With the rise of cancel culture in recent months I’ve been seeking new ways to leave the big tech companies and get back to controlling my own data just in case they ban or delete my accounts. If you aren’t familiar with cancel culture, simply put, it’s when a company or series of companies purges your profile, videos and data from their platform because they disagree with something you say or do. An example of this is Parler when Amazon pulled its servers from under them.
This is a terrifying accumulation of power which we as customers have given them over the years due to simplicity, convenience and the discounts they provide us. Because of this I’m transferring this power back into my own hands by moving my services to smaller companies bit by bit since it would be a challenge to do all at once.
What bothers me most of all is that companies such as Google are actively trying to accumulate as much power over you as they possibly can. One argument I recently thought of in support of this is your passwords. How many of you know the passwords to your online accounts? Do you actively try to create a password which is complex enough but memorable, or do you utilize Google’s automated password generator?
This process works a treat if you’re in-step with Google’s (leftist) policies, but what if you weren’t? What if Google decides to block every one of your accounts including your stored passwords for every website you’ve ever visited? Will you be able to log back in to them and change your password? I doubt it would be easy. It would be virtually impossible if your backup email IS gmail which would now be blocked.
I’ve recently found Ctemplar (2024 update – Ctemplar has ceased operation so I have diversified into Protonmail and Tutamail), an encrypted email service which – most importantly – is a small company with a dedication for user privacy. I’ve started transitioning all my email accounts to Ctemplar over the past few weeks and it’s been going well. I’ve also lined up alternatives to Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Search and have been creating memorable passwords and writing them down. Sure that’s not best ‘industry practice’ but who would break into your house for a book when there’s a TV and computer right next to it?
Don’t get me started on the amount of personal information these massive corporations are skimming from us and creating a profile online about literally everything you’ve ever done… But I will leave that one for another time.
Reclaim your passwords today and avoid the cyclone of cancel culture that’s coming towards us rapidly!
