December 4th, 2012Top StoryThe Best Replacements for Privacy-Invading ServicesBy Thorin Klosowski
Some services, like Google or Facebook, are very transparent in their privacy policies and you know what you're getting into when you sign up (if you actually read it). They also typically collect data for their own purposes, rather than anything nefarious—but they still collect a lot of data. In Facebook's case, they have enough of your personal info that it routinely causes paranoia about their privacy practices. This week, Facebook is even giving you a chance to vote on your ability to vote on future site changes (including privacy changes). Obviously, we can't provide privacy-centric alternatives to every service out there, but here are a few replacements for popular services that collect too much data. Piecemeal Service or Glassboard Instead of Facebook
We've talked about making your own piecemeal service using different networks before, and that's one of the best replacements for Facebook. Instead of handing over all your private data to one service, you can piece together your various services, say Flickr (who gives you a lot of control over your own copyright), and make your own blog so you can control the content that's shared easily. As an alternative, we like Glassboard because it's incredibly easy to use, and the Privacy Policy is very simple. Your data is encrypted on Glassboard's servers, and Glassboard doesn't sell your personal information for targeted ads. Perhaps most importantly, Glassboard doesn't have privacy setting because everything you do on the service is private and is only seen by people you approve. Of course, a social network is only as good as the people on it, so you'll have to convince your friends and family to pick up a different service if you want it to truly work. Other alternatives: Turn your email into a private social network. DuckDuckGo Instead of Google Search
DuckDuckGo is already one of our favorite alternatives to Google Search, and its Privacy Policy makes it a good choice for privacy advocates. DuckDuckGo doesn't use cookies to track your searches, it doesn't save personally identifiable information (not even your IP address), and most importantly it doesn't use targeted ads. DuckDuckGo doesn't have the advanced search options that Google has, and since they don't track your browsing history the results aren't nearly as tuned to you personally as Google's. Still, if you're worried about the amount of data collected on your browsing habits, both are better options than Google. Other alternatives: Ixquick, Blekko, Startpage Lavabit Instead of Gmail
If you're more worried about privacy in general, your best bet is a service that doesn't hold onto information for very long. Lavabit is an email service that logs the least amount of data as possible while still maintaining a service that actually functions. Most importantly, according to their Privacy Policy, Lavabit doesn't store your IP address, outgoing messages are only stored on the server for about 7 days, and every email you send is encrypted in a way that even the administrators can't access it. Other alternatives: Make your own mail server, Valtletmail, Enigmail for Thunderbird App.net Instead of Twitter
As an alternative, App.net has a Privacy Policy that doesn't use your information to serve ads. They only share your information with third party vendors required for the service to work (like the payment processors for your account), law enforcement (when required), and anonymized data with other third parties. Also, when you delete something from App.net, it's gone from the servers within two weeks, and unlike Twitter there's no Library of Congress initiative to save that data. It's not a completely private experience, but it's about as close to one as a social network can get, and at the very least you're not served ads or recommendations based on your browsing history. Other alternatives: Identica. SpiderOak Instead of Dropbox
The best alternative is SpiderOak, for a pretty simple reason: they have no idea what you're storing online. Their Privacy Policy outlines that they only collect information from you necessary to provide you a service (like your name and billing information). Other than that, they don't know much about you or your files. They don't know your password, and all your data is encrypted using that password—which essentially means employees at SpiderOak have no way to access it. SpiderOak isn't nearly as slick and easy to use as Dropbox, nor does it have the simple file-sharing for collaborative projects, but as a secure place to back up your private data it's a solid alternative to Dropbox. Other alternatives: Roll your own personal file sharing service, Encrypt all your data on Dropbox, Wuala. TuneIn Radio Instead of Pandora
Unfortunately, it's basically impossible for a service to exist that mimics Pandora's intelligent radio recommendations and also respects your privacy. If you want to just listen to the a programmed radio station, TuneIn Radio has a Privacy Policy that doesn't track you for advertising. However, they hold any information you give them, but at least you can listen to most of their radio streams without a profile. If nothing else, most of the other streaming music services don't make your account public by default. Other alternatives: None (most streaming services track you for at least advertising) Jitsi Instead of Skype
For an alternative, we like the open source software Jitsi. Jitsi has encryption on both ends of the conversation, messages aren't saved online, and it uses the more private Session Initial Protocol so your data doesn't go anywhere. Essentially, everything you do with Jitsi is encrypted, and since nothing is stored online you don't need to worry about that data falling into the wrong hands. Other alternatives: VSee Of course, nearly every single web site you visit has a privacy policy, and some are better than others. What really matters is how much of your data you're willing to let companies have and use. In some cases, data collection is under the guise of building a better service, but with advertising and the ever-increasing danger of having your personal information leaked in a hack, it's a good idea to use services that store the least amount of information about you as possible. If you're mostly upset about how your data is sent to advertisers, we like the Collusion and PrivacyScore extensions because they show you exactly where your browsing data is going. You can also snag the Disconnect extensions to stop Facebook, Google, and Twitter from tracking you. To opt out of the other advertising that tracks you and invades your privacy, the Network Advertising Initiative has a opt-out page that shows who's tracking you in your browser and allows you to disable it.  |
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