Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

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Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
Don't promote proprietary software
Try to keep things on topic
If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
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Getting People Onto a Good Messaging App (lemm.ee)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

108 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Folks, I have finally figured it out.

Have a baby.

Since having a baby a week ago, all of a sudden everyone is willing to install a decent messaging app in order to receive pics of the baby.

We explained that we weren't ready for images of our child to end up in the wrong hands via non-private apps. Another thing was telling them that the one single friend who had already got on board with this had already been recieving pics...

It's been a conversation starter for many and I think seeing privacy from the point of view of a newborn has helped our family and friends understand it a bit more easily. Plus they've had to put up with it if they want any photos, so they will see it working firsthand.

So, if you want to have a baby, know that it can be a wonderful opportunity to help loved ones communicate more privately.

It also increases the sum total of love, community and compassion in the world and in your own life but that's a conversation for another community :)

Edit: If anyone has good tips on how to share a little one's journey more privately with those that care about them, please post them in the discussion.

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[–] [email protected] 107 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

I have two kids. I asked people to use signal to send and receive the photos. Asking people to follow your requirements only works for the direct immediate communication. The photos of my kids were sent by the recipients I sent them to (over signal) to other members of the family, over gmail (unencrypted), WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. I learned that years after.

This was in direct violation of my express requests. When I confronted them, they played dumb.

So, not to be a buzzkill here OP, but if you did this to get more people to use your messenger of choice, good job, it worked. If you did this so the pics of your kids stayed on safe apps, don't fool yourself. They didn't.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That's OK, I understand that unfortunately it's only a matter of time until images of them end up somewhere I don't want want them, either through ignorance or a difference in values. That's the world we live in right now sadly. But hopefully I can delay and minimise it a bit, open a better channel of communication with a few friends and relatives and perhaps raise some awareness in the process.

I'm genuinely sorry to hear about your experience, especially with the pictures of them ending up on instagram. At least you were responsible as a parent and tried to do your best.

Its important to share and celebrate the birth of a child with your community. Yet another part of our lives that has been compromised by the degradation of our privacy unfortunately.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

But hopefully I can delay and minimise it a bit, open a better channel of communication with a few friends and relatives and perhaps raise some awareness in the process.

Absolutely.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, my strategy is to not share pictures of my kids at all. I can hold my phone up in front of people's face so they can look if they want, but that's it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

My relatives hated this strategy, and I wasn't the only one who suffered from it. They guilted me for it, but also guilted my parents and siblings. As if they are entitled to the details of my daughter.

People could handle (though they were vocally unhappy about it) is keeping the baby off Facebook. They could not handle me not sending pics on (Facebook) messenger, and they couldn't handle me not telling me the birth weight.

Multiple boomers got very upset that I wanted to keep that information private.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Man that sounds really horrible. I'm sorry to hear your relatives were so unsupportive. I hope everyone gets along now.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

My immediate family was all on board, so no big worries. It was the Grand parent level that thought I was being unreasonable with the privacy stuff. None of them ever be brought it up directly to me, just to my husband and my parents, so I could never really address it.