I am in the privacy game for about 2 years now and I've become the go-to on privacy questions in my family (which makes me proud, cuz this means, I am not just this privacy nut that cant be reached on whatsapp :D). I was asked about a browser for Graphene OS. Clearly I recommended the one I use atm, which is Waterfox (was recommended once in this comm). The person who asked me is using bromite (which looks good too). After thinking about the recommendation, there is one open question:

Does it really matter which alternate browser you choose, if it is of course not something like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari (especially regarding the outcome in this comm, where someone compared Chromium and Firefox without any real conclusion)? Also doesnt it also come down to the plugins? Like, what difference does it make, if I use Waterfox or Bromite, if I also use Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin and maybe JShelter?

Hope too read a lot of your toughts on this :)

Update 1: Thanks for your replies so far. It's always amazing to get the greater picture on something. Good point with the plug-ins. Also I might give Vanadium another chance.

At home I am using PiHole but "on the road" I also what a good solution like PiHole. So a few days ago I read that NextDNS is a good option and in some cases even better then PiHole. So that is, why I'm now here to get some opiniond from you gals and guys :)

Hi guys,

do you know a good and privacy friendly way to pay with your phone (like Google Pay)? I am using Graphene OS on a Pixel 8 and lice in Germany so some services might not be available here 🙈

Hi :)

I am trying to find a good privacy-friendly Android-Keyboard that supports more then just emojis. I used to use OpenBoard and also tried out FlorisBoard but both do not support stickers or gifs. So I was hoping anyone of you has some ideas :)

Hi :) what do you guys and gals think about using Rocket.Chat self-hosted as a private messenger? Is this a bad idea or would it be ok?

Ok so, here I am again asking another question 🙈🙊 But hear me out: I read this post here about, if there even is a good privacy messenger that can be trusted. Someone in the comments mentioned Conversations (a XMPP client for Android). This made me look into XMPP and at the moment I am giving Conversations a try. Reading into XMPP, I couldn't find a problem security or privacy wise. Also it seems like it does not matter what server I use (atm. we are on 07f.de) since it is all e2e with OMEMO. Am I missing something or is it really this good? And if I dont trust anyone, I could host my one instance of ejabberd, right?

Ok so here is the situation:

As many here (I guess), I dont like Meta, but since I want to promote my 3D-printed stuff more, I see my self in a position where there is no way around Instagram 🤢

So my question is, if maybe someone here already uses Instagram here "privately" or if someone has ideas on how to use it but still giving Meta as few info as possible?

My idea at the moment would be to use Mullvad for every traffic going to insta. For signup I will of course use an email with a custom-domain that is never used somewhere else and if I like other posts, I will only use the account, related to my business. My personal account is just for getting in touch with real people I know and to promote my business-account. The personal account will not have my real name and uses also a different email from a custom domain.

Thanks in advance for you comments and trust my, I really hate having to submit to Meta and their stupid social media crap....

Edit: Thanks for all your great feedback. I will def. look into all of these ideas 👍

I also forgot two things:

1. I am using Linux only for this on PC and no Windows(dont know if this changes anything)
2. I am using LibreWolf on Linux Mint and Waterfox on Graphene OS (of course with Ublock and Privacy Badger ;) )

Hi :) How concernt are you about leaking your personal information by using a custom-domain for emails? Because anyone could see, who registered the domain, correct?

It's me again with another question for recommendation 🙈 This time I am searching for a new Email-Provider:

Currently I am using mailbox.org (privacy-friendly provider based in Germany). Since my subscription is comming to an end there, I tought about switching to proton mail-plus. What I like about them is, that they have an easy way of creating alias-emails and also support the option to use your own domain.

But maybe you gals and guys have another great provider which offers good features for a good price.

Also: I dont need Cloud-Storage or anything like that, so just mail is fine.

Thx in regards :)

Hi :) I know that Telegram is not save and not a good messenger if you are a privacy-geek. Sadly some parts of my family still think so. I brougth up the arguments, that they are cooperating with Russia, that they or closed-source on the server-side and that e2ee is not on by default and only available for 1-on-1 chats.

My question now is, if you gals and guys might have some other arguments or sources I could use.

I don't want to convince anyone to switch away from Telegram (because I am no missionary :D) I just want people to understand the risks of using Telegram.

Hi privacy fans :) I've been a lurker in this lemmy-community for a while now and a "fan" of privacy for about 4 years now. Since 4 years, I've been on and of with VPNs. Sometimes I think I dont need one, sometimes I change my mind and start searching for one. The only one I tested (and used) so far, was Mullvad. But now reading about Surfshark, I was wondering, if there might be a better solution or if Mullvad is already the best solution for VPN. What I dont like about Surfshark is, that it is part of North Security and that it is not open-source (or at least I can find any info about that).

I hope you guy and gals have some suggestions or recommendation :)

Edit: wow... thanks for all of your fast replies. Coming from Reddit, I am used to only shitposting. Thanks for all your input. I will look into all the mentioned VPN hosters, thx 👍