ShutUp10 helps a bit. It puts a ton of settings in one place for you.

The Open Web is definitely dying. Some dystopian weaponized ads hellscape of an apps-required shiternet will be around for a while.

Empathy and decency are scarce precious commodities. But the ruthless predatory “thought leaders” have been in charge ever since we clubbed the last neanderthal.

“It Was Just Business” should be engraved on whatever memorial is left behind to mark our self-extinction.

I like how being cautious with my biometric data is beung framed as irrational fear and paranoia. As if ID theft never happens.

I’ve read all this before. If you believe the people who designed and implemented the device and its myriad layers of firmware and software were 1. All acting in good faith and 2. Knew WTF they were doing… then: yes, sure.

Unfortunately that’s way too many strangers for me. Hundreds of people design and code these things. Meanwhile, every week there’s a clever new breach somewhere.

I’ve avoided willingly using biometrics so far. Though I’m sure our faces, gaits, body shapes, etc, are all stored somewhere, willingly or not.

Say no to biometrics. It’s like having a password you can never change.

Wow, I remember that awesome post. I did the same thing as you. And you’re right, it made for a much better experience for a while there.

I have discovered blocking early and often helps a lot on lemmy, too.

On the one hand, this could be filed under “yeah, no shit, we all know stuff in the cloud is forever”.

On the other hand, it’s something that’s easy to forget with the ubiquitous omnipresence of compute in our lives. We become numb to it, and everyone has moments of crisis or weakness where they may let their guard down.

The US needs better privacy and consumer protection laws. But we’re always behind Europe, and way behind technology, when it comes to our crappy legal system.