What I Think About Ranking Privacy Steps by Difficulty

I recently encountered an interesting idea: ranking the steps to a more private life based on their difficulty, specifically aimed at helping students. The goal was to create an accessible guide that doesn't overwhelm newcomers to data privacy.

This got me thinking about the best way to introduce privacy concepts and practices, especially to those who might find the whole thing daunting. Breaking it down by difficulty level seems like a smart approach. Let's explore how this might work and what steps could fall into each category.

Why Rank Privacy Steps by Difficulty?

For many, the world of online privacy feels like a complex maze. There are countless tools, techniques, and settings to configure. It's easy to get lost and give up before even starting. By categorizing steps by difficulty, we can provide a clear roadmap for beginners, allowing them to build momentum and gradually increase their privacy without feeling overwhelmed.

Benefits of a Graded Approach

• Reduced Overwhelm: Starting with easy wins builds confidence and encourages further exploration.
• Improved Comprehension: Focusing on one set of concepts at a time allows for deeper understanding.
• Increased Adoption: Making privacy more accessible leads to wider adoption of privacy-enhancing practices.
• Personalized Journey: Individuals can tailor their privacy journey based on their comfort level and needs.

Ranking Privacy Steps: My Proposed Tiers

Here's how I would structure a guide to privacy, ranking steps from easiest to most difficult, with examples and explanations at each level.

Tier 1: The Low-Hanging Fruit (Easy)

These are the simplest steps anyone can take to improve their privacy with minimal effort.

• Enable HTTPS Everywhere: This ensures that your connection to websites is encrypted, protecting your data from eavesdropping.
  • How: Most browsers have this enabled by default. Look for the padlock icon in the address bar. Consider installing the HTTPS Everywhere browser extension for added protection.
  • Why: Prevents your internet service provider (ISP) or others on your network from seeing the content of your web traffic.
• Use Strong, Unique Passwords: This is fundamental to online security. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts and create passwords that are difficult to guess.
  • How: Use a password manager like Bitwarden or LastPass to generate and store strong passwords. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible.
  • Why: Prevents unauthorized access to your accounts if one of your passwords is compromised.
• Adjust Social Media Privacy Settings: Limit who can see your posts, profile information, and activity on social media platforms.
  • How: Review and adjust the privacy settings on each platform you use. Limit the audience for your posts to friends only. Disable location tracking.
  • Why: Reduces the amount of personal information available to the public and potential advertisers.
• Enable Ad Tracking Limits: Most operating systems and browsers allow you to limit ad tracking, which reduces the amount of data advertisers can collect about you.
  • How: Enable "Limit Ad Tracking" on iOS and Android devices. Enable "Do Not Track" in your browser settings.
  • Why: Reduces the amount of personalized advertising you see and limits the data advertisers can collect about your browsing habits.
• Switch to a Privacy-Focused Search Engine: Use a search engine like DuckDuckGo that doesn't track your searches or personalize results based on your search history.
  • How: Set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine in your browser settings.
  • Why: Prevents your search queries from being tracked and used to build a profile of your interests.

Tier 2: Taking Control (Medium)

These steps require a bit more effort and technical knowledge, but they offer significant privacy improvements.

• Use a VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, protecting your privacy when using public Wi-Fi or browsing the web.
  • How: Subscribe to a reputable VPN service and install their app on your devices. Connect to the VPN server before browsing the web.
  • Why: Prevents your ISP and others from tracking your online activity. Masks your IP address, making it harder to identify you online.
• Switch to a Privacy-Focused Browser: Use a browser like Brave or Firefox Focus that blocks trackers, ads, and other privacy-invasive technologies by default.
  • How: Download and install Brave or Firefox Focus. Configure the browser's privacy settings to maximize protection.
  • Why: Reduces the amount of data websites can collect about you and protects you from tracking.
• Use a DNS-Based Ad Blocker: As we advocate, using a DNS-based ad blocker like AdBlock for Mobile can block ads and trackers at the network level, providing system-wide protection.
  • How: Configure your device to use a privacy-focused DNS server like NextDNS or AdGuard DNS. On Android 9+, you can use the Private DNS feature. On iOS, configure via a profile.
  • Why: Blocks ads and trackers across all apps and browsers, improving your privacy and reducing data usage.
• Review App Permissions: Regularly review the permissions granted to apps on your phone and revoke any unnecessary permissions.
  • How: Go to the app settings on your phone and review the permissions for each app. Revoke permissions like location, camera, and microphone access if they are not needed.
  • Why: Prevents apps from collecting data they don't need and reduces the risk of privacy breaches.
• Use End-to-End Encrypted Messaging Apps: Switch to messaging apps like Signal or Wire that use end-to-end encryption to protect your conversations from eavesdropping.
  • How: Download and install Signal or Wire. Encourage your contacts to switch to these apps as well.
  • Why: Ensures that only you and the recipient can read your messages, protecting your privacy from third parties.

