I in this privacy world for a while but my hardest pain on the neck is neither the big techs nor gov survaillance, is talk about digital privacy with my friends and family. Everytime I try to talk about this subject with my family I treated like a paranoid and when it is my friend some dont care, some others care a little bit dont know about privacy respecting alternatives and the rest is just nihilist about privacy.
So I want to know what can I do in this situation and what is the best way to talk about these problem.
Don’t directly talk about privacy. Start with talking about the negatives of not having enough privacy or when privacy is violated often online by all entities who can. Explain the affects of what’s happening. The obvious question then is going to be for the critical thinkers listening is what can be done next to mitigate of not eliminate privacy violations and breaches. That’s when you talk about privacy and how to ensure of it.
Also, if you’re living in the West, it’s harder because most people there have always enjoyed the freedoms and “freedoms” that the rest of the world does not have in various capacities in different places. So, there has never been a risk for them to access information with privacy and do the things they need to for their own safety.
One of the keys I think is the make the topic relatable to whomever you want to speak with first, and then accordingly begin explaining the necessity of it no matter their threat model.
This question has been asked here several times. I recommend you researching the forum about the same. You’ll find more information and also list of books that you can ask others to read for them to understand the topic better.
“It can’t happen here” - will be downfall of the western civilization and your freedoms if you don’t begin taking it seriously because you fail to connect the dots. Yes it can. It already is beginning to. We should all take heed.
Acquiring any information is costly in time and effort, and for most people the hassle isn’t worth the payoff. A slogan such as “What happens on your iPhone stays on your iPhone” might just do it.
A defining characteristic of those who frequent places like this is that this “privacy knowledge” is a byproduct of their natural inclination or interest. I’m quite ignorant of other things some people might find appalling, and that’s okay.
Apple really does lately appear to be more of a fashion company making tech products. The sock carry case for iPhone and the disastrous iOS 26 design are recent examples. It’s always form over function. Here’s another: It’s hard to justify Tahoe icons @ tonsky.me
Its rare but Apple is not immune to showing signs of changing quality of talent it once possessed. Penny pinching and enshittification has infected Apple too. Jobs is rolling in his grave. He was a dick but the man knew to lead people to make it pretty and functional while providing value. Sad, really. I always thought they were above it.
You can pretty much assume nobody cares about privacy. But they might care about alternatives to big tech. For example, mentioning Linux anytime there’s an opportunity, such as the case for my dad when he needed a new laptop for Windows 11. I also had a student who wanted to build a PC, but can’t due to RAM shortages. And when he told me about his issues with his current PC, it was obvious to me that the problem was Windows. I also had another friend who told me his PC is too slow, and I don’t know if either of them will install Linux, but I will gladly beat them over the head with Linux if they mention about their PC problems again.
If you’re self-hosting, you could try showing people the difference between self-hosting platforms vs. big tech proprietary platforms e.g. Jellyfin vs. Netflix, Navidrome vs. Spotify, Immich vs. Google Photos, etc. I even explained to my friend why I use DDG instead of Google. It wasn’t because of privacy, but because on mobile, Google search results are so bloated, you have to scroll further down to get the searches you want on Google compared to DDG. Just search Taylor Swift on Google and DDG and you’ll see the difference.
When people buy a new device, they have the option to buy a Windows laptop or a Macbook, an iPhone or Android, PlayStation or Xbox or PC or Nintendo, etc. Just make people more aware of other options and hope they switch.
This is not true at all. People do care. They just don’t know what to do about it and how to become more private and secure online. And that’s why entities like Privacy Guides, Techlore and the likes exist.
Technically, you also have the option to buy laptops with Linux. But most people don’t know that. Lack of awareness is the issue.
I think the way to approach it depends on the person you’re talking to. Some strategies that have worked for me:
Appeal using media/sources that the person is familiar with and trusts. Often just linking to articles in a news outlet or personality they find authoritative can be enough to sway them a bit.
Show them the sides of privacy that are most obviously beneficial first. Adblockers are a massive quality of life improvement. Aliases can help manage spam. Privacy.com can give more control over transactions. Signal is private but also just a very good messenger that works cross platform. Open source software can be better than proprietary alternatives at no cost. Find something they’ll really like.
Show them the impacts of privacy/surveillance in a way they’ll understand and relate to in a real way. If there’s a cause they care about and privacy invasions are making things worse, tell them about it
Time helps. People don’t generally pull a 180 overnight. Keep talking about it every so often to remind them that it’s something you care about and maybe they should too.
Setup my digital life with minimal trust to third parties
Regain/retain control over what programs/processes/services I absolutely need to participate in society
They usually respond by implying I am engaging in illegal activity I wish to conceal (I am not) or accusing me of severe mental health issues (I am reasonably sound of mind)
Apparently, being less than 100% onboard with sharing every detail of your life with a third party is unbelievably paranoid and I am wasting my time because there is no privacy anymore but it shouldnt matter because my data isn’t that juicy and it’s weird for me to care so I must be selling stolen goods
This devolved into a rant, I am not apologetic, thanks for coming to my ted talk
I suggested to someone that they use a private DoH server instead of the default ISP unencrypted DNS to make their internet faster and avoid ISP snooping, but they didn’t care even though they sail the seas and look at corn. I imagined that the speed benefit at least would make them interested.
I said assume because the OP said they can’t talk about privacy with anyone. So they should recommend privacy-friendly alternatives without talking about privacy.