11 ways to improve your privacy

Slowly, users are moving to solutions that focus on privacy rather than convenience options.

Why? Simply because many have realized the value of their personal data.

Of course, protecting your privacy does not mean staying anonymous. But privacy control means you don’t share essential information with unauthorized parties while keeping your sensitive data private from everyone.

You can improve privacy on all kinds of devices you use. Here, I will provide some proven methods to easily enhance privacy.

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The tips mentioned can be followed for every type of hardware and operating system, not just Linux. You don’t necessarily need to go through every point. These are just suggestions. Find what works for you.

1. Secure and hide your email

Your email address is associated with everything online, be it banking or a cloud storage platform.

If your email is kept private, you will receive less spam and fewer attempts to take control of your account or trick you into downloading a malicious file from your email.

I think you get what I mean 🙃

But… you share your email address with every core app/service you use.

So, how can you not share it while still using it?

you can use Email aliases To keep your actual email address private. We have a list Tools to help protect your email address. Choose any options like SimpleLogin or use the email aliases your email provider allows you to create.

Also, try using Secure email services Like Tutanota or proton mile for the best experience.

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This article includes affiliate links, which give us a small commission if you purchase some services like Proton VPN, at no additional cost to you.

Suggest reading 📖

2. Secure your internet

With an exposed or unsecured internet connection, an attacker can snoop on your web activity and possibly use it to obtain vital information or affect your device data.

Therefore, it is essential to keep your internet secure.

To achieve this, you can do a few things like:

Use a secure or encrypted DNS eg the next or control d
Use a VPN to encrypt your internet connection

ProtonVPN and Mullvad VPN are two excellent options, which offer open source clients and Linux support.

3. Secure your search activity

Everyone uses a search engine to find what they are looking for.

For most of them, it’s Google. It is the most popular site on the planet by far.

But it does collect some of your data to improve searchability and can also customize search results based on your likes and other factors.

However, if you want a completely private search experience and non-personalised results, Privacy friendly search engines It must be useful.

4. Use a privacy-focused browser

Just as you use search engines, the browser is a vital means of the interaction process.

A browser with strong privacy and security features should help you improve your browsing experience.

I personally can direct you to Vivaldi, Firefox and Brave. If you are keen to explore more options, check out our list The best browsers for Linux.

5. Don’t install software you don’t know

Whether you are using Linux or any other operating system, you should not install anything that you are not familiar with. Not all software is privacy friendly.

Some don’t collect any data at all, and some do.

Yes, there are some green flags you can look out for before choosing new software to install. Some of them include:

It has a decent number of users (not entirely new).
She is incredibly popular.
It is open source and has a stable version.

Some other pointers to consider:

Even if the software is proprietary, you should check its popularity and privacy policy.
Usually, it’s best to avoid new software tools.
Do not download email attachments without checking them separately.
Download the program from its official channels. Do not use third party distribution websites to download packages unless they officially recommend it.

6. Take advantage of all privacy options and modifications

Every app, every operating system, and every service you use provides some measure of privacy control.

For example, you can hide your Instagram account from the public and only accept followers you know/want.

Likewise, when possible, I recommend you head over to the “Privacy settingsOn your mobile phone, Linux desktop, and everything else.

It could be anything, deleting old files, disabling sharing of diagnostic information, etc. If it seems possible to you, use the available option to your advantage.

7. Use secure password managers

Passwords and credentials are the center of it all. If you need to make sure they are well protected and organized, use a good password manager.

I usually suggest bitwarden And KeePassXC for all kinds of users.

If you prefer to keep things offline, KeePassXC Available cross platform. And if you want a cloud-based solution, Bitwarden shouldn’t disappoint you.

You can also explore some Password managers for Linux users.

8. Keep your notes safe

Taking notes can be a habit for some, and it can be a good or bad thing.

Why do I say that? Well, notes often contain sensitive information, sometimes even passwords or PIN codes.

So, if you make sure your notes are safe, this is one of the easiest ways to step up your privacy game.

Recommendations will be included Record notes And CryptBad. You can explore other options with end-to-end encryption or a variety of features:

9. Store or backup on a private cloud platform

Not everyone has the time or patience to maintain/configure a RAID setup to store/back up data at home.

So, cloud storage services are the usual solution.

Include my personal recommendations mega (end-to-end encryption), f pCloud. But I suggest you check our website List of cloud storage services To explore better options.

Additionally, you can encrypt your files before uploading them to the cloud thanks to solutions like Cryptomator.

10. Use private messengers

You can always use open source and encrypted messengers like Signal (cross platforms) to secure your communications.

there Multiple alternatives to WhatsApp which you can explore for personal use.

If it is for your business, Open source Slack alternatives Must help.

Suggest reading 📖

11. Specialized Distributions

If you are adventurous and want to try a completely different operating system that is specially designed to give you a special experience, then you can choose Tails OSAnd Whonixand similar options.

Some are designed to erase your activity once you’ve finished it. And some of them have special security features, which can be overwhelming for everyday use.

If you’re curious, explore The best privacy-focused Linux distros.

🤨 Still confused about what you want to do?

I have a separate article that lists some of the best browsers, VPNs, messengers, etc. for privacy-conscious users. You can always come back to this if you can’t decide what to choose to control your privacy.

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