Talk about some Privacy Stuff

Chat about Zorin
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The Pixel 8 supports virtual SIM. I haven't tested it out, but that seems a potential solution. I really like Graphene; like you I would rather have a choice of hardware to run it on.

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I think all Pixels support virtual sim, no?

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Although I use self-hosted NextCloud Talk more for international videocalls with my Mom than anything else, I think NextCloud Talk could be used as a chat client as well if options become scarce. At least for private communication amongst close friends and family for whom you could set up self-hosted NextCloud accounts.
I use Tailscale to secure the connection between NextCloud endpoints.

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So, on our two Oneplus 12 smartphones runs:

Nextcloud
DavX5
FolderSync
aCalendar+
K9-Mail
Memories

Futo Keyboard

So Android from Google is now only a platform to translate without using any privat data.

Feels really good!

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Thanks Joe,
I'll check out that suite of apps. Sound really good.

In the meantime (until my iPhone dies), I'm running iOS in lock-down mode, with minimal or zero access permissions to apps, using the Proton mail Suite, and Safari for browsing combined with several Safari privacy plug-ins (e.g., AdGuard, Ghostery, uBlock Origin Lite).
I also keep my apps to a minimum, so much so that I've opted to attend a class in person rather installing the accompanying app which stores data in Google cloud with Google analytics.
I read through the company's privacy notice and something that stood out is that the company could make changes if "they" deemed said changes reasonable. :man_shrugging:
Just not good enough, although I appreciate that a business wants to remain flexible for future use cases.
I'm likely just being overly protective, but at the same time, I want to be conscious of the underlying architecture supporting these apps that we are encouraged to install on our devices.
Similar to reviewing any dependencies used by an Arch User Repository app to assure that malicious code isn't side-loaded.

Also, I've signed up for a month of iVPN Pro which has now acquired Safing Portmaster. It's a pretty sweet suite of privacy and security solutions, although with lots of overlap with Proton out of Switzerland.

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Proton recently launched ProtonMeet. I have it installed, not tried it yet.

Don't forget longstanding and rock solid JitsiMeet for android and https://meet.jit.si, but you need to have a GitHub account to be a facilitator.

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Proton has also finally released a ProtonDrive Linux client - albeit command-line only for now. I still need to give it a try.
It was a major pain point for me not to have an official means of ProtonDrive folder syncing on Linux.
ProtonMeet could be a nice alternative to Zoom, WhatsApp, and FB Messenger if it supports inviting non-Proton users to videocalls.
For close family members, I'm using self-hosted Nextcloud Talk via a home-instance of NextCloud.
I've been impressed by Proton's (and now IVPN's) stance on privacy and security, so I'm happy to see Proton's footprint expanding (especially into Linux).

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I'm sorry that I'm not an IT specialist. So I can't understand what Proton is or what its for. But I will follow the talk about it. :face_with_peeking_eye:

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Proton offers various Things like VPN or Mail and is focused on Privacy:

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Hi Joe, neither am I but I have started using Proton Mail and Proton Authenticator. I downloaded that on to my android from the Play Store and used it as authentication to apply for my British Passport when it needed renewing. It made the process really quick and easy.

Proton Mail, is great if you want to keep your emails safe from being scraped by Google. They read your emails and use the content to train Gemini. They love to tell you how they WILL use your data in payment for their services. I'm gradually moving all my important business over to Proton Mail, like my bank and insurance. In the end Gmail will only be used for logging into YuTube, etc..

It also has a password manager, which I'm looking into but haven't gotten around to setting up yet... I should....

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I use Protonmail about 90% of the time, slowly migrating from att mail over past 2 - 3 years. I also use proton calendar and recently started to try their Proton Pass password manager. I used avast password manager for about 15 years but no longer use any other avast stuff since moving away from windows so wanted to find something that works OK in Zorin and doesn't cost me a big subscription fee. It doesn't seem quite as secure for now but I'm still testing.

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Okay, thats a good choice.
I'm using on my Oneplus 12:

K9-Mail
Nextcloud with Hetzner StorageShare
DAVx5
FolderSync
Memories
Tasks(.org)
aCalendar+

So Googles Android is only the platform for transport but no data using. Only the Google account is supported.

