Iāve improved my browser privacy. On mobile, Iām using Tor Browser, and CreepJS reports that I have visited the site 69 times in the last 138.5 days (I have not); while I am using Mullvad Browser on desktop, where CreepJS reports that I have visited 3279 times in the last 180.3 days (I definitely have not). The high number, as I understand it, means my browsers are blending in with other users, making me very difficult to track.
I have also set uBlock Origin to medium blocking mode, which involves blocking third-party scripts and frames (other than videos and CAPTCHAs, everything works just fine).
So, I donated to CalyxOS ($5). CalyxOS is a priority for me to donate with what is currently happening in the Android FOSS OS sphere and since CalyxOS is unironically a blessing for me. Additionally, because I felt generous today I also donated to an NGO not related to digital rights or privacy at all but still itās an NGO
Iāve already decided which FOSS project Iāll be donating to and it will be Secureblue. Theyāre carrying out a noble mission to make the Linux desktop more secure, not just through their own project but also by contributing upstream like with KDE.
Iām curious to find my own āamount of visitsā report as well but I canāt seem to find it. Where on the CreepJS report page should I be looking?
A psychological win here: on Windows I have removed Portmaster since the Mullvad VPN + Portmaster seems a bit overkill in hindsight, I use my Windows install less and lessā¦ Most things I do on Fedora.
Furthermore I now just have the VPN for web-browsing, because I set up split tunneling for most non-browsing apps such a Steam. This way I can keep the VPN on auto-connect on startup mode, and still enjoy a fast download speed and low latency for non-browsing tasks.
Not so much i did this week. Deleted some accounts i didnt needed (i now have no accounts linked to my gmail!) Started using tuta for my calender and some family menbers to email me and using proton mail for other things also reduced daily phone usage and some more small changes.
I finally did the step and installed CalyxOS on my Fairphone 5. Itās not the best operating system in terms of privacy and security but itās the best option that works on a Fairphone. If I could, I would prefer GrapheneOS. However everything is better than sticking to stock Android.
I decided to not install MicroG to get a mostly degoogled device (Itās still contacting Google and Android Servers to authenticate certifcates, grab the network time, Capative-Portal-Check, ā¦ You can read about this here).
It doesnāt bothers me to not be able to use Apps which require GooglePlayServices/MicroG cause I donāt use them anyway.
The only downside is, that I canāt use a reliable WiPS (Wifi-Positioning-System). This system becomes handy if you donāt have a stable GPS Signal (If your indoor). By scanning surrounded WiFi signals and Bluetooth beacons, it can predict pretty exact where you are based on the signalstrength and the angel of arrival to the signal.
Unfortunately the stock LocationServices are baked into GooglePlayServices and because I donāt use MicroG, CalyxOS only uses the GPS Signal.
But there is a solution! BeaconDB!
BeaconDB is a crowdsourced geolocation database. Via the app Neostumbler I can scan my surrounding for Wifi Signals and Bluetooth Beacons and upload the data with the GPS location to the Database so other people can profit from it. There are already about 64 Million scanned networks in the database.
To be able to use the in formations from Beacons database I had to install AltLocationServices and set it as my desired simulated location app in the developer option.
Et voila! Iām able to use WiPS without Google Location Services or MicroG!
But this only works because of people like you and me who are willing to contribute to this Database. So thankās to everybody who makes this work!
Overall im very happy with CalyxOS. It feels very relieving to know that I managed to minimize my digital footprint a bit further.
Congrats, thatās huge! I use CalyxOS too and also really appreciate that de-googled experience on my main user profile. My work profile has microG with the banking app, which Iām very glad to have working without problems!
Last year I switched from Google passwords to Bitwarden, and recently I moved a bunch of my personal stuff from Google Drive to Proton Drive, Google Keep to Notesnook, and Google Calendar to Proton Calendar. I also switched from Chrome to Brave (although I was mostly motivated by ending support of Ublock Origin). I still have some stuff on Google, but itās either encrypted so Google canāt see, or unencrypted but not secret so I donāt care if it gets leaked.
Hi everyone, Iāve had extremely limited time & capacity these last several weeks, so thank you all for your patience All time has gone towards content, but things are opening back up now, so streams are back! (Very much also thanks to an editor Iām trialing) Letās get this party started again!
Join me on YouTube 2025-08-01T21:00:00Z featuring @GrandExternal
All time has gone towards content, but things are opening back up now, so streams are back! (Very much also thanks to an editor Iām trialing) Letās get this party started again!