Three Rules Against Tech Exposure and Dependency

by LVundertone

Imagine you start living with a roommate.

Carl is fun, smart, and a good friend.  If you need help fixing a running faucet, planning a trip, or even finding a hookup, he'll be happy to help.  And he'll do it well.  Want to relax?  Carl can chat, Carl can tell jokes, or Carl can recommend the perfect movie.  Soon enough, you share everything with him and invite him to come with you every time you go out, be it to attend a conference or just grocery shopping.

Now, you know nothing is free in this world, and Carl can't always be there for you and afford rent.  How does he do it?  Well, Carl works for the CIA and various private companies, reporting all your conversations, selling snippets of your life for these entities to use as they want.  Otherwise, why would he put so much effort in holding your attention?  And it's not just you, almost everyone you know lives with such a roommate.

While this is an exaggerated parallel, the world we live in isn't that different.  Online services and smartphones hijack users for their own benefits, and eat up any data they can get, from messages to audio recordings.  The average 2600 reader probably takes measures to protect themselves.  But I find that more can be done even among informed people.

In this article, I will share a few simple rules one can use to protect themselves from tech's spying and attention draining.

Store Your Phone(s) Away

Of all the information a phone gathers, audio is one of the most important, since it is often not willingly that we feed it pieces of our speech.  It is voice assistants which usually tune in, triggered intentionally or via the common false positives.  Sometimes, it is apps which were granted invasive authorizations.

While the privacy-concerned individual might not have to worry, it all changes when spending time with friends or family.  Your guests might not care about such issues and could expose you to espionage by carrying their smartphone into your home.

My solution is to require them to be left at the entrance, in a dedicated space.  At home, my phone is used like a landline, and I expect the same from my guests.  If you're lucky enough to live in a large house, it is rather easy to create a network connecting your phone(s) to a distant speaker to let you hear a ring even when you're in the attic or garage.

Some might refuse.  Explaining your reasoning in more details can help, especially if you romanticize the issue and adapt to your interlocutor (depending on the person, the threat can be Big Tech, the government, or the lizard people).  If that's not enough, you at least have raised some awareness and reminded yourself that there will be a third-party forcefully added to your conversations.

Of course, other devices can listen in.  But it's easier to unplug a mic or store away a laptop (which people usually don't hide in their pocket).  As long as you don't collect smart devices, you've made a step towards more privacy with the added bonus of better focus and attention.

Cancel Your Phone's Internet Plan

A smartphone usually comes with an Internet subscription, granting an access to the web and online services from anywhere.  While many find it useful to check maps, a calendar, or to find info on the go, it is rarely required.  Maps can be downloaded, planner books have always been convenient, and one can usually wait a few hours to confirm a piece of trivia.

Still, plenty of people happily share their location, busy schedule, and more with Google and Apple.  Even if your OS and the services you use are open-source, you are centralizing potentially sensitive information in a single device.  And when everything is encrypted and uncompromised, you're still tying yourself to your device, reinforcing checking habits.

Nowadays, it might be hard to find a phone plan without Internet data.  But a compromise can be made with minimal data (where I live, many cheap plans only offer 100 MB) or the will to turn off your phone's data.

Avoid Social Media

Modern social medias are tailored to be addictive, designed to monopolize attention, and made to accumulate information about its users.  Some members happily overshare, disclosing their whereabouts, purchase habits, and more.

While it is possible to not share anything superficial, it is also best to avoid interacting on those platforms.  Instead of liking or commenting, you can reach out via different means (emails or face-to-face, for example) which allow for focused and richer interactions.  This prevents exposure to dark patterns, and diminishes your online presence.  The benefits are an escape from deceptive design, and reduced chances of doxing.

If you really need to follow some accounts, you can easily create an RSS feed for them.

No matter how simple those measures are, they are important.  I've met countless people who are concerned with privacy and security, or/and have been involved in legally questionable acts yet didn't consider the risks involved in their tech use.  Malicious designs and data gathering can lead to grave consequences, yet are ignored for the sake of convenience.

This is not a plea against smartphones, which can be great when used thoughtfully.  It is a reminder that what you don't care about is better hidden than public.  With the recent Roe v. Wade reversal, many have realized that something as innocuous as period tracking apps were potentially dangerous.  And no matter what your political orientation is, what you've shared with private companies or the public could get you in trouble in the future.

Privacy mindfulness isn't enough; you should also practice it.