The title says it all. Part of what i do now is to convince people to care about their privacy. I know I cannot force people to do anything. And I have a charisma level of -1, if this was an rpg. Like its nonnexistent.
I feel lonely in general because it feels like people make me feel like I’m delusional for caring about protecting my privacy. Maybe there is a support group for that🤣🤣🤣
But anything I can specifically say that works best in planting a seed in people’s mind?
They need to have a reason to care. Are they or people close to them in danger if they don’t put effort into increasing their privacy? What steps do they need to take to switch to alternatives, and does what they gain from taking those steps outweigh what they lose? Is your advice oriented around the context of their own lives, or are you telling them to do things because a bunch of people on the internet told you to?
These questions themselves are also very contextual, especially with different political orientations. For instance, if someone distrusts the government, then their definition of “danger” may include the government reading their conversations, which in this case it is a lot easier to convince people to switch to FOSS or more secure platforms like Signal (and I’ve convinced nearly everyone I know to use it, both conservative and progressive/leftist, because they distrust the government and large tech corporations). Whereas if someone thinks the government is alright, then they won’t give a shit. So I’d say that considering and discussing their political beliefs and making sure they align with valid reasons to make changes is an important step before telling them how they should do things.
Oh truu, all good questions.
Hmmm maybe not, but i guess for me its part of doing my part to stop big tech from using our info.
Finding a reason for an average person is hard. Im a minority, so thats a problem. and a lot people i know hate the government
I think it this day and age, moving to foss options is easier than ever. And im not a tech genius🤣🤣
Thank so much for raising these points❤️
Hmmm maybe not, but i guess for me its part of doing my part to stop big tech from using our info.
The big question here is how does big tech use our info that makes it important to keep them from having it? Here, political orientation has a large impact on importance, for example:
Ads: Nobody loves ads, but some people tolerate them more than others. Liberals might see them as a necessary evil to provide services at a good cost. Libertarians might say they have the right to use their own hardware as they please and block them out of convenience. Progressives might say that they promote consumerism, and leftists might go further and say that they are one of the ways capitalists keep their control over society. So since data is used for targeted ads, that’s one area that can be argued based on political orientation.
Product improvement: Overall depends on their view of the company’s impact on society. Conservatives and leftists both see big tech as it exists currently as morally corrupt, others may see them as providing a useful service. If they think that big tech has a positive influence on society, then they are probably okay with their non-security critical data being used to improve the product, otherwise they might be more likely to want to avoid that happening.
Finances: Data can be used to personalize prices for large expenses, which is something that threatens everyone. The cost of healthcare, housing, education, and transportation is a major concern across all political orientations (and is why the Democrats lost the election by not doing fucking anything while the Republicans kept telling people that they would fix it by cutting government spending). However, people might also think that there’s nothing they can do about their data being used to make things more expensive or that if they try to resist that then it will cost more for them, so that’s an obstacle that needs to be considered as well.
Law enforcement: If the person is a target of the Trump administration and knows that, then their data being used against them is one clear motivation if they don’t think it’s too late to do anything. Otherwise, it depends on how much the person trusts the government and current law enforcement.
So overall, I would consider where they fit in this political categorization and use the reasons that align best with this. Challenging their political stances is also an option but requires a lot of other things to consider and probably won’t work well since a lot of it is rooted in fundamental values that are difficult to change.
I have friends who care about privacy but they need phones that can do Uber and washing machine apps. So I’m the only one i know with a private FOSS phone.
Washing machine apps? Thats wild.😭😭
Oh all they need to do is shelter the app and download from aurora🙌 hopefully. Thats too wishful thinking because sometimes the micro g doesnt work and app from aurora looks like trash.🤣🤣🤣
Yeah the washing machine app is for the public laundromat. I tried it on GrapheneOS with everything enabled but it was lacking something that is only on stock Google Android. I haven’t tried it on a MicroG phone yet.
We share the goal of making the world more private. I’m not trying to be cheeky or mean. I’m genuinely curious. Would you be against reading to learn how to talk more compellingly?
Honestly, there are a lot of people whom I met believe that google can track/store all their information since they believe that they are too insignificant for that data to matter. Hard to change that mindset in the first place.
What i tend to do is just complain about how much resources trackers/spyware take up on my Phone/Computers, which tends to convience people better than just doing a “but mah privacy”. More people are united about a less laggier computer/phone after all lol.
Yepp its hard to change that one. I used to think like that. Then i became older and i was like hmmm maybe people shouldnt have that much information. People dont know they could make a difference by not giving these companies anymore info.