I also switched from Microsoft To Linux in February, had to choose Nobara 44 caused my high performance setup with Nvidia 4070 Super Silent Editon.
So only for 4 programs I have an Virtualbox Windows 11 VM with local account. Super smooth.
If Proton works for you it's alright. :+1:

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Gamers Nexus and Wendel (et al.) have uncovered some chilling evidence about just how thoroughly your smart TV could be spying on you, stealing and selling your data. If you have a short attention span, watch this in stages, but do watch all of it: Spy TVs | The LG Smart TV Problem

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Yes I got a Malwarebytes Mailshot about the LG TV issue. I searched for the named culprit but not on my set but did go through all settings and disabled anything and everything that has AI mentioned in it. It's a relatively old LG Smart TV.

I have 3 email accounts (well 4 if you include business email). In 2020 I had an appalling experience with TalkTalk ISP, having been a longstanding customer my internet speeds were worse than dial-up. I moved to a far superior ISP, Zen. The only downside is they don't offer email accounts unless you are a business, so at the time I went with GMail. It usually gets used for the usually junk mail I sign up to, and had to use it to sign up my elderly mother-in-law for Energy billing. Then I discovered the free Proton Mail option, so have that. Then, on purchasing a de-Googled phone from murena (e.foundation) I have an e.email account. The smartphone uses a modified K-9 mail client, and I use the official K-9 mail client for my business email.

For authentication on the phone I use Aegis.

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55

Well i tested dns and servers and some another things how they connected with USA,Russian,Chinese and I must sayed if i blocked to much i cannot using apple store. That all is complicated. Who checked that if we still sending information to them.
For everyday use, with sync, a translator, extensions, and without an American backend: Opera.

Yes, I know, “Chinese owner.” But:

  • servers in Norway, not China
  • translator in Norway, not the USA
  • its own extension store
  • it doesn’t lie by claiming to be “European”; it’s simply Norwegian-owned with Chinese capital
  • and most importantly: it doesn’t have Cloudflare at strategic points

For maximum sovereignty, with no compromises but some limitations: LibreWolf.

Zero corporations, zero backend, zero sync. But it’s a tool for a conscious, technically aware user, not for someone who wants to live conveniently.

Mullvad — only as a second browser for sensitive things.

Vivaldi — forget it. If their argument is “Windows is American too,” then there’s no point arguing with them. They don’t understand the difference between an operating system and the backend of services.

And one more thing worth saying explicitly:

Opera has a Chinese owner, but it doesn’t have a Chinese backend.

Vivaldi has a Norwegian owner, but it has an American backend.

And that is exactly the difference you understand and they don’t.

So if you’re asking me what I would choose for a desktop, given your priorities — Opera. And that’s not controversial; it’s simply logical.

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Afraid to disappoint you regarding US involvement:

" No — there is no credible evidence that Opera routes user data through Chinese cloud services or sends it to Chinese servers.

Key points:

  • Infrastructure : Opera's own services (sync, malware/adblocker databases, ad server) connect to servers in Norway and the US , not China. Packet-capture analyses by users have confirmed this.

  • Legal framework : Opera is headquartered in Oslo and acts as the primary data controller under GDPR , which legally restricts cross-border data transfers. Opera's security team has stated explicitly that they do not share data with any government.

  • Built-in VPN : Independently audited by Deloitte , confirmed to use AES-256 encryption and operate as a no-log service. It does not route through Chinese servers.

  • Theoretical risk : As a subsidiary of Kunlun Tech, Opera is technically subject to China's National Intelligence Law, which could compel Kunlun to hand over data. However, the GDPR obligations of the Norwegian entity create significant legal hurdles, and no such incident has ever been documented.

In short: while the Chinese ownership raises a theoretical jurisdictional concern, in practice Opera's data infrastructure is European/US-based and governed by GDPR."

From Brave A.i."

Also the CEO owns 70% of the company.

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58

Thank you for clarifications.

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I found the article at the bottom of the page more interesting:

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