It's really weird how almost everyone doesn't seem to be concerned about the fact, that there is no such thing as privacy when you use the internet. It doesn't matter if its your phone, tablet, computer, smartwatch or whatever gadget you have that can access the internet. It doesn't matter if you are careful what you share, or what sites you visit. You don't even actively have to use the internet, for data to be sent! More or less all the time, your behaviour and info is sold to third parties, often to make advertisement more targeted.
But people are okay with that, for some weird reason... Or, they are just not paranoid enough. And if you tell me "..or they just don't know", they really need to pay attention! This is not new info!
It has become a well known fact that sites like Google and especially facebook sell your info to advertisement companies. But that doesn't stop people from using it.
Some people probably just don't care. I mean, I also use Adblocker, so why should I care how targeted the adverts is? I don't see them anyway.
Well, first of all its not so much what the info is used for, and I'm to a certain degree also okay with some anonymous statistic gathering, but its mostly the whole concept of the fact that I, A; don't have a choice, and B; my info is being sold, people are making money out of me, without consulting me about it or giving me a choice. And also, its creepy!
Its equivalent to someone peeking in at your windows every day, following your every day activity. Writing notes when you turn on your tv, to see what shows and movies you like, and taking notes when you cook to determine what food you like. And the next time you go for a walk, or go down to the shopping center or grocery store, a bunch of people will storm towards you with their products asking you to pretty please buy all their stuff. But not just any stuff, no its all the merchandise from your favourite tv show, or this new brand of Mac&Cheese with your favourite type of cheese in it.
Good, if you like to spend money on stuff you don't need, but in the end this is none of their business!
But Apps is almost worse. People really need to read what the ******** they accept when they download a new app to their phone, tablet or whatever. And also needs to be more sceptical when they do. So your flash light wants to have access to your contacts and your text messages? Maybe you should think twice about installing it. Have you ever wondered why the facebook app and messenger app wants access to your phones contacts and text messages?
I was really creeped out when I realized that facebook suggested a friendship with a person I have no mutal friends with, and the only contact I have with her (besides IRL), is text/phone. How does facebook know I know her? Well, it looked in my address book. And no, I never typed in my phone number on facebook at any time.
I also decided to make a spam mail my primary login mail on facebook, when I saw another suggested friend being some dickward I once had a long email correspondence with. No mutal friends.
Facebook should not be allowed to gather this info without my say so! And yet, no one seemed worried.
Speaking of apps, did you know that if an app have access to things like photos, texts, video and microphone, whoever designed the app could potentially spy on you, if thats how the app was programmed?
Yes, I know it sounds really paranoid, and in most cases I would assume you could trust they don't do it - but potentially, they could. That is one of the main reasons you really need to read what the app asks permission to, and why you need to be sceptical. If what it needs permission to doesn't make sense according to what the app does, then don't install it.
You would also be surprised how many of Googles apps sends and receives data without needing your acceptance. Most likely "just" anonymous analytic data, but still not something you can opt out of.
People don't seem to understand why all this is a problem, and in a way I understand them. Its all very confusing, and if you're okay with your info being sold, like if you were a piece of merchandise, and if you're okay with sites gathering analytic data to "improve their services", then why bother?
I tried to raise this issue on another forum, and tried to use the argument inspired from this satire show about government surveillance, that what if the government got hold of your dickpics and n***s?
On that particular forum, no one seemed to get the point. Most where like "eerh, well I don't have n***s on my phones and my texts aren't that sensitive, so whatever". YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT!
This is NOT just about you as an individual, this is about the entire idea of everyone being okay with the fact that we have no privacy, and that the government can use your info to whatever they want.
They could even use it against you, if you decide to be too critical to their taste. And they often will.
Wake up, this is not democracy!
If we just learn to live with this kind of surveillance and transactions of private information, this will evolve into something much worse. Its not scifi or 'future-you's problem, this is real. We have no freedom!
Yes, there is a point in surveillance, and it does make perfect sense that the government have access to certain things about us, to prevent terror and other major criminal acts. But the info is used for much more than just that!
So what can we do?
The first thing we should do, is to stop being so careless when we use the internet and our devices. First of all, take a look at your facebook/G+/youtube/whateversocialmedia account, if you have one. How much info have you, of your own free will, decided to share with the public? And is it really something you want total strangers with not so great agendas to get hold of? IS it really necessary to document ever single thing you do all day on instagram or twitter? (do anyone even care?), and how many of your facebook posts are public and visible for anyone?
Google your name, see what comes up. Are you comfortable with the results?
After you googled your name, stop using google. Use something like YaCy or duckduckgo. It doesn't track your activities, and it doesn't modify your results. Not a lot of people are aware of this, but there is a ton of censorship going on at Google. They might claim that your search results is adjusted to fit you, so you get the most relevant hits based on how Google have analysed your behaviour (based on what sites you visit, where you live, what you searched for before ect.), but the main problem is, you don't get honest results when you use google. Duckduckgo doesn't care who you care and what you've looked for before, it just gives you what you look for, no matter if they approve of it or not.
Use Firefox. And then get some addons. Lightbeam is an add on that will tell you what other sites the websites you visit will send your data to. That data can be anything from just that someone was there, to your IP address, name, location and anything else the site can dig up from your visit. Lightbeam won't change anything about it, but it will make you more aware of exactly how many third party sites gets noted whenever you visit a site. Most of them is, not surprisingly, advertisement bureaus. And almost no one escapes google analytics.
The addon service "AddThis" is a pretty big deal, and a ton of websites uses it. Its a service that allows the visitors to share an article on facebook, twitter or whatever. Most sites that use it, probably isn't aware that the addon also sends a lot of data about the visitors to third parties - without the visitor ever going near any of the share buttons.
uBlock Origin will however do something about what Lightbeam sheds its light upon. Its a bit like Adblock, but for blocking distributing of any data to third parties.
You can of course also enable "Do not track" in Firefox settings, asking sites nicely not to share your data. But I hate to sound pessimistic, but I don't think a lot of sites gives a ********...
Its a problem when the most a browser can do, is to request sites not to sell your info. There is no law that prevents sites from gathering your info, and there is no limit to how much info about you they can get. Its completely legal for them to sell this info to other companies, without ever asking you or giving you any profit.
Opting out is possible, but its incredible complicated. Unfortunately most people prefer the easy way, and don't do anything about it.
People don't question it enough. Not enough people demands a change. Edward Snowden and Richard Stallman are paranoid freaks. There is no revolution.
We're slaves. And no one seems to give a ********.
Bjirf Community Member 
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Community Member
Morgan Spurlock did a thing about a year ago, called Inside Man: Big Data, I think. Its a bit over dramatic at a few points, but the message is pretty clear.
If you hate the idea that you would have to stop using facebook or your smartphone, but you still don't like the idea that all your data is being sold and the government can use your info as they like, then you should do more to demand that the law should protect you from these kind of things.
Don't just shrug your shoulders and shove your fingers deep inside your ears, right haver you blindfolded yourself, just because its the easy thing to do.