Thanks so much❤️
I relate to this. unfortunately there is nothing you can do. Most people simply just do not fucking care. The vast majority actually. Just get used to feeling like a weirdo or just stop mentioning it. The latter is probably better. I don’t even bother anymore. I know exactly what not to say since I know what will just get me weird looks or have people tell me to take off my tin foil hat. It sucks but it is what it is.
pull up embarasing posts from years ago to prove a point
I just compare it to having a stalker. Imagine being in your bedroom and having someone looking at you from outside the window. Now, would you be ok with it if the person was invisible?
Yikess truuu😭😭 gottta remember to put my phone on airplane mode at night🤣
I think if you just publicly practise decent privacy, people will be more inclined to do the same. e.g. all my friends know I’m not on WhatsApp and don’t use proprietary software in general. They know to talk to me on other platforms, and the fact that I’m like this means that others will likely feel more able to do the same if they are inclined. Nobody ever told me to care about privacy; I have always thought it was creepy if others can see all my personal business. I can’t imagine that that’s such a rare innate mindset to have, so other people who feel the same way should feel more able to put that into practice if they see you doing so. If they really want to broadcast all their personal data to the state and tech companies then they are within their right to, and I don’t see the point in trying to convince them to not do what they want to do.
Well, I’m forced to use Snapchat and discord by some dildos at school, who are to lazy to remember my phone number.
I finally deleted snapchat the other day! It was hard and bf wahted to keep our 530 day snap streak.
Discord i havent been able to get rid of yet, because im part of so many group. But slowly im finding groups on signal and matrix that suit my needs. Its a work in progress!
Take your time❤️
Yep and Discord is just a pain. It’s laggy as hell on my Redmi 4x and I have to use Aliucord for decent performance. How did you even start using signal? Is it popular where you live? I don’t have any friends or family members using it.
Forced? How? Why can’t you just uninstall them?
And not talk to my schoolmates about critical school info?
I don’t know what info is so critical that you can’t miss it but also can only possibly get it on Snapchat or Discord. If you use it to talk to other students you could get them to talk to you on another platform, otherwise it doesn’t really sound like they’re worth talking to, but you do you.
HW, grades, rescheduled tests, etc.
You don’t have any way to find out about these things outside of Discord and Snapchat from your classmates??? How do your classmates find out then? It’s not going to spontaneously generate into a Discord server. There has to be an official channel where people find out about these things.
Most people are all like: “derp derp! Nothing to hide nothing to fear duuuuur 🤤”. There’s no reasoning with them. Don’t beat yourself up over it.
Aww thanks!! My issue is i expect too much from people.🤣🤣 so i needa chill.
Correct. Besides, those people aren’t going to be much use in the future war against Elon musk’s drone army.
Ooof truu🤣
People never want to be convinced of anything that says they should do something differently than how they currently do it. Best you can do is lead by example. Talk about benefits of your way of doing things if they ask, or if it is very relevant to the conversation. Otherwise, don’t broach those topics. To take it a step further, if people start complaining to you about problems, before you offer solutions, ask them if they are just venting, or if they are looking for advice or suggestions. Now that you have your instructions on how to change what you are doing, please follow them to the letter, without deviation ;P
Truuu, i got gotta focus on my journey.🤣
Gotta check if they are ready, makes sense.
Thanks for the advice❤️
Well said, I was thinking maybe the entire reason OPs charisma is -1 is because they’re out there trying to convince people to do something instead of just doing their own thing.
Oh its always been bad. I work in healthcare amd i cant convince patients to do things but if someone else says it they will do it. Its a skill and charmisa issue. I know its bad🤣🤣🤣 i dont think i can improve my stats, its a locked stat🤣
Honestly, I just don’t try to do anything like this at all. I don’t want to be a missionary for privacy rights, and if people decide to upload their entire life to Google’s servers, then I just shrug my shoulders and move on, because I don’t really care what others do lol.
Ensure you present your arguments in a way that doesnt make your recipient seem like a bad person because of their belief.
Louis Rossmann made a good video on activism and how to get someone to care about something.
Inviduous link: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=cir-gJDcC1o
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cir-gJDcC1o
for the presentation part, watch standup. watch them construct the story, the path they guide you through, how it all comes together. notice how they lay it out, every syllable, every stutter, how it’s all in the service of delivery. planting and harvesting the callbacks. inadvertently, you’ll start picking up on techniques and implementing them and you’ll notice people hanging on your every word.
as to the actual part converting them over, determine who you’re talking to. if people are aware of the issue but are apathetic about implementing change, that presents one set of issues. if they’re completely unaware that there’s a problem, you’re better off changing environments.
