[RndTbl] On forcing people to get Google accounts

[John Lange]

> Not sure where you're going with this.  I offered, as an aside, 3 of my
top tips to, in general, protect your privacy.

I'm simply pointing out the irony that in a thread dedicated to the
gratuitous privacy violations perpetrated on Linux (via its most popular
"desktop" Android), your recommendation is to "use Linux" for better
privacy(?).

>  If you think MS and Win 11 is honoring your privacy more than an install
of Fedora 35 is, then I have some news for you...

Actually yes I do think Windows 11 is doing more to honour your privacy.
Windows11 discloses what it is doing and has privacy controls that give you
the ability to shut off all the data collection that it does if you like.

Fedora, Ubuntu and most linux distros don't say anything about the data
that gets sent home by default and offer NO Privacy Controls. There is no
built-in way to shut off telemetry, you have to figure out which
applications are calling home and manually uninstall them.

I get it that Windows is everyone's favourite OS to hate, but I think it's
reasonable to point out the fact that Linux itself does absolutely nothing
to protect your privacy. Anyone can make a distribution of Linux that
steals your user data (e.g. Android).

Let's be real here; the majority of privacy loss happens through the
applications you have installed (e.g. browsers) regardless of the OS. For
those that care about privacy that is where the focus should be.

For anyone interested in learning more, here is a great video on windows 11
privacy. What data does Windows collect and why? How do you shut it all off
plus what is the downside of doing that? (but be warned that by visiting
Youtube you just violated your privacy!)

How to Configure Windows 11 Privacy Settings - YouTube
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZltM5thhAFU&t=466s>

John


On Sat, Nov 5, 2022 at 12:01 AM Trevor Cordes <trevor at tecnopolis.ca> wrote:

> On 2022-11-04 John Lange wrote:
> > > 3. Use Linux, not Windbloze.
> >
> > Despite the fact that your post and the entire thread is railing
> > against Android (which runs on Linux) you manage to blame Windows for
> > violating your privacy?
>
> Not sure where you're going with this.  I offered, as an aside, 3 of my
> top tips to, in general, protect your privacy.  Someone already
> mentioned don't use Windows (especially 11), and I agree, and thus it's
> in my top-3 things people should do if they are privacy-conscious.
>
> As for me personally, I don't use any Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11, so I'm
> not blaming it for violating *my* privacy.  But if someone asks me
> "what can I do", I would definitely say don't use Win 11.  Why?
> Because of the telemetry and all the tracking and app store that
> has basically turned it into the same thing as a cell phone OS (Android
> or iOS) vis a vis privacy.
>
> I'm not sure what's controversial here?  If you think MS and Win 11 is
> honoring your privacy more than an install of Fedora 35 is, then I have
> some news for you...
>
> And I don't think anyone is "railing against Android", as iOS is
> equally as bad, if not worse.  And it's not the linux-ness that makes
> Android a problem, it's all the google-proprietary stuff they've forced
> on the world that invades your privacy.  That's like saying iOS is
> somehow also innocent because it runs on BSD.  The underlying
> technology on these phones is irrelevant to privacy.  I use Android
> every day, and I do my best to maintain a semblance of privacy as per
> my previous post.  Doesn't mean I have to like the status quo and not
> yearn for something better.
>
> Brian makes a great point: "ANDROID IS SUPPOSED TO BE OPEN".  Yes, and
> it is, and you can load the base of Android onto some phones.  The
> problem is, everything that makes your phone useful is a proprietary
> google add-on, and they've engineered it this way on purpose.  That is
> (part of) what is holding back a truly FLOSS phone.
>


-- 
John Lange
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