Microsoft doesn’t care about your privacy
It shows their understanding of democracy. Here is how you can protect yourself.
How would you feel if someone stored all your emails on their own servers and was also allowed and able to read them? I wouldn’t want that. But Microsoft does.
Microsoft is already teasing that there will be a new Outlook in 2024. This new Outlook will replace both the old Outlook and the current mail programme in Windows 11.
When adding an account that is not hosted by Microsoft but is located on other company servers, Outlook displays a message that is quite something.
This means that Microsoft automatically synchronises emails, calendars and contacts created and saved in Outlook with the Microsoft Cloud. Furthermore, the log-in name and password are forwarded to the servers.
It’s like the post office using your key to take out every letter that lands in your letterbox, then reading it and storing it in a central location. That doesn‘t sound right.
This is a significant encroachment on private data. What Microsoft does with the data is unclear. Therefore, there is only one thing left for me to do and I have been trying to expand this bit by bit for a very long time, namely to increasingly use open-source programmes where I can check what is happening in the background.
Where are we headed?
Some people will now tell me that they have nothing to hide. There will come a time when it is relevant for everyone. Who’s to say that this data won’t be used against us at some point? Just because nobody is doing it at the moment doesn’t mean that nobody will in the future. What if a credit system is introduced at some point, as in China? You have criticised the current policy in an e-mail correspondence? Well, tough luck, now you’re no longer allowed to fly on holiday.
Thats why it is important to show these companies, be it Microsoft, Google, Meta, Apple and co. that it’s not okay to spy on us.
The Twitter files have also shown that governments are very keen to keep us under control and monitor citizens with unwelcome opinions. I therefore believe that Twitter was just the tip of the iceberg. Google, Meta and co. are probably also in dialogue with governments. It’s a topsy-turvy world. In a perfect democracy, those in power work for the people and not the other way round. The citizens should actually control the politicians. Nevertheless, I am hopeful for a future in which more areas of life, not just IT, are decentralised and open source. But we have to do something about it, and that includes using the currently existing open-source products that protect the privacy of every individual. And there are plenty of options out there.
What do I do to protect my data
On my private computer, I use a mail programme such as Thunderbird or Mailspring. I don’t use providers such as Gmail for exchanges. Instead, I use Protonmail or Tutanota, which protect the privacy of users.
But it doesn’t stop there. I use Nextcloud as a server and you can even host it on your own NAS.
Word, Excel or PowerPoint alternatives include OnlyOffice or LibreOffice. Two very good open-source alternatives.
As far as messengers are concerned, I stopped using Whatsapp two years ago. There are better alternatives like Signal (recommended by Edward Snowden) and Threema. Both also have better functions and as far as security is concerned, I think you can trust an app like Threema. After all, it is also used by large companies such as Mercedes Benz, Bosch, etc.
Ironical these companies are concerned about data security during communication with messengers, but they are not concerned when using apps from Microsoft. Although much more sensitive data is stored in Word, Excel & PowerPoint.
In the future, I would also like to install GraphenOS as the operating system on my android smartphone and a Linux distribution on my private computer instead of MacOS.
When you see that the open-source alternatives have just as good functions and services as the data collectors, then it is clear that it is not necessary to engage in data espionage for a good product. So what is the difference between open-source alternatives and the data krakens? The data krakens offer a service that requires no prior knowledge to use. They are convenient. For that they are also not free. You pay with your data and your privacy. On the other hand, most open-source projects are free of charge but less convenient at the start of use but they do not harvest your data. That‘s why I would like to see more companies go open source in the future.
To support such open-source companies, I make a donation to the developers every now and then. It is my investment in a future I hope for because I believe that our choices are a reflection of the future we want to create for ourselves. What kind of future do your choices reflect? What do you choose to invest time, energy and money in?
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