Curated privacy resources for the layperson, by a software developer and computer forensics/infosec graduate. Highlights resources, tools, VPNs, search engines, articles, books, and dark patterns. Originally hosted on Tumblr, migrated to GitHub in 2015 to make it easier for others to contribute.
The table of contents is generated using gh-md-toc.
Where: The link to the resource. The full URL is shown for transparency and to avoid phishing.
Why: Why this is recommended as a legitimate tool for privacy.
Year Added: This is a quick way for you to see if the resource may be outdated, rather than having to use git blame.
⚠️ Disclaimer
The information and products below is for general information purposes only. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk.
I am not affiliated with any of the organisations or products below, except where noted.
General Privacy Tooling Tips
Fully open source = peer review, no backdoors.
Look for fully open source tools, not just opened encryption implementation etc.
European data protection laws tend to be stronger.
Watch out for proprietary cores.
Before trying a new tool, check that it still exists, is secure (depending on your criteria), and has not been bought/taken over by another body which does not uphold high standards for security and privacy.
"The Tech Worker Handbook is a collection of resources for tech workers who are looking to make more informed decisions about whether to speak out on issues that are in the public interest. "
"The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy."
"The Markup is an American nonprofit organization based in New York City, founded in 2018 with the goal of focusing on data-driven journalism, covering the ethics and impact of technology on society."
"Brave aims to transform the online ad ecosystem with micropayments and a new revenue-sharing solution to give users and publishers a better deal, where fast, safe browsing is the path to a brighter future for the open web."
"HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox, Chrome, and Opera extension that encrypts your communications with many major websites, making your browsing more secure."
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication.
An alternative to Google Translate. Based in Europe.
2023
Video (A - Z)
What
Where
Why
Year Added
FreeTube | https://freetubeapp.io/ | "FreeTube is a YouTube client for Windows, Mac, and Linux built around using YouTube more privately." | 2024
Invidious | https://invidious.poast.org/ | "An open source alternative front-end to YouTube" | 2024
Standard Notes protects your notes and files with 4x-audited industry-leading end-to-end encryption, meaning only you have access to the keys required to decrypt your information.
"DISARM is a framework designed for describing and understanding disinformation incidents. DISARM is part of work on adapting information security (infosec) practices to help track and counter disinformation and other information harms, and is designed to fit existing infosec practices and tools."
2023
Opinion and Entertainment
Opinion Pieces
What
Where
Why
Year Added
CISA AMA with Fight for the Future, Senator Wyden, etc.
"A piece of security software called Little Snitch — which regulates data sent out from a computer to the internet — was installed on one of the information security employees’ laptops, and it flagged the suspicious upload attempt, the report says."
Why I Hate Security, Computers, and the Entire Modern Banking System by Sarah Jeong
"I was reading some articles on Hacker News about how we’ve lost the internet to big companies and how we are not doing anything about it and it got me thinking about Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) again."
Meta
What
Where
Why
Year Added
Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach