You are clearly forgetting about the much superior system of Noob → Pro → Hacker → God
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@jonah that was quick
though you gotta consider making a system like vrchat’s so that there’s no potential in lying, later of course not now but just saying
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I just hope this shows up even if users have their profile hidden. Atleast this should be shown if not anything else they don’t want. Otherwise, it’s it’ll still be a question mark for and from many people for others.
Also, this is an honor system. We’ll have to see how well this works. Hope folks are honest. But I am glad for this quick change being made. I really appreciate it!
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hid my profile (for testing), went to icognito to test aand
yeah experience level doesnt appear only until your profile is public.
alongside trying to make a system inspired by the social vr game this could be something to fix for sure yeah
As someone who still identifies as a noob user, I’ll at least say that the hardest recommendations to follow are due to cost or compatibility, not usability. There’s nothing technically difficult about purchasing Proton Suite… well maybe if you wanted to buy it with Monero, but I digress.
Cloud storage for example: Proton Drive doesn’t even work on Linux and fights rclone while Tresorit is significantly more expensive for still not that much storage. Mega and Filen, as mentioned earlier, at least have generous free tiers and competitive pricing, are cross-platform compatible, and you can pair them with Cryptomator as well if you don’t trust their encryption.
GrapheneOS being the only recommendation ignores tons of people who either can’t afford a Pixel phone or live in a country where they can’t get one. iPhones and MacOS deserve an explanation for why they’re not recommended, especially when even some PrivacyGuides contributors attest to using these devices personally.
Its also very confusing when there are so few recommendations. The fact that there is no official mention of Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based distros is strange. Should we interpret this as Ubuntu being just as bad as Windows 11 Home? Can Ubuntu distros ever be hardened to match Fedora or is Fedora just better out of the box? Even if Fedora is better, a proper eli5 explanation for why it’s better (for which a new Linux user could understand) would be much better than pretending Ubuntu distros don’t exist, especially when so many others will recommend an Ubuntu-based distro for new Linux users, these distros have bigger online community support, and they tend to have better hardware support.
The same should be done in other categories. A direct comparison of “didn’t make the list” alternatives would be super helpful. Otherwise there’s no way for us to know if you didn’t recommend it because its offering is marginally inferior, which might not even be relevant for most use cases and threat models, or if it’s privacy invasive, security lacking, evil garbage that should be burned with fire.
As a suggestion, these comparisons could be in the form of blogs and linked to each recommendation. A rating system like (platinum, gold, silver, bronze, turd?) is also an avenue. The why something is not recommended is just as important as what is recommended.
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I mean.. I have an answer for almost every question being asked here as you explain your POV but I won’t get into it.
But I do see why a newcomer to this space will have these reasonable questions and what this may make one feel about things not explained or recommended. That’s a difficult problem to solve but I think a blog post explaining PG’s POV with how they see things a certain way for why a user may feel like this way about the platform and PG at large could help.
But that said, all your questions can be asked in the forum here. Or can be researched to learn more. The more specific and clear about a question or concern you have, the better the community will understand your thinking and answer it accordingly.
Also, just because something is not recommended here doesn’t mean it is a bad product not worth using. It just means it doesn’t meet the privacy standards PG has set for how they evaluate the quality of privacy and security the tool provides for what it is for/does/can do. There are thresholds each product should meet for it to be become recommended. It is also a community driven process.
Perhaps a blog post on “How Privacy Guides and its forum works” can also address some of these concerns newcomers have who don’t know what or why of it all here.
All that said, feel free to ask anything you want to learn more. But also research the forum before asking and follow forum etiquette with engagement. Its easy to learn and pick up.
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No, it doesn’t stop claiming this. A non-recommendation should not be taken to mean anything for or against a product or service.
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There’s a slight semantic difference but that is what I meant.
Can you define gentle in this context?
See below the sentence you quoted
I would never have gotten further into mobile privacy if I’d have to buy a Pixel phone and then flash GrapheneOS onto it as my first step. I started with /e/OS, which enabled me to try flashing a ROM, which in honestly felt like reckless destructive behaviour at the time, on a cheap second hand phone.
I think that in groups like this, we are unable to imagine what something like that feels like to someone who has just bought Android phones all their life. Even switching files from Google to pCloud, which has quite a mainstream feel, felt like a big step for me.
This is why I liked having both forums and would love to see more. For me at the time, getting away from corporate oversight was something motivating. Learning about the relationship between privacy and security came years later, to be honest, and that was a good and natural progression in my experience.
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Yeah, okay. I see your point more now.
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Thanks for this! So Lemmy is like a fediverse version of Reddit? Is there an instance you would recommend joining, or does it not matter?
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There is one that focuses on privacy and tech so that’s what I suggest. I forget the name though.
Yeah basically
Doesn’t really matter, though based on what I’ve heard, I might avoid lemmygrad.ml, lemmy.ml, and hexbear. The leadership is known for having some fringe political stances and a somewhat heavy hand when it comes to moderation if you don’t share those viewpoints
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Pretty much, but with less traffic. Which doesn’t mean it’s bad.
There are a significant number of ‘Tankies’ (I had to look it up!) on some instances according to some people, which was something I wasn’t aware of when I joined.
Personally I found the place a bit less welcoming than Reddit (!). But as one Mod said to me; “YMMV”.
It’s worth a punt though.
Oh wow: https://lemmy.org/post/326822 Had no idea this was a thing.
This is not what I said above. I would not have had you do either of these things, is my general point. Starting with a Custom ROM in the first place is the kind of thing I would want to completely avoid with beginners 
Beginners have an XY Problem where, for example, they want to avoid “corporate oversight” and they think the solution is to use a Custom ROM. It’s actually our responsibility to point them in a more reasonable direction, not validate the improper “solution” they have in their mind and try to find a “beginner-friendly” way to approach it.
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It will remain accessible until June 1, 2026
May the Internet Archive be summoned…?
This is kinda concerning for me, because there could be a possibility that useful info will become lost media forever, like for example past experiences from people with different services for research, records, and other information that may need to be archived properly.
Me too. There will be always people who will just dislike Privacy Guides for some reason and would like to see other alternatives that fit their needs. Competition and alternatives are always important. I understand that could be kinda overwhelming for privacy newcomers see too many alternatives, but well, I don’t agree in pushing PG as the main and ultimate privacy resource for everyone.
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I wasn’t clear. Installing a custom ROM wasn’t my starting point. Deleting Facebook was. But when I was ready to try alternative operating systems for mobile, after tinkering with the same on laptops, going straight to GrapheneOS would have been a barrier to my exploration. I needed something like /e/OS because it was cheap to try, low risk, whereas Pixels are expensive devices, even the older models.
The first time you flash a custom ROM you basically feel like you’re about to most likely break your phone. I felt confident flashing GrapheneOS after having gone through the process with something like /e/OS several times on old devices for my kids.
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