In an effort to increase my privacy, I decided to buy a Pixel phone second hand to use with GrapheneOS. Due to some miscommunications, the phone ended up being carrier locked with T-Mobile. GrapheneOS's own website advises against buying carrier locked phones in order to avoid the hassle of carrier unlocking it.

I assumed that even if the support staff was unaware about OEM unlocking, I would at least be able to fairly effortlessly get the device carrier unlocked because it was bought second hand. My first call was to the T-Mobile support center, and the representative wanted the phone number of the device in order to unlock it. The device had no phone number, so we instead tried the IMEI. I was told that the IMEI was invalid because it was not the correct number of characters, and was told that there was nothing they could do without physical access to the device. As expected, the representative had never heard of OEM unlocking.

My next stop was at a T-Mobile store, to seek help there. The staff member there was very helpful and, despite not knowing what OEM unlocking was, was very aware of how to handle the situation regardless. He made a call to T-Mobile support (which has a different process if you are a staff member) and explained the situation to them.

Here is where things get interesting: T-Mobile had the ability to carrier unlock the phone, and had enough information to prove the device was mine, but refused to carrier unlock it because it has to be done by the original account holder. They wouldn't give any information about how to contact the original account holder, which is reasonable.

The in-person representative told me that if I was able to find a phone number linked with the original account holder that they would be able to do more, but after trying for over an hour to find any contact information with the seller, I couldn't find anything.

The in-person representative decided to try calling support one more time, and even went out of his way to try lying to the support team on my behalf, just to see what could be done.

After hanging up the phone, he told me that T-Mobile gave me 2 options:

1. Return the device entirely and buy a different one
2. Pay for T-Mobile for an entire year AND pay a $100 service fee

That's like telling someone they have to pay a year of rent before they can even step foot in a house they already paid for, and then pay $100 to get the doors unlocked. I knew it would be a bit of a process to get it carrier unlocked, but I didn't realize it would take me four hours to be told I had to pay T-Mobile for a year to be able to access a device I paid for.

I even tried using T-Mobile's own app to unlock the device, but the app is not functional as many reviewers have also noted.

Thankfully the seller accepted free returns, so the story has a happy ending, but any consideration of buying a carrier locked phone before has since evaporated.

It is truly dystopian how we live in a world where companies are allowed to get away with stuff like that, and yet people still give away their money and freedom to these companies.

Having used iOS my entire life, the switch to GrapheneOS will be a big change. I have learned over the past year about Android, GrapheneOS, and apps to use. I managed to find most of the apps I was looking for, but there are some I struggled with. I had trouble finding privacy respecting, open source apps for the following categories (I've listed what apps I did find, but want to see if there are better alternatives.)

• Local AI: For AI I was able to find MLC LLM, but the iOS version is a bit broken so I'm unable to confirm if it's what I'm looking for. I want something capable of running Llama 3. This was by far the hardest category to find an app for.

• Backup: I found Neo Backup and Seedvault. I want to be able to backup files, photos, app data, etc.

• IDE: I was only able to find Neovim (which I'm not even sure is an IDE). I primarily code with Python (but also code in Java as well as others), and I want to be able to run quick scripts when I'm out and about.

• Torrent: While torrenting on a phone isn't necessary, it has certain scenarios when it's useful. If this is a major hole in privacy and security, I don't mind leaving this off my list. I found LibreTorrent as an option.

• Local file sharing: This is one I'm most curious about. I want a way to share files between my Linux computer and phone. LocalSend and Warpinator seem to be tied as far as popularity, maybe I can get some insight here. I want it to be strictly over the local network.

• Network monitoring: This is nice to have for a variety of reasons. I want something like Wireshark for Android. I couldn't find many great options, but I found Vernet.

• eBook reader: I'm sure the option I picked here is fine, but I wanted a second opinion about Libera Reader.

• Terminal: I've heard a lot of different opinions for terminal emulators for Android, so please put up a good case for whichever one I should go with. Neovim is apparently (technically?) a terminal emulator. I'm increasingly confused about what Neovim actually is. I also found Termux and I eventually found too many options to find a clear choice.

• Movies: Because many movie streaming services are privacy invasive, I'm looking for an ethical way to watch movies. I found Stremio which I have never heard of before. This isn't a topic that gets covered very often.

I am aware of AlternativeTo, and it's what I used to find some of these trickier apps, but nothing beats hearing first hand experiences. Thank you all for your help!

I've noticed that ads are absolutely everywhere, and wanted to post this to disillusion some of the places we see ads but don't realize. It would be harder to make a list of places you don't see ads.

