I would like to know when a post is private or not. So, is this correct?:

• To mention an individual user, I type: @username@instance.tld
• To mention a group (a subaccount used as a forum or a community) I type: !groupname@instance.tld

When I use '!', the message gets posted directly to that group. It ensures that all group members see the post. If the group is private, the message will be visible only to group members. If the group is public, the message will be visible to everyone (including non-members and possibly search engines).

Is the use of @ or ! the same as choosing 'Limited/Private' on the Permissions-tab?

Thanks,
Kind regards,
Erik

!Friendica Support

#privacy #posting #mentioning #public

Musk's outrageous worst-case intrusion needs to lead to prosecution, indictment & a restraining order keeping him farthest away from any government ops forever, also due to his highly suspicious contacts with the Chinese & Russian regimes.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/retired-army-general-warns-musk-could-be-national-security-ticking-time-bomb/
#RuleOfLaw #ElonMusk #NationalSecurityThreat #DataBreach #DataTheft #Intrusion #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Classified #EspionageAct #Privacy #DOJ #DHS #FBI #ArrestMusk #Law #Justice #NationalSecurity #Democracy #DefendTheConstitution #DefendAmerica #USPol #USPolitics

Retired Army General Warns Musk Could Be National Security Ticking Time Bomb

Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré said that Elon Musk’s business ties to China, mainly through Tesla, need to be looked at forensically.

^{Leigh Kimmins (The Daily Beast)}

Major privacy alert for Android users.

https://mastodon.sdf.org/@jack/113952225452466068

@jack #Privacy #Android #cybersecurity

Do you enjoy privacy rights?

Because deregulation is how you lose them. Oh and also basic safety, and human rights.

Just so you know: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-regulations-default-gone_n_67a12742e4b09a02376043c7

#Privacy #HumanRights #USpol

Elon Musk Suggests Getting Rid Of All Regulations In Midnight Call

"If it's not possible now, it'll never be possible," Musk said of his proposal to simply ignore all federal regulation as a baseline.

^{Matt Shuham (HuffPost)}

Nice. How to leave #X / #Twitter and #Instagram? In the edition of tomorrow‘s newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine offers valuable tips and highlights alternatives in the #Fediverse, such as #Mastodon and #Pixelfed.

A must-read especially for @Gargron from @Mastodon and @dansup from @PixelFed and of course @helpers / @admins

📖 Read more here in german language: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/geld-leben/social-media-alternativen-bluesky-signal-co-neustart-ohne-x-und-meta-104511246

#SocialMedia #Privacy #Alternatives #Mastodon #Pixelfed #Fediverse

Social-Media-Alternativen: Bluesky, Signal & Co: Neustart ohne X und Meta

Sie hadern mit Elon Musks Kurznachrichtendienst X und sind auch nicht mehr glücklich mit all dem, was Mark Zuckerbergs Meta-Konzern anbietet? Kein Problem. Es gibt Alternativen.

^{Von Dirk Averesch, dpa (Augsburger Allgemeine)}

Nice. How to leave #X / #Twitter and #Instagram? In the edition of tomorrow‘s newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine offers valuable tips and highlights alternatives in the #Fediverse, such as #Mastodon and #Pixelfed. A must-read especially for @Gargron from @Mastodon and @dansup from @PixelFed and of course @helpers / @admins

📖 Read more here in german language: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/geld-leben/social-media-alternativen-bluesky-signal-co-neustart-ohne-x-und-meta-104511246

#SocialMedia #Privacy #Alternatives #Mastodon #Pixelfed #Fediverse

#Paypal is changing its privacy policy. If you have an account, here's what you need to do:

✅ Log in (you *are* using TOTP multifactor authentication, right?)
✅Click the Gear icon in the upper right corner.
✅Click "Data & Privacy"
Follow the link under that category to "Personalized Shopping"
✅Click the slider switch to disable data sharing with advertisers and retailers based on your purchase history.

#privacy #dataprivacy #PCIDSS #userprivacy #venmo

I know I'm going to sound biased now,
but this is seriously an amazing article written by @jonah from @privacyguides I would have totally recommended it even 2 months ago.

