Hello everybody. This is an important date in the history of the UK. A turning point, where the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has decided that anyone over the age of 16 will have to put their ID in news websites, online games and messaging apps to continue using them.
So what’s happened?
In other words, this is the day where the UK has no online privacy whatsoever. Every word you write, every syllable you speak and every sentence you read can be held against you. And isn’t it convenient that the PM wants to lower the voting age to 16, while restricting all online information to that same age?
May I remind you of the time that Persona, a popular age verifying company, was hacked, and it was revealed that they were not deleting the face scans, like they said they were, and were instead comparing them against lists of people that the US government called “suspicious persons”? They have also allegedly worked with Palantir, a controversial surveillance company, that works with ICE.
And what’s even worse, is that the UK government haven’t provided a system to do this safely. Even if something is dystopian and oppressive, the least you can do is not leave it up to unsecure private companies with monetary incentives to sell the data.
How do I stay private?
The main ways to stay private are to switch your DNS settings, get a VPN and move to a privacy-focused browser; all of which I will explain below.
1. DNS Settings
The DNS I would recommend is Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1. Simply follow their guide here. They offer apps, or for more advanced users, you can modify your devices’ settings directly.
2. VPNs
There are 2 different VPNs I would recommend. The first one is Proton VPN. It allows you to have one device connected for free, and you can pay to connect more at once if you want. It does require some personal info on sign-up, however.
The second I like is Mullvad, the one I’m using to right this very article. Unlike Proton, it is paid, but it’s only £4.33 a month, and they’ve never changed prices. They don’t require any personal info on sign-up, and if you want, you can even send them cash in the post. You can still pay with card normally.
3. Browsers
The only 2 browsers I would recommend are Firefox and Brave. They both have apps for all devices, but they both work different behind-the-scenes. You might find that some websites don’t work as well on Firefox as they do on Brave, but both support ad-blockers, and neither require an account.
Conclusion
Alright, once you’ve done all of that, you’re all set, and you’ll start to notice that as the internet becomes less-and-less private worldwide, you’ll be fairly well protected.
Of course, this guide isn’t legal advice, and every word of it is my opinion. Some websites are linked, and I do not endorse/condone anything on any of them. Consider this a warning of what might happen if the current government continues to get their way.
For perhaps the final time, thanks for reading, and I’ll hopefully see you later.
What's your thoughts?