Further reading: other privacy resources
The privacy and security resources we recommend beyond this site, from beginner walkthroughs to extreme privacy work - and how to pick your own level.
TL;DR: We’re one voice among many. Decide how much risk you’ll accept, then use the resources below to go further.
Start with your threat model
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What are you protecting? Photos, location, finances, identity, where you sleep.
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Who would want it? An advertiser, an ex, a scammer, and a government are very different adversaries.
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What happens if they get it? A creepy ad, or your savings and safety.
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How much hassle will you tolerate? A setup you abandon in a week protects nothing.
For most people, the adversary is advertisers and the stakes are low. Work through our free guide, use a password manager, and stop there. If someone specific is looking for you, you need more than this site.
Keep reading
IntelTechniques: Michael Bazzell’s work, the reference for the serious end. Free guides:
- iOS Guide: far more exhaustive hardening than ours, with more friction
- VPN Guide: a second opinion on our VPN post
- Data Removal Workbook: the best free data-broker opt-out resource
- Ten Day Security: the fundamentals paced over ten days (PDF)
EFF Surveillance Self-Defense: the best free threat-modeling resource. Non-profit.
Privacy Guides: a non-commercial tool catalog with published criteria. Use it to sanity-check any recommendation, including ours.
Techlore: video-first.
How to read privacy advice, including ours
- Check who’s paid. We take affiliate commissions and say so. Many “best VPN” lists don’t.
- Distrust advice that recommends everything. Good advice sometimes says “you don’t need this.”
- Check the date. iOS menus move every year.
- Ignore urgency. Countdown timers are marketing.
- You’re allowed to stop once you match your risk.