Hacker News Reader

Comment by necessity | Hacker News Reader

PrivacyGuard and Orwall prevent applications from using the internet/GPS without your express authorization. Anyway if you want absolute privacy toss your smartphone in the trash can, cancel your contract with your ISP, commit social suicide and go live off the grid.

View on HN

Imagine if the Founding Fathers decided to forgo western civilization and go live in the woods as nomadic hunter gatherers instead of standing up to British oppression... Or if all the blacks just listened to Marcus Garvey and went back to Africa instead of participating in the American Civil Rights Movement. This is basically what you're suggesting.

We have the technological means to ensure reasonable levels of privacy. There's no excuse for lemon technology that exposes every intimate detail of our lives.

... except Uber, Google, carriers, etc, are not oppressive.

The fact that nobody's used a nuclear weapon offensively since WWII doesn't mean nuclear proliferation is fine.

Similarly, the proliferation of extremely powerful information is obviously dangerous, regardless of whether it is causing active harm currently.

I am already slowly inching toward this, I removed Internet access from my home, and don't use any smartphone applications at all.

I have not seen any adverse effect on my life/productivity from doing this, people overestimate the amount that they actually need these services. In reality they mostly amount to useless appendages. Especially in an era with free wifi nearly everywhere, being on grid/off grid is as simple as whipping a laptop out of my bag and turning it on.

Persistent connectivity is not a need.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com