(Replying to PARENT post)

To everyone worried about privacy:

We all trust our e-mail to be stored in the cloud, we store sensitive files etc on services like dropbox, we trust that our operating systems aren't collecting/sending data, etc.

You're already using and relying upon MANY services with the ability (if they really wanted to) to steal TONS of private information from you.

It all comes down to trust. But don't pretend like this opens up some new door for privacy concerns.

Ex. If Apple wanted to, they could watch us through our macbook cameras and listen to us all the time. But we trust that they don't. Same thing here.

👤leeber🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

no, not everyone does and i think reinforcing that belief is harmful because it makes people think they don't have a choice, when they really do.

there are a growing number of people who freely choose alternatives that respect their privacy/dignity/rights. i am one of those people. to the extent i can't control all data about me (e.g. to pay my taxes or get health insurance), that's pretty different than choosing to buy a consumer device designed to record and transmit your voice from inside of your home.

👤justcommenting🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

The main selling point of a macbook is not that it can identify exactly what you say, when you said it, and send that data back to a central server that is "always getting smarter". There is also a VERY big difference for me between the things that I type into my computer and the conversations I have in my home. I say many things in an imperfect form or with a dry sense of humor - I rarely save incomplete or out-of-context thoughts to a .pages file on Dropbox.
👤cvburgess🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

I have one of these http://www.webcamerablocker.com/ on ALL of my devices with a camera, on my smartphones i've covered the cameras with a small square of duct-tape, on my laptops i've ripped out the microphone arrays or disconnected them and use the Mic input with a head-set if required.

I run my own mail server (although i hate having to email people @gmail.com etc) and i only store my emails locally. I don't use dropbox, i don't use cloud storage providers at all. When I have to upload things, I encrypt them first. I run almost everything through TOR, that includes all my web-browsing on my phone even.

There are a thousand ways that data can be collected about you these days given the technology we use, but I like to think i do a reasonable job at avoiding all of the bulk of them though. Nothing is perfect, but i'll be damned if i'm going to make it easy for anyone.

👤diversewhat🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

We all trust our e-mail to be stored in the cloud.

A lot of people have their own elaborate personal mail setups.

we store sensitive files etc on services like dropbox

A lot of people do not, and it is absolutely trivial not to (unlike say, being totally independent of webmail providers).

we trust that our operating systems aren't collecting/sending data

Trust is not created equal. For example, it is not a stretch at all for someone to think that OpenBSD is more trustworthy than Windows when it comes to security and privacy, and to sleep well at night with reasonable confidence as to the validity of that assertion.

👤vezzy-fnord🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

That's the worst argument I've ever seen. "You either trust them with everything or you don't."
👤colinbartlett🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

There's a difference between people being able to steal data from your email or computer, and having something record everything you say in the "privacy" of your own home.
👤wtetzner🕑11y🔼0🗨️0

(Replying to PARENT post)

>Ex. If Apple wanted to, they could watch us through our macbook cameras and listen to us all the time. Which reminds me that my Macbook camera is broken :'(
👤plicense🕑11y🔼0🗨️0