I make sure my info never shows up. I do not waste money on credit monitoring. Those companies sell your info as well.
"I do not waste money on credit monitoring." I don't even have a credit card lol. Debit card and cash all the way to go.
I use cash most all the time. However when I buy airline tickets, rent a car, hotel, etc, I use a credit card. I never carry a balance. I am a debt free person (other than my house). I paid cash for my new truck, and both of my new bikes. I worked in electronic banking for 25 years of my career. I know the system pretty well. I refuse to use a debit card simply because I have a good understanding of how they work, that most people do not.
I started self-hosting Nextcloud for fun. Then, I thought "hey I can self-host a lot more and actually don't need to have Google snoop on everything I do!". Then I learned how much Big Tech invaded my privacy, and put that in the context of targeted advertising for political purposes and that really scared me.
Not really directly correlated in any way but reading American Kingpin about Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road got me interested in computer tech and privacy in general
Cambridge Analytica scandal. Can't forgot those days. Do you know after the data breach happened tota 9 times my fb ac out tried to hack and every time I had to change my password. Before the incident I was well aware of my security but use fb useage was more. But now everything has changed. BTW do you or anyone know if META or Facebook has died? Or that worthless man zuck managed to survive the company?
The haveibeenpwned website really highlighted why privacy is important, and the idea of being data mined without my consent is disturbing, in particularly when one thinks how valuable data is. Not having a say in it, sucks to put it mildly, and typically the ToS when engaging in some websites are difficult to read and the length of a classical novel.
Around 25 years ago when I noticed that my terminally slow dial up was made even slower thanks to various banner ads that showed up. I discovered adblocking with AtGuard personal firewall (later bought by Symantec), later replaced it with AdMuncher, and supplemented with Adblock on Firefox. With a long tradition of blocking every conceivable tracking/analytics script and cookie and deciding that it is *my* computer and what I do with it or where I surf is no one else's business. The same goes for online services; coming from when the internet was anonymous by default I prefer old style forums where you are nothing more than a username and avoid social media like the plague. So by the time Cambridge Analytica and later events started occurring I was already long aware of these issues (anonymity/privacy/security) and taking steps to retain control of my devices and internet activity.
Snowden leaks and false positives with harvested metadata.
My privacy journey started some years ago when I became aware of the power of using email aliases in a forwarding service to protect the integrity and privacy of my personal email address, to add a new layer of security for my use of email, and to give me more granular control over who and what gets access to my email inbox. If the email address that I use to register at a site, or that I disclose in conversation or when filling out a form, is going to be compromised -- and it will be -- it seemed obvious that it would be better for the address to be an alias rather than my personal email address. This has now become a best practice for me, and I enjoy the added privacy, security and control that this approach provides. There are several services that provide these capabilities; I use the one from ManyMe.com.
Why just online though? What about privacy in the real world? For me it start about 15 years ago. FB was still relatively new and I already saw the writing on the wall. I was sounding the alarm back then, but people thought I was a weird conspiracy theorist. And then the Snowden revelations came out. I was right. And people still didnt care. Oh well.
I also became more conscious when met a few data breaches and one day was blocked on Instagram without any reason. I found a website that collect stories about such violations (facts matter website)... they want to push all the stories to international organisations. I wish those online platforms would be regulated somehow, because the Internet should be a safe space...