Ganbat

joined 2 months ago
[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Please, DOJ, smash Google with a hammer and redistribute the pieces!

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is happening because the site is shitty so don't use the shitty site. Sounds pretty f'n on-point to me.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Also works fine on Boost, links to a post on !technology@lemmy.ml

Maybe you should open an issue about it?

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 month ago

I use Floorp and Startpage. I don't trust DDG after the whole Microsoft debacle. Though, I'm not really that hot on Startpage since they use the same deceptive advertising practices as Google and Bing (disguising ads as results).

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 month ago

Yep, at that point they're just fishing for more which, hey, why wouldn't they.

It's a give and take for sure, requiring a real phone number makes it harder for automated spam bots to use the service, but at the same time, it puts the weight of true privacy on the shoulders and wallets of the users, and in a lesser way, incentives the use of less than reputable services, should a user want to truly keep their activities private.

And yeah, there's an argument to be made for keeping crime at bay, but that also comes with risks itself. If there was some way to keep truly egregious use at bay while not risking a $10,000 fine on someone for downloading an episode of Ms. Marvel, I think that would be great.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yep, looked it up again today and some proper information has been posted publicly in the interim since I last tried. I was able to strip the drm from a handful of my books today using it and an older version of the Kindle PC app.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (6 children)

Says right there in the subpoena "You are required to provide all information tied to the following phone numbers." This means that the phone number requirement has already created a leak of private information in this instance, Signal simply couldn't add more to it.

Additionally, that was posted in 2021. Since then, Signal has introduced usernames to "keep your phone number private." Good for your average Joe Blow, but should another subpoena be submitted, now stating "You are required to provide all information tied to the following usernames," this time they will have something to give, being the user's phone number, which can then be used to tie any use of Signal they already have proof of back to the individual.

Yeah, it's great that they don't log what you send, but that doesn't help if they get proof in any other way. The fact is, because of the phone number requirement, anything you ever send on Signal can easily be tied back to you should it get out, and that subpoena alone is proof that it does.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago (11 children)

It's bad for privacy no matter how you sell it. Unless you have a good amount of disposable income to buy up burner numbers all the time, a phone number tends to be incredibly identifying. So if a government agency comes along saying "Hey, we know this account sent this message and you have to give us everything you have about this account," for the average person, it doesn't end up being that different than having given them your full id.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (13 children)

The second I went to sign up and learned a phone number was absolutely required, I knew that their privacy was pure bullshit. That little declaration at the end here is an absolute slap to the face.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

I looked in to the whole DRM removal thing. From what I could tell, everything was majorly out of date, required a really old version of Calibre, and didn't work with newer books.

Edit: So, this is out of date info. There's a fork and it works with a fairly recent version of the PC app. Basically no fuss.

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