I guess that’s what the alts are for

Good, glad it’s getting some main stream attention. If more people start taking advantage of these settings and alternatives it’s going to hurt Meta’s bottom line eventually

The maps are pretty good (at least in my area)

For the unfamiliar that’s another cool thing about using OSM data. If some of your favorite places are missing from the map you can just add it!

There’s several ways to do it If you have a laptop the easiest way is to use the editor on openstreetmap.org. They have a quick and easy interactive tutorial to show you the ropes and then you are free to add what you feel is important!

If you are trying to minimize google maps use Organic Maps is the way to go imo. Fast loading, simple slick interface with minimal fuss. It’s a beautiful thing!

OSMand is not nearly as slick and polished and is kind of clunky by comparison. That is because it isn’t trying to be like Google maps at all. It runs fine straight from the app store but the real beauty of it is the tinkering it allows. You can make multiple map presets fine tuned the way you like it. It’s the midpoint between Organic Maps and ATAK

We are neighbors! I’m at 1342!!! (jk)

Large corporations like google have grown and thrived in Silicon Valley, supported by the politicians of California. So by extension they are partially responsible for enabling these companies to be the giants they are.

According to this article Google has funded 40 elected officials and spent $10.7 million in lobbying California’s legislature and Governor this year alone.

If a president (even a shitty one) was considering putting a damper on companies like google, I would not be against that. We’ll see if anything actually happens.

I’m not ditching Proton over one fucking tweet

you joke but even the FBI encourages vpn use

no not mid conversation

Yep, not a lot but it happens

Or we could actually make some stuff in the US/EU for a change. I know it takes time but it’s probably for the best in the long run

lol

I wish the FCC would lighten up the amateur radio rules tho. Cool stuff like Meshtastic is happening outside of licenced bands and is taking off

People think that govt developed = bad. It’s a consideration for sure but if anything govt developed is so hopelessly and inherently compromised then many of the measures discussed here are useless for privacy already because they almost all run through internet, a govt created system. Even TOR. But yet here we are anyway because they are still useful systems.

Governments pour tons of time money and effort into secure communication, and not for profit, and we can still take advantage of that advancement with some caution.

Wait until they find out who started the internet. Or who runs GPS satellites

When it was sms compatible it was a suuuuper easy sell for my family

“It’s way more secure when you text me but you can still text everyone else you know too. And we can still use it through wifi if cell service isn’t working for me.”

It would potentially fall under “fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine” that would make it inadmissable for actual court cases but otherwise there’s nothing to stop people from gathering information that is available to the public

We can always do the “nothing beyond my immediate observation can be trusted” method like the flat earthers do

It might not be much but it’s still legal precedent that will hopefully help it reach critical mass. Like getting Al Capone on tax evasion

I forget what privacy podcast I was listening to but they said that privacy is important because you might not be under scrutiny now but could be.

After the Boston marathon bombing reddit was scouring footage and believed a particular person was responsible (“we did it reddit!”). They were wrong. People found his address, work etc and he was stalked and harrassed for days though he did nothing wrong.

You can bet he would have liked to disappear for a while, and a little extra everyday privacy would have made that a lot easier.