I came across this video: They Asked For My Name. I Said No.
She had to do a purchase online and used a :
- Private mail box
- Privacy.com to create a virtual card just for that purchase
- SimpleLogin to create an email alias
- Cloaked to get a virtual phone number
This all seemed a bit excessive to me, but I wonder in general how do privacy enthusiasts purchase things online from: a) Sites that they can “trust” b) Sites that they can’t “trust”
And what about offline? Do you guys use things like Google / Apple Wallet? Do you carry physical cards? Or do you not use cards at all and just pay by cash?
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I used to use Google Wallet, but I have switched to GrapheneOS so that no longer works, I need to substitute it to curve pay but I’m kinda considering maybe I don’t need it at all? Perhaps just carry the card with me, instead of adding yet another company that sees all of my purchases accepting all the downsides that this will give me. Or just use cash.
As far as online purchases go, honestly I don’t do anything special other than creating a disposable virtual card just for that purchase, which made me think maybe I’m exposing myself too much, especially on smaller sites that I can’t trust. That being said, I don’t really know what I would do to change that.
Thoughts?
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Most “privacy guides” like that literally just shift trust from one party to another.
Banks are starting to have temporary credit card numbers themselves for a purchase. It depends if you want “privacy” or “anonymity” as it seems like the person in the video wants the second.
Nowadays there are precious few actually private or anonymous email providers themselves. Maybe Posteo or Tuta? But I don’t know their audit history with leaking metadata or handing over logs and information when asked.
Honestly I have accepted that if I have to buy online, there is always a paper trail. Buy in-store in cash when possible, use second hand websites in your area. It is better for the environment too. Anything digital will have a paper trail that can always be de-anonymized with enough effort.
All my electronics hobby stuff I have to buy online and I just do this with my normal credit card, especially since they have export controls in many distributors and if you get caught using fake credentials they will likely blanket blacklist you as someone trying to bypass export controls and use medical/consumer sensors and devices for weapons, against the companies’ restrictions.
Parcel lockers with a fake phone number and an email alias solve the delivery address problem. Then there’s payment methods but you need to figure it out yourself.
For in-store purchases, cash is king, and in stores that have self checkout without cash support, gift cards are a good option.
You need to jump through several hoops to have privacy while ordering online. I mean per default they need your address to deliver the thing to you, need some bank details to get the money, you’ll be motivated to create an account (for example for warranty/returns…). And there’s always some things running in the background with your IP address and bank details because there’s fraud and shops have to mitigate for that. So… I’m sure it is possible to order online with varying degrees of privacy. But it loses all the convenience that online shopping is supposed to provide.
I like shopping offline. And maybe my small contribution is going to help some real-world stores stay afloat in our modern world. I have GrapheneOS on my phone, I don’t think Google Pay works on my phone. And even if it did, I wouldn’t provide my credit card number to Google. I’ll just pay with my card in the usual supermarket or at the gas station for convenience, or use cash if I don’t want to leave a trail. And I don’t do all the discount programs. They’re mostly there to keep track of my shopping behaviour. I’m going to need at least some 10 or 15% discount for me to start with that shit.
At least that’s how I do it. It’s not 100% privacy, by any means. But my dislike of Amazon etc at least makes me order few things there. So they only know about a small chunk of my life. Not what kind of washing detergent or phone or computer I use, what size of clothes fit my body. I buy all of that in offline stores. And I’ll keep doing that as long as there’s still some around. And the only thing they know about me is whatever number an EC terminal leaves when I swipe my card. Unfortunately they’re all being displaced by online shopping. I hope my government regulates what kind of things proper German stores can do with my credit card numbers.
I purchase stuff offline from brick-and-mortar stores I trust and like (usually from word of mouth or after talking to the owner).
I purchase stuff online exactly the same way – from brick-and-mortar stores that I trust and like, which have their own website and webshop.
I do not purchase from online shopping portals, sites that out-source to shopify, or webshops that don’t have an offline presence.