Websites

The most common place to see ads is on nearly every website you visit. It's usually the most intrusive, especially with popups.

Books

The very end page of books and back cover of books will often advertise books written by the same author.

Billboards

Billboards along busy streets and highways often display static or moving ads. A notable mention is its role in the book Fahrenheit 451, where it was theorized that as cars get faster ads would have to be stretched out so people can see them better at high speeds.

Operating systems

Some Android operating systems, as well as Windows, show ads in a non intrusive way.

Apps

Especially mobile games, ads will be displayed anywhere possible, and sometimes used as a reward system. Social media apps display ads while scrolling, and even messaging apps will have some sort of promotion like requesting donations.

Mail

Deemed "junk mail", companies will collect and sell the address of residents in order to send useless advertisements to the residents. This can't usually be opted out of. In my opinion, this should be illegal.

Phone calls

Especially when put on hold, businesses will interject occasional advertisements in between the low quality jazz music. Customer support will also often advertise products to you while you are being assisted.

Newspapers

Newspapers have entire pages filled with ads. Some of these are promotional coupons that can be used to get overpriced products for a regular price.

Magazines

Magazines are fundamentally only used to advertise products in a passive way. The chances you actually have a meaningful experience with a magazine are slim. They are often placed in waiting rooms as a form of entertainment for people who don't want to use a phone at the time.

Music

Between songs in radio broadcasts, long ad breaks will be placed. Music streaming services will also inject ads between songs. Even the hosts of podcasts will have sponsorship segments.

Disk movies

DVD and Blueray disks will often come with ads baked in to advertise "upcoming" movies. That is, until 10 years passes and Peter Pan becomes a funny ad to see.

Movie theaters

Between movie showings, movie theaters will display long ad segments while you wait for the movie to begin. Some very long movies are even split in half, with an ad break in between for you to empty your wallet and refill your popcorn.

Bleachers

In sporting events, moving ads will be displayed under bleachers. Fun fact, these ads change depending on which channel you are watching the game from.

Commercials

Between live television, you will get 1-3 minutes of commercials and then watch the shortest segment of your actual show.

Baked into videos

Videos such as YouTube videos will have sponsorships and self-promotion baked in, causing the drastic rise of SponsorBlock.

Torrents

Some torrented files will also have text or image files attached advertising other torrenting services.

Vehicles

Buses, vans, cars, and others are often plastered with ads for different services. If you're in a car wreck, call emergency services first, not an auto repair shop.

Social media

Social media is one of the go-to methods of marketing. Besides the ads you see while doom scrolling, many pictures and videos uploaded will simply be ads for products.

Gas stations

Plastered all over gas stations, and apparently displayed on some gas pump screens, ads are placed everywhere. Is that not more of a fire hazard than eight closely packed gasoline tanks?

Posters

Pasted inside schools, workplaces, plastered on power poles and sides of buildings, posters are cheap to make and placed everywhere.

Instruction manuals

When buying a product, besides impossibly small print, some instruction manuals will have ads pasted in certain sections. Some devices like mice, keyboards, and headphones advertise proprietary software required to get the full extent of your product.

Wearables

T-Shirts, pins, bracelets, hats, and all other kinds of merch will display company names for everyone to see. Ironically, companies see these kinds of clothing as inappropriate attire on the job.

Pens

Another kind of merch, nearly every free pen has the name and contact info of businesses on it.

Redirects to downloads

Some websites will redirect you to ad websites before beginning your download. Lots of these websites (such as the infamous AdFly) are malicious and will encourage you to download malicious software.

Grocery stores

Solicitors in store, ads during checkout, product placement all throughout the store, ads over the intercom, nearly every type of ad imaginable can be found in grocery stores.

Speakers on public transport

Some subways and buses will play ads over the speakers while you travel. No napping on the bus, we want you awake to hear our ads!

Emails

Spam emails are frequently sent to people, so commonly an entire folder is dedicated to housing them. Even places you legitimately gave your email to will send you spam.

Comments and chat messages

People will often self promote their accounts on various platforms. This is a common place for scams to arise.

Solicitors

Solicitors will come on your private property just to sell their products to you. Just when you thought ads could never come knocking on your doorstep, they did.

Lawns

Lawn signs for services such as lawn care or political messages will be placed on people's property as a form of willing advertisement. Flowers look a lot better than rust and plastic.

Airplanes

Some airplanes will pull long banners with ads behind them. This is usually surrounding sporting events.

Brand names

Products produced by any company will have brand names on them. This makes it easy for advertising to flow through word-of-mouth. But seriously, where did you get that shirt from?