I have an easy job, in my roles I implement the privacy aspect for tech-illiterate people from a security standpoint and I have a dictatorial position - they have to listen to me. I also don’t have tech debt when I implement their IT strategy, i.e. there’s never an issue with an OS or app they love or are used to. all of that is way, way harder when faced with someone who can’t imagine life without a $1000 easily breakable/losable/stealable slab of glass with the blue bubble and the tiks and toks and whatnot.
edit: there’s this thing https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/24/what-i-discovered-when-i-asked-amazon-to-tell-me-everything-alexa-had-heard I just saw at HN. this dude having a blissfully ignorant walk down melancholy lane, pondering the details of his decade-long spyware-ridden life, completely oblivious to their most intimate family shit just being out there in the world, for anyone to abuse just so he can be a more effective consumer. reaching those people, although possible, is such a tremendous effort I don’t think it’s worth it.
Re Linux: Do you want to be tech support for these people when they accidentally brick their system or they have a file compatibility issue when using Libre Office and collaborating with someone using Word? Linux is easy for people like us that are interested in tech as a hobby.
Normal people sit in the paradigm of just wanting their tech to be as user friendly and railroaded as possible.
I’m sure those people have hobbies, and preferences about those hobbies, that might benefit you if you knew. How would you want them to convince you that, say, changing the oil on your car is actually really quick and easy if you know what to do?
I don’t mean to be obtuse, this is the reality of trying to onboard people that aren’t fussed about privacy. They’ve generally got their own thing going on and don’t want to dive down a new rabbit hole.
Edit: For some actual advice: start with your partner and close friends/family.
Of the friends which you are talking to about it, target the ones which are more likely to already have an existing predisposition to caring about privacy.
Just get them to use Signal for now. Say that you’re deleting WhatsApp or messenger or whatever it is that you use to communicate with them generally and ask them just to install this new one that is more privacy-respecting.
If you can get people off of Facebook Messenger or whatsapp as the default messaging app, that is a huge win. People tend to share their most personal secrets in what they assume to be private forums. Most people don’t post that much stuff to Facebook’s wall anyway anymore.
If the person that you’re speaking to might distrust the government more than Mega-corporations, focus on the fact that the government can access those corporations’ data pretty easily. If the person that you’re trying to convince personally finds musk or Zuckerberg gross, then lean into that.
Don’t even bother talking to Sarah from accounting at work about privacy.
Good point!! Im actually afraid of bricking my laptop, im going the linux changeover and my backing up all my shit on a hard drive.🤣🤣
Thats truuu, most people want things to be user friendly. But i think we are at that point tho🤣 maybe im wrong.
Good point about the oil. I can change the oil in my car because i hate oil on my hands🤣🤣 so yeah, youre right. Just because it can be done, doesnt mean you are gonna do it.🤣🤣
Yess!! Im trying to get people to try some privacy focused chatting apps! Thats definitely a good idea! I think i wany to chat with my friends but i want them to move to privacy focused platforms! So im super pushy, so thats my bad.
You can dual-boot if you don’t want to go all in? Not sure about laptop dual boot but that’s what I do on my desktop.
I’ve had a family member complain about “another chatting app on their phone”, but if you convince them that they can only really contact you there (because YOU are deleting everything else off your phone), they’ll do it and see that it’s absolutely fine.
Nope going all in🤣 want all my space. Maybe with my real laptop, i should leave windows on there with a portion with the orginal stuff that only takes 1/3 of the drive. But i kinda want all 1tb of space.
I dont really want to use windows anymore at all. I was watching a video in my private tab of my browser and windows decided to install some updates. I lost my spot in my video and forgot what video it was. Extra salt. And all the privacy concerns are a big nono.
The only problem is my cameras being bricked if i switch to linux because i have a surface tablet.
But yeah i downloaded a lot of chatting apps to talk to people but its less since im mostly using signal and lemmy. But i still use discord at points.
Ah yeah that’s a predicament. Do you know what distro you are going to be using? If you haven’t decided, Fedora with GNOME as the DE is a good bet. Otherwise Zorin or Ubuntu, again with GNOME. Apparently that DE is better for devices with touchscreens.
Oh they just get bricked. I dont know, something microsoft did to surfaces after surface 4, they cant get them to work with any linux distro. Thats the only reason to keep the cameras for job interviews. But again usb webcams exist. Hmmmm…
People keep on saying aurora is best option for surface, because everything work except the cameras. Not sure if i need a plug in keyboard. Forgot to ask about that. But the keyboard that comes with the surface should work.
Truuu, i should check into fedora! Thanks for the advice!!❤️
I don’t really care þat much, it’s basically just a bonus to me