If you are planning to attend any protests, but especially in the US right now,
Read This First 👇👇👇

https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/01/23/activists-guide-securing-your-smartphone/

#Privacy #PrivacyGuides #HumanRights #USpol

The Protesters' Guide to Smartphone Security

Your phone is an essential tool, but it also represents a huge risk to your privacy and security. Understanding these best practices when it comes to securing your smartphone will help keep you and your data safe.

^{www.privacyguides.org}

The #network from forgotten times when #crypto meant #privacy, not #corruption:

→ https://www.hyphanet.org ←

Connect to your friends with #Hyphanet to have a safe haven to coordinate when bad comes to worse.

#freenet #decentralization

Are you on Signal or Wire yet? Go do that. Gently move your friends/fam over to one of the platforms. Set disappearing messages on both sides of the conversation. Be careful what you say in group chats, know who you trust, and who are your Vault people. For REAL sensitive stuff, in-person, no phones.

Normalize going places without your phones, leave them at home now and again to establish a pattern.

Please understand anyone who works in advocacy, healthcare (esp reproductive rights/women's healthcare), journalists, some gov officials, marginalized groups will likely be targeted.

If this doesn't fit your threat model/risk profile, you know someone who will be impacted by oversight, surveillance or someone snitching

#tech #infosec #security #safety #privacy #security #community #education

Happy MLK day.

Today is also another release of the Privacy Roundup. Week 3 of 2025. Features items from @briankrebs @session @alternativeto @haveibeenpwned and others

The FTC was really busy this week.

https://avoidthehack.com/privacy-week3-2025

#privacy #cybersecurity #security

(Someone said something about an inauguration?)

Week 2 of the #Privacy Roundup is out, featuring stories covering:

- Telegram fulfilling more #data requests from the US government @404mediaco
- Shady Data Brokers abusing RTB to harvest user device locations (and getting breached) @404mediaco
- Prolific Vishing Group’s inner workings @briankrebs
- EdTech giant suffers a #databreach, exposing sensitive information of students @Techcrunch

and more.

#privacy #cybersecurity #security

https://avoidthehack.com/privacy-week2-2025

1/4 📢 Got a groundbreaking idea for #free #software and #privacy preserving projects? Missed our first four #funding calls? No worries!

🌟 Our 5th Open Call is live since 1/12 and you’ve got almost two months to apply - the #Deadline is 1st of February, 2025 12:00 CET (noon). ⏰

💡We’re on the lookout for proposals that will revolutionize #digitalpayment systems and contribute to an #open, #trustworthy, and #reliable internet for all. 💻

4/4

💯 Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity!

🔗 Help us spread the word!

#GoTALER #onlinepayment #tech #technology #banking #finance #onlineshopping #freesoftware #openSource #developer #programming #privacy #DigitalRights #PublicCode #cybersecurity #infosec

@nlnet @ps @EC_NGI @Taler @glsbank @leoo @oec @EUCommission @EU_Commission @TUEindhoven @NGIZero @ngi @NGICommons

Who mentioned cars?

Researchers find security flaws in Skoda cars that may let hackers remotely track them https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/12/researchers-find-security-flaws-in-skoda-cars-that-may-let-hackers-remotely-track-them/ @TechCrunch @carlypage @briankrebs #cybersecurity #infosec #privacy

Researchers find security flaws in Skoda cars that may let hackers remotely track them | TechCrunch

Security researchers have discovered multiple vulnerabilities in the infotainment units used in some Skoda cars that could allow malicious actors to

^{Carly Page (TechCrunch)}

Fucking #mozilla. First they buy a web advertising company. Then, within months of closing that purchase, they remove the DNT header. Look: it’s true that most sites ignore it. Its practical impact is basically nil. But it has a moral purpose.

Every website writes terms in tiny print that says “by coming to this web site, even once, you agree to the following 9 pages of legal terms”

I like having the same fine print in every web request I make. “In case you were wondering, no I don’t consent to tracking.” Make it clear that they are tracking without my consent. If they were at all interested in my consent they have an affirmative indicator that doesn’t need interpreting. They can’t plead ignorance and they can’t say that the only way I can indicate consent is through some silly web form that they devise.