Search engines

Almost all search engines will display ad websites before legitimate search results

This post

Even this post had an advertisement in it that I bet most of you missed. I passively advertised "SponsorBlock" under "Baked into videos". If you missed it, that's ok. Advertising has become so common that people have become desensitized to it.

Not sure which news website I should be using for the link, sorry! I'm happy to change it if anyone has a better one.

Google agreed to destroy or de-identify billions of records of web browsing data collected when users were in its private browsing “Incognito mode,” according to a proposed class action settlement filed Monday.

The proposal is valued at $5 billion, according to Monday’s court filing, calculated by determining the value of data Google has stored and would be forced to destroy and the data it would be prevented from collecting. Google would need to address data collected in private browsing mode in December 2023 and earlier. Any data that is not outright deleted must be de-identified.

I'm concerned about the privacy implications of DNA testing services like 23andMe or AncestryDNA. What are the potential risks of sharing our genetic data with those companies, and are there any privacy-focused alternatives available?

Hello!

My knowledge about DNS resolvers is somewhat limited. So, in an effort to expand my knowledge and find a DNS resolver that works for me, I've come for help here.

Here is a list of terminology that I either know too little about, don't know anything about, or want to make sure my understanding is correct about:

Cleartext (What does this mean in the context of protocols? Is it inherently bad?)

DoH (I somewhat understand this, but is it less secure than DoT?)

DoH/3 (How is this different from DoH?)

DoT (Is this more private than DoH?)

DoQ (I don't know enough about this, how does it compare to DoH and DoT?)

DNSCrypt (I'm not sure what this is.)

Do53 (I'm not sure what this is. Is it a replacement for DoH/DoT/DoQ, or does it work alongside it?)

DNSSEC (I don't know what this is.)

EDNS padding (I'm pretty sure I know what this is, it just pads DNS queries. What happens if "Cleartext" is used, does it still pad it?)

As for what I'm looking for in a DNS resolver: I don't plan to self host it, I would like support for iOS, Linux, and Android, I would like it to be free, I would like EDNS padding, DoH is preferred (although I don't quite understand the alternatives). I am aware that the DNS resolver will usually be the same as my VPN. Note: I'm not looking for a beginner DNS resolver, I've been using NextDNS for a while now, I'm looking for one with strict privacy and security.

I've tried looking at Privacy Guides and Wikipedia, but I don't know enough to make an educated decision.

Any suggestions?

Thank you all!

All questions are in bold for ease of use.

The major carriers in the United States participate in NSA surveillance (except for T-Mobile apparently, because it's based outside of the US. Except they bought Sprint, which participates.) and that, along with other major privacy issues, means that the market for private carriers is incredibly slim. When I found out that some carriers, such as Mint Mobile, piggyback off of Verizon, I wondered: What's stopping a carrier from simply E2EE everything from Verizon, and then using Verizon to transfer the data? Obviously, the encrypted data could still be collected and sold, but it wouldn't matter if the encryption was setup properly, right? I'm looking to better understand how this works, and, if a solution exists, potentially be the first to make it happen. The reason I'm not suggesting creating a carrier without piggybacking is due to the sheer cost and lack of support it would have, which would lead to poor adoption. Also, if carriers simply don't support E2EE, couldn't carrier locked phones install the software (since most install software anyways) required to make E2EE work?

Hello, Lemmy!

It may be difficult to spend time actively improving some of the services you use to have a more privacy conscious presence, and so this thread is dedicated to help people learn and grow in their privacy journeys! Start by stating which services you currently use, and which ones you may be looking for/want to improve. This thread is entirely optional to participate in, because a lot of people understandably feel uncomfortable listing which services they use. Writing those out can be a lot of work, but the payoff is huge!

Remember these rules:

• Be respectful! Some people are early on in their privacy journey, or have a lax threat model. Just because it doesn't align with yours, or uses some anti-privacy software, doesn't mean you can downvote them! Help them improve by giving suggestions on alternatives.

• Don't promote proprietary software! Proprietary software, no matter how good it may seem, is against the community rules, and generally frowned upon. If you aren't sure, you can always ask! This is a place to learn. Don't downvote people just because they don't know!

• Don't focus solely on me! Since this happened in another one of my posts, I want to mention that this thread is not designed to pick apart only my setup. The point is to contribute your own and help others. That doesn't mean you can't still give suggestions for mine, but don't prioritize mine over another.

• Be polite! This falls under "Be respectful", but be kind to everyone! Say please, thank you, and sorry. Lemmy is really good about this, but there will always be someone.

Here is my setup:

Web browsing

• I use Tor for using online accounts (such as Lemmy, etc.)