Tier 3: Going Deep (Advanced)

These steps require significant technical knowledge and effort, but they offer the highest level of privacy.

• Use a Privacy-Focused Operating System: Consider switching to a privacy-focused operating system like Linux or Qubes OS.
  • How: Download and install a privacy-focused operating system. This may require wiping your existing operating system.
  • Why: Provides greater control over your data and protects you from surveillance by operating system vendors.
• Self-Host Privacy Tools: Host your own privacy tools like VPN servers, email servers, and file storage servers.
  • How: Set up and maintain your own servers. This requires significant technical expertise.
  • Why: Gives you complete control over your data and prevents third parties from accessing it.
• Use Tor: The Tor network anonymizes your internet traffic by routing it through multiple relays, making it very difficult to track your online activity.
  • How: Download and install the Tor Browser. Use Tor for sensitive activities like accessing dark web sites or communicating with whistleblowers.
  • Why: Provides a high level of anonymity, but can significantly slow down your internet connection.
• Encrypt Your Devices: Encrypt your hard drives and mobile devices to protect your data from unauthorized access if your device is lost or stolen.
  • How: Enable encryption in your operating system settings. Use a strong password or passphrase to protect your encryption key.
  • Why: Prevents unauthorized access to your data if your device is lost or stolen.
• Use a Hardware Security Key: Use a hardware security key like a YubiKey to protect your accounts from phishing and other attacks.
  • How: Purchase a hardware security key and register it with your online accounts. Use the key to authenticate when logging in.
  • Why: Provides a strong layer of security against phishing and other attacks.

Customizing the Guide for Students

When creating a privacy guide specifically for students, it's important to consider their unique needs and challenges. Here are some additional tips:

• Focus on Practical Steps: Prioritize steps that students can easily implement in their daily lives, such as using strong passwords, adjusting social media privacy settings, and using a VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi.
• Explain the "Why" Behind Each Step: Help students understand the importance of each privacy measure by explaining the risks they are mitigating.
• Provide Concrete Examples: Use real-world examples to illustrate how privacy breaches can affect students, such as identity theft, cyberbullying, and academic fraud.
• Offer Free or Low-Cost Solutions: Students often have limited budgets, so focus on free or low-cost privacy tools and services.
• Make it Engaging and Interactive: Use visuals, quizzes, and other interactive elements to make the guide more engaging and memorable.
• Address Common Concerns: Acknowledge and address common concerns about privacy, such as the belief that "I have nothing to hide" or that privacy is too difficult to achieve.

The Importance of Gradual Adoption

The key to successfully improving your privacy is to start small and gradually increase your efforts over time. Don't try to implement all of these steps at once. Instead, focus on the easiest steps first and then gradually move on to more advanced techniques as you become more comfortable.

It's also important to remember that privacy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Even small changes can make a big difference in protecting your personal information. By taking a few simple steps, you can significantly reduce your risk of privacy breaches and improve your overall online security.

What About Ad Blocking Specifically?

Given our expertise, let's consider how ad blocking fits into this tiered approach. Ad blocking is a powerful tool for enhancing privacy and security, but it can also be complex to implement. Here's how I'd categorize it:

• Tier 1 (Easy): Browser-Based Ad Blockers: Installing an ad blocker extension in your browser is a simple and effective way to block ads and trackers on the websites you visit. This is a great starting point for beginners.
• Tier 2 (Medium): DNS-Based Ad Blocking: As mentioned, using a DNS-based ad blocker like AdBlock for Mobile provides system-wide protection, blocking ads and trackers across all apps and browsers. This requires a bit more technical knowledge to set up, but it offers significant privacy benefits.
• Tier 3 (Advanced): Custom Blocklists and Filters: For advanced users, creating custom blocklists and filters can provide even greater control over the ads and trackers they block. This requires significant technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.

Final Thoughts

Ranking privacy steps by difficulty is a valuable approach for making privacy more accessible to everyone, especially students. By breaking down the process into manageable steps and providing clear explanations, we can empower individuals to take control of their data and protect their privacy in the digital age. Remember to start simple, focus on practical steps, and gradually increase your efforts over time. Every step you take, no matter how small, can make a difference.