I can’t imagine any POSITIVE benefit that would make the work of removing this feature jump to the top of any priority list. I can imagine a long list of possible negative reasons. Ways in which this feature runs counter to their new goals as an org.

#privacy

https://windowsreport.com/mozilla-firefox-removes-do-not-track-feature-support-heres-what-it-means-for-your-privacy/

Mozilla Firefox removes "Do Not Track" Feature support: Here's what it means for your Privacy Firefox is removing Do Not Track support

Firefox is removing the Do Not Track setting from version 135 onwards. Mozilla recommends using Global Privacy Control setting as alternative,

^{Venkat (WindowsReport)}

I know the feeling... I refuse the use any 'social media' that wants my phone number... No whats-app, signal, FB, Meta, Threads, etc.

If you want to contact me, ask me for my email or phone number. Happy to give if when you ask nicely...

But people do not understand that Big Tech does not respect any privacy.
So I am on my own federated social media platforms like Mastodon and Matrix running mine own servers...

#matrix #mastodon #privacy #real-freedom

I've always hesitate to recommend Session as an end-to-end encrypted communication choice because of their location in Australia.

It seems this might have been forcibly solved now...

Session will now be maintained by an entity in Switzerland: https://www.404media.co/encrypted-chat-app-session-leaves-australia-after-visit-from-police-2/

#Privacy #Session #E2EE

Encrypted Chat App ‘Session’ Leaves Australia After Visit From Police

After federal police came to an employee’s house to ask questions, encrypted messaging company Session has decided to leave Australia and switch to a foundation model based in Switzerland.

^{Joseph Cox (404 Media)}

The rise of Mastodon has made me so much more aware of government services requiring us to use private companies’ systems to communicate with them and access services.

Sitting on a Dutch train just now I was shown on a screen “feeling unsafe in the train? Contact us via WhatsApp”.

What if I don’t use WhatsApp? (I do, but I wish I didn’t have to) I’m forced to share my data with Meta to use it.

Public systems should not require use of private services.

#NS #Netherlands #FOSS #privacy

"Meta fed its AI on almost everything you’ve posted publicly since 2007" from The Verge:

"Meta has just decided that [they] will scrape all of the photos and all of the texts from every public post on Instagram or Facebook since 2007 unless there was a conscious decision to set them on private"

https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/12/24242789/meta-training-ai-models-facebook-instagram-photo-post-data

#Privacy #AI #Meta #Facebook #Instagram

Meta fed its AI on everything adults have publicly posted since 2007

Meta has acknowledged that all text and photos that adult Facebook and Instagram users have publicly published since 2007 have been used as AI training data.

^{Jess Weatherbed (The Verge)}

4/4 🚀 🚀 🚀

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity! #GoTALER #onlinepayment #tech #technology #banking #finance #onlineshopping #freesoftware #openSource #developer #programming #privacy #DigitalRights #PublicCode #cybersecurity #infosec

@EC_NGI @nlnet @ps @Taler @glsbank @oec @leoo

1/4
📢 Got a groundbreaking idea for #free #software and #privacy preserving projects? Missed our first two #funding calls? No worries!

🌟 Our 3rd Open Call is live and you’ve got almost 4 weeks to apply - the #Deadline is 1st of October, 12:00 CET (noon). ⏰

💡We’re on the lookout for proposals that will revolutionize #digitalpayment systems and contribute to an #open, #trustworthy, and #reliable internet for all. 💻

"The first version of #ProtonDocs seems to have most of what you’d expect in a #document #editor: rich text options, real-time collaborative editing, and multimedia support."

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/3/24190732/proton-docs-document-editor-privacy-google

#privacy

Proton Docs is a privacy-focused answer to Google Docs and Microsoft Word

Docs adds to Proton’s offering of work tools, which also includes Drive, Calendar, Mail, and a VPN. Proton has become a successful alternative to both Google and Office.

^{David Pierce (The Verge)}