I don't think this one needs an explanation as to why it's important. I guess here are some use cases:
This is the dumbest and most common argument about why it's not worth your time or use a less convenient service just for privacy. Because you're a nobody, right? No one cares about you, right? Why would Russian hackers want your data? I don't care if Google knows where I am. I'm not doing anything bad, I don't care if people see.
Let's run through some examples of things that HAVE happened, are CURRENTLY happening, and will CONTINUE happening.
Did you know every single day, massive tech companies are hacked with their database (including YOUR information) leaked on the dark web, and the not-so-dark web? This doesn't happen for nothing. There's a market for this. No cybercriminal would waste time stealing YOUR DATA if they didn't get money out of it. If you were a magic hacker and could hack anything, and you weren't able to sell stolen customer information... would you waste your time getting it? Of course not.
If hackers are selling your data, someone has to be on the other end buying it. Why on earth would someone buy your data if it had no value to them? With stolen data, hackers send send emails trying to phish the customer. "Hey, we're from your bank. bla bla bla." Using your data, bad actors are able to get into your accounts and sell them. Where do you think all these $2 Spotify Premium accounts come from? They used to be owned by people like you who thinks no one cares about you. They get their card leached for any service the bad actors can use it on.
In order to stop big tech from collecting your data, we first need to understand what they collect. So here's the (highly simplified) list.
So let's go step by step on how you hide these.
You probably know this one, just use a VPN. VPNs hide your IP address from sites you visit. See, VPNs hide 2 pieces of information:
There are many misconceptions about things VPNs don't hide but people think they do:
VPNs simply move your information. Your VPN provider knows everything. They know what site you visit. They know your real IP. Your ISP also knows what VPN provider your use. This means VPNs are perfect from hiding you visit from your ISP, and who you are from the website. Nothing else. This means if you are worried about a government spying on you, VPNs don't help. Hide from Government
When you visit a website, they give you an identifier, so whatever you do on the site, they know it's you. Lately, many browsers have started blocking cookies, so tech companies have resorted to finding other information that is unique to you, and using that to identify you (fingerprinting).
The first step in blocking this is change your browser. Google Chrome is the most popular browser, but it's run by a literal big-tech advertising company. You can't reasonably expect privacy when using their software. I recommend using a Firefox-based browser. If you absolutely NEED Chromium, use Brave. Brave is probably one of the best commercial browsers when it comes to privacy. But they use Chromium which is bad for the internet. Within your browser, ensure cookie-blooking and anti-fingerprinting is enabled.
P.s. if you have 2 lives you want to isolate from eachother, use 2 seperate browsers, never open them at the same time, and use a VPN for ONE. The 2 browsers should never use the same IP. I also recommend using an anti-detect browser, which allows you to containerise your online activity. Personata is great if you would like your sessions to be saved, good for people with multiple accounts on the same site, though it does not hide your IP. Tor is great if you'd just like to quickly spin up an anonymous browser that resets on launch. You can find links here.
Be sure to check out PrivacyTests for a detailed comparison of what data each browser gives websites you visit.
Also, install uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger.
When signing up to a website, you most likely give them an email, username, or phone number and a password. If it's an app, especially a social media, you will probably also be asked by the app for permission to access your contacts.
All this information you provide the website/app is linked in a massive web. See let's say you open TikTok. TikTok will ask you to let them see your contacts. With your contacts, TikTok can see everyone you know. If they have also given permission, TikTok will also know friends of your friends. This gives them a massive web of everyone in the world and how they know eachother. Scary, right? So when given the option, DO NOT provide information that you do not want them to keep forever and possibly share.
Sometimes when a website gets hacked, the hackers can see all usernames, emails, phone numbers, and passwords. With this data, they tend to check against other popular sites with those same credentials to see if they can accesss your other accounts. The best/only way to avoid this, is by giving different information to each website. I recommend using an email forwarder. If you have an iPhone, Apple has one. This lets you create a new email for every website you visit. For gmail users, if your email is [email protected], you are able to add plus after "bob" and add any text. For example, [email protected]. This allows you to create virtually unlimited email addresses. Get a password manager, and use different emails and passwords on each account, and consider not giving every website your real date of birth and phone number willy nilly. You know you can lie about most your information, right?
Big tech is very good at secretly spying on you. Did you know, when you click the share button on a video on TikTok and send it to someone, even if you copy the link and manually send it, TikTok knows who you sent it to? That link they gave you when you tried to share was made JUST FOR YOU. This means anyone that opens that link, received it from you. To avoid TikTok's one specifically, prefer downloading the video and manually sending the video.
Unfortunately there are many ways these companies can spy on you. The best advice is to containerise and isolate things as best as you can. Yeah sure, you use WhatsApp so Facebook can see your messages and your friends. But this doesn't mean they need to know everything about you. Firstly, move to Signal, WhatsApp is shit. But most importantly, stop giving these companies information they DONT NEED. If they ask for your birth date, lie. If your friend sends you a link, don't just click it, copy it and manually open it in your browser, so the website doesn't know you came from wherever you came from. It's the small things.