• I use Mullvad Browser for general browsing

• I use Librewolf for functionality that Mullvad Browser doesn't have (security keys, etc.)

• I use Firefox + uBlock Origin for streaming videos that break on Librewolf and Mullvad Browser.

• I always use a SearXNG instance for web searches. I always use ProtonVPN (free tier). I use a private DNS resolver.

Desktop

• I use Secureblue (yes, I'm that guy from a post a couple weeks ago)

• I sit behind a firewall.

• I only use FOSS Flatpaks with Flatseal.

• My BIOS is password locked but proprietary (due to compatibility issues).

• I occasionally use Tails because I think it's fun.

• I use full disk encryption, multiple disks, and a second layer of encryption for specific important files (NSA style)

Mobile

• I currently use hardened iOS until I can scrape together some money for a Pixel to use GrapheneOS

• Again, I constantly use ProtonVPN (free tier)

• I use a private DNS when ProtonVPN is turned off

• I use AdGuard, but I browse the internet with the DuckDuckGo app (I can't sideload)

• I use a very strong passcode

• Airplane mode is constantly enabled, I don't have a SIM

• I use a Faraday bag to store my device when I'm in public

• I use a privacy screen protector

Messenger

• I mainly use Signal with a borrowed phone number, because SimpleX is still buggy on iOS, and Signal is the easiest to switch friends to. I rarely use iMessage, but there are times when I have to.

Online accounts

• Passwords are stored in Bitwarden for mobile accounts, and KeePassXC for desktop accounts.

• Yubikey is placed on any account I can, otherwise 2FAS is used

• I keep public accounts (Lemmy, etc.) as locked down as I can.

Video streaming

• I use the native YouTube app on iOS, simply because any of the others I've tried either don't actually work or require a Mac to install. I don't have a Mac, obviously.

• I use FreeTube on desktop, but as I was writing this I was informed that FreeTube has a few issues I may want to look into (Electron).

AI

• I would love to know if there are any Flatpaks that run local LLMs well, but I currently use GPT4All (since that's what I used a year ago).

• On mobile, I use an app made by a friend that gives access to GPT-4 and Gemini. Because it's running off of his own money, I'm not going to share the project until he has a stable source of income.

Social Media

• I don't use any social media besides Lemmy.

Email

• I use ProtonMail

• I have addy.io as an alias service

Shopping/Finance

• I currently either proxy my online purchases through someone else (have them buy it for me and I pay them back), or use a gift card

• For physical purchases I use cash

• I only use my bank account for subscriptions (Spotify, etc.)

• I am working on using Monero and privacy.com

Music streaming

• I use Spotify on my phone

• I use Spotube or locally downloaded files on my computer

• I have multiple AM/FM receivers with some yard long antennas and direct metal connectors

TV shows

• I stream from ethical services for some movies

• I go to a theater or buy a DVD for other movies. I am the proud owner of a USB DVD player.

• I also have an antenna hooked up to my TV

• There are certain IPTV services I have used in the past

• I do not use a smart TV.

Gaming

• I download local games, plain and simple. Or I code my own game.

Programming

• I code in Python using PyCharm. I'm looking for alternatives.

• I will use GitLab when I decide to publish some of my work.

Productivity

• LibreOffice, although the UI is iffy

Misc

• I don't use any location services

• All my clocks are set to UTC

• I don't have a smart watch

• I don't have a smart car

• I use Bluetooth earbuds

• I cover my webcams with paper and tape. Reason: It's worth taking a couple seconds to peel tape off when you use the webcam than to risk a massive breach.

Thanks for reading!

Note here: I found out the other day that a Google Streetview car passed by my house, and my blinds being shut were the only thing keeping my room away from prying eyes. Is there an easy way to blur/censor my house without giving up my soul?

Special thanks

Lots of people kindly contributed their personal setups in the comments, and some even made their own posts! I'm really glad I could spark inspiration and start a way for people to learn and grow in their privacy journeys. To think, just this morning, I was stressing on if people would even enjoy the post at all! Thank you all again, and please go forward to inspire others. I am not the person who made this happen, all of you are!

Evidently Tails 6.0 released over a week ago, and my version never prompted me for an upgrade ~~(maybe because it's a major upgrade, I don't know.)~~ In any case, I wanted to first of all spread the word about Tails, and second of all mention this: My one problem with Tails is that it had some outdated software (such as KeePass being a few versions behind), but with the introduction of Tails 6.0, that seems to be resolved.

Tails also has dark mode now. I love dark mode.

Edit: "Automatic upgrades are only available from Tails 6.0~rc1 to 6.0. All other users have to do a manual upgrade."