The Hidden Costs of Convenience: Understanding Data Collection

Hi! Welcome to our educational and hopefully funny miniseries about how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos.

Just a note before we begin that Stupid Sexy Privacy is sponsored by DuckDuckGo. So if you like the show, go check them out and let them know we sent you.

In today’s episode, comedian Rosie Tran explains why you should get a privacy notebook.

Rosie also shares the first thing you'll want to put inside your privacy notebook. Hint: It’s your master password for your password manager — 1Password or something similar, like the free, open-source equivalent KeePassXC. 

For most people listening to this show, we recommend 1Password because it’s easier to use and less cumbersome than KeePassXC; however, KeePassXC is more secure because it stores everything offline.

So, if you’re more technically inclined, KeePassXC is for you. (Here’s the guide on how to set it up.)

If you can't tell your Linux from your Ubuntu, please go with 1Password.

Also in this episode: We share with you more from B.J. Mendelson's first book on privacy, "Privacy: And How We Get It Back." Roger Wayne, the narrator of the world-famous "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck," is the voice actor who narrated the audiobook.

Listen to this episode to learn: 

• Why you should have a physical notebook to manage your most important passwords.
• Why you should care about who has access to your data — and what they do with it (hint: they make a lot of money while you get stalked.)
• What the end goal of all this privacy stuff is (and no, it’s not necessarily getting completely off the grid. Although, if you’re looking to do that, we can’t recommend Alaska enough.

Key Episode Takeaways

-Get a physical notebook (and spend some money on it, too): When you have a physical notebook that you’ve actually spent a bit of money on, like the Leuchtturm — it creates a bit more of a commitment because of the way our brain chemistry typically works. You made a decision to buy it. You paid money to do so. And now it’s a physical object for you to hold. All of this makes you more committed to using it, so go on, treat yourself. 

-Create a 1Password account: Write down your master password in the privacy notebook. Don’t make it easy for fascists and weirdos to hack you. In most cases, big hacks occur because of bad password management. Make sure to write your new master password from 1Pass on the inside cover of your privacy notebook.

Episode Highlights

💡 Our goal is to educate & entertain so, we may sound a bit ridiculous. Some might say snarky even.

We want you to remember what we’re saying, so we will say it multiple times and in many different ways, including some which may be aggressive or hilarious. We’re trying to find an inroad into the deepest pathways of your brain and your memory so you’ll remember what we say.

 💡 This is a realistic take on what data privacy can look like for all of us.

By using the Internet, intrinsically, we give up some of our data and to use so many of our favorite services a bit more. But we probably aren’t ever going to stop using them completely, and so all of this advice is given within that framework. We can minimize the amount of data being collected by doing simple things like taping over our camera and using browsers like Brave and DuckDuckGo instead of Chrome and Safari.

 💡 It’s about respect and fair compensation when companies are making billions off your data

We’re beyond the point where we should be compensated for the personal data we’re sharing. In BJ’s first book, we advocated for a solution that includes something like an annual license fee or small daily payment for companies in exchange for our data. 

We’ve since come around on this. While you should still be compensated for your data, what’s become more important in recent years (since the first privacy book was published) is establishing a global framework for every country to join that would regulate who gets your data, how they use it, and what your rights are concerning the elimination of that data when needed.

Once that’s in place, THEN we can talk about getting people compensated in exchange for their data.

Top Quotes

[4:51] “Just imagine how much fun Instagram would be if you didn’t have any friends on there.”

[6:50] “What makes this book compelling and unique among other books on privacy is that it deals exclusively with things that are entirely within our power to fix. That is, dealing with the use and abuse of our data.” 

[7:10] “If I’m successful, I’ll have helped motivate you to contact your state, not federal, representatives to push for legislation and regulations that will hold these companies accountable for how they use your data.”*

*This book was written during the Trump years. So, not that things are totally normal, but we feel safer today in 2023, recommending you ALSO contact your federal officials and ask for them to pass new rules and regulations concerning the use and sharing of our data.

[8:44] “Your data is worth a fortune. Whether you actively use the Internet or not, the odds are solid that there’s a data file on you out there, and companies and criminals will stop at nothing to get that data.” 

Support The Show

• Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
• *Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
• *Affiliate Link: Delete Me
• *Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent Communication
• Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
• BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible
  
  

*You don’t need to use these affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything extra to use. But. IF you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.

For more news and tips concerning maintaining your privacy and security, we recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security. 

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BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an email-based course around the topics discussed in the book and...