Privacy Guides: Step-by-Step Security Instructions

⚠️ Important Disclaimer

Security is a process, not a product. These guides provide best practices, but your safety depends on your specific threat model. Always keep your software updated and stay informed about new threats.

Basic Privacy Guides

What Is a Flock Camera?

What a plate reader records about your vehicle, what it does not do, who owns the data, and how long it is kept.

Flock and ALPR Master Index

Every report on this site about licence plate readers, routed by question: who owns the cameras, where they are, who can search the data, and what communities have done about it.

Find Flock ALPR Cameras Near You

What a plate reader looks like on a pole, how to check your own area on the DeFlock map, why plate covers are illegal, and the civic routes that actually work.

What Is DeFlock?

The crowdsourced ALPR camera map explained: who runs it, what it can and cannot tell you, and why deflock.me redirects to deflock.org.

Browser Privacy

Configure your browser to resist tracking, fingerprinting, and surveillance. Essential privacy extensions and settings.

Encrypted Messaging

Secure communications with Signal, Element, and other encrypted messaging apps. OPSEC for sensitive conversations.

Email Security

Migrate to secure email providers, configure encryption, and protect your email from surveillance.

Tor Browser Guide

Use Tor safely for anonymous browsing, circumventing censorship, and protecting your identity online.

Secure Operating Systems

Privacy-focused operating systems: Tails, Whonix, Qubes, and hardening existing systems.

Search Privacy

Stop search engines from tracking your queries and building behavioral profiles. Privacy-focused alternatives.

DNS Security

Prevent your ISP from tracking every website you visit. Configure DNS-over-HTTPS and privacy-focused resolvers.

App Permissions

Audit and control what data your mobile and desktop apps can access. Minimize surveillance through apps.

Data Broker Opt-Outs

Remove your information from data collection and people search sites that sell your personal data.

Digital Compartmentalization

Separate your digital activities into isolated compartments to prevent data correlation and limit breach impact.

Advanced Privacy Guides

Digital Personas & Compartmentalization

Master advanced privacy by creating and managing multiple digital identities for maximum surveillance resistance.

Read Advanced Guide

Self-Hosted Privacy Infrastructure

Achieve complete digital independence with Nextcloud, Matrix homeserver, email servers, VPN, and Tor bridges.

Read Advanced Guide

Mobile Security Hardening

Comprehensive comparison of GrapheneOS vs CalyxOS vs LineageOS for maximum mobile privacy and security.

Read Advanced Guide

Anonymous Internet Access

Master layered privacy protection with VPN-over-Tor, proxy chains, and alternative anonymity networks.

Read Advanced Guide

VPN Strategy

Choose and use VPNs effectively while understanding their limitations. Jurisdiction, logging, and trust considerations.

Mobile Device Security

Comprehensive mobile privacy: secure operating systems, app auditing, and protecting against mobile surveillance.

Crypto & Self-Custody Guides

Hardware Wallet Comparison

Ledger, Trezor, BitBox02, Keystone, and Foundation Passport compared on security architecture, privacy, and track record.

Wallet Accessories & Seed Storage

Steel backups, passphrases, faraday bags, and which accessories are snake oil. What actually protects your seed.

Open-Source Crypto Wallets

Software wallets you can verify: what open source buys you, and which wallets respect your privacy.

Crypto Tax Software

Rotki vs Koinly vs CoinTracker vs TokenTax. Comply with tax rules while handing over as little as possible.

Monero Setup

Set up and use Monero, the cryptocurrency built for privacy by default rather than as an afterthought.

Monero Node Setup

Run your own Monero node so your wallet stops trusting someone else's server with your transactions.

Read Advanced Guide

Bitcoin-Monero Atomic Swaps

Swap between Bitcoin and Monero without an exchange, an account, or anyone's permission.

Read Advanced Guide

Monero Mining

Mine Monero without handing a pool your payout address and your IP, with the pools compared and the privacy cost priced honestly.

Read Advanced Guide

Home Network & Hardware Guides

Privacy Router Comparison

Replace the ISP box: GL.iNet, Firewalla, OpenWrt, and OPNsense compared for taking back your gateway.

Private NAS: Buy vs Build

Synology and QNAP reviewed honestly against DIY TrueNAS and Raspberry Pi builds, plus the safeguards every NAS needs.

Raspberry Pi Kit Buyer's Guide

Which board, kit, and accessories to buy for Pi-hole, WireGuard, and home server projects.

Raspberry Pi Home Server

Build a privacy-focused home server: network ad blocking, VPN, and self-hosted services on a Pi.

Pi-hole Network Ad Blocking

Block ads and trackers for every device on your network at the DNS level with Pi-hole.

Home WireGuard VPN Server

Reach your home network from anywhere without exposing services to the internet.

Home Network VLANs

Segment IoT gadgets, work machines, and personal devices so one compromised device can't watch the rest.

Read Advanced Guide

Hardware Keys & Identity Guides

Trezor as an SSH Key: Linux

Turn a Trezor into your SSH key on Linux: OpenSSH FIDO2 (ecdsa-sk) and trezor-agent, with real commands.

Trezor as an SSH Key: macOS

Apple ships OpenSSH without security-key support. The Homebrew fix, the agent gotcha, and both methods.

Trezor as an SSH Key: Windows

Check your OpenSSH version first, skip PuTTY, and pick between Windows Hello FIDO2 keys and trezor-agent.

Hardware Security Keys Compared

YubiKey, Nitrokey, Token2, and the rest side by side: what each actually protects and what it costs.

Read Advanced Guide

Open-Source Security Keys

The keys you can audit: open firmware and hardware options for FIDO2, and what closed vendors hide.

Read Advanced Guide

2FA App Comparison

Still using code apps? The honest ranking of TOTP authenticators, and when to move to a hardware key.

Every Guide on This Site

The cards above are a selection. This is the complete list, so nothing is reachable only by search. 123 guides in total.

Basic guides

76 guides covering the fundamentals, opt-outs, comparisons and the surveillance systems you are most likely to meet.

Advanced guides

47 guides for readers who already have the basics in place.