Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on July 18, 2019, 09:25:36 PM

Quote from: Royse777 on July 18, 2019, 03:01:01 PM

I am in the same situation but not proud because I know I have no option but use their service knowing that my privacy is in stake however we try our best.

You do have options though. Use Linux instead of Windows. Use Firefox instead of Chrome. Use DuckDuckGo instead of Google search. Use ProtonMail instead of GoogleMail. For every service you use which invades your privacy, there is an alternative which doesn't. Here are a couple of great resources for finding said alternatives:

https://prism-break.org/en/
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/wiki/de-google

Quote from: glennmatthew on July 18, 2019, 07:47:35 PM

I get it, people worry about their privacy and all, but it is all quite silly really. You just get adverts which are more relevant to you, and quite franky I don't think that's a bad thing unless you are a terrible impulse buyer

It's far worse than just targeted advertising. It's a surveillance state. Snowden's revelations showed the NSA is collecting all your data. Do you trust the government not to do anything shady with your data? Do you trust all future governments? Cambridge Analytica used your data to illegally influence elections. Some countries use data to punish dissidents or anyone who speaks out against the government.

Quote from: Glenn Greenwald

The old cliché is often mocked though basically true: theres no reason to worry about surveillance if you have nothing to hide. That mindset creates the incentive to be as compliant and inconspicuous as possible: those who think that way decide its in their best interests to provide authorities with as little reason as possible to care about them. Thats accomplished by never stepping out of line. Those willing to live their lives that way will be indifferent to the loss of privacy because they feel that they lose nothing from it. Above all else, thats what a Surveillance State does: it breeds fear of doing anything out of the ordinary by creating a class of meek citizens who know they are being constantly watched.

You make a very valid point, but there are also positives to this...

Because the NSA keeps tabs on the entire world, they are able to find the source of terrorism. They share this information with the 'five eyes' and in a way keep much of the world safe.

Because companies know so much about us, they know what kind of technology we use, what kind of technology we will buy. This is not only good for the economy, but also technological advancement of the whole world.

Because companies sell our data, we are able to use their services for free. How would you feel if you needed to pay a subscription for google maps, facebook, twitter, email, or pretty much any free service that you use? If companies were not able to make money on our data, then the services that they offer would never be as developed and userfriendly as they are now, because they would have a smaller userbase due to the subscription model.

There is good and bad to the invasion of privacy. Where to draw the line?

All of that being said, I agree with you and I am also one of the few who are concerned with privacy. I am just trying to argue the opposing side. I use proton mail myself, and I will definitely check out the links you posted!