Privacy

Pick up robocalls but keep your mic muted or stay silent until the bot hangs up; do this 2-3 times to mark your number as inactive.

3 people, independently

• Make non-verbal human noises (such as coughing or breathing) instead of speaking words when answering.1
• Answer unknown calls with a fake business greeting to confuse robocallers.3

Answer spam calls from humans by saying 'Police station?'

One person reported this worked wonders to deter them.

• Based on one person's experience with human spammers.

one person who lived it

Play a disconnected line tone to trick autodialers into thinking the number is dead.

Computers may think the number is disconnected and remove it from their list.

• It really doesn't work for some users.
• The ringing tone sent to callers while waiting for you to answer may reveal the ruse.

3 people, independently

Set a PIN on your SIM card to prevent unauthorized use if the phone is lost or stolen.

Without a SIM PIN, carriers may hold users liable for expensive calls made without permission after theft.

one person who lived it

Ask your carrier to block specific numbers or use their online tools to block designated callers.

Carriers like Verizon will automatically stop those calls upon request.

3 people, independently

Keep the same phone number forever.

You won't have to repeat opt-out steps.

one person who lived it

Save spam numbers under a single contact name like 'Spam' and block that contact.

Allows easy management and rejection of future calls.

• True spam call centers use random numbers every time, so this may be ineffective.

one person who lived it

• Ignore or silence calls from area codes associated with places you no longer live.2
• Manually block individual spam numbers immediately after receiving a call.5

Set the ringtone for the 'JUNK CALL' contact to silent or a 'trashy' sound so you can ignore it without looking at your phone.

You avoid being bothered by the sound.

one person who lived it

Activate airplane mode on your phone before displaying photos to others to stop notification alerts.

Prevents embarrassing moments caused by incoming messages appearing while browsing images.

• GroupMe may ignore this rule occasionally.
• Airplane mode does not prevent them from scrolling to an inappropriate photo already on the phone.

3 people, independently

Turn off WhatsApp's 'online status' feature to prevent others from seeing when you are currently using the app.

It helps avoid falling into a hole of waiting for specific people to come online.

one person who lived it

• Turn off WhatsApp's 'last seen' status so friends cannot see when you were last online.1

Turn off the read receipt feature in your messaging apps.

It is simpler than using airplane mode to avoid showing when you have read a message.

one person who lived it

Refuse to lend your phone if the borrower objects to using speakerphone.

one person who lived it

Use a brightly colored phone case to make the phone easily identifiable and harder to lose or overlook.

Bright colors are hard to overlook, reducing the chance of forgetting or losing the phone.

• A bright case may attract attention from opportunistic thieves.

one person who lived it

Decline requests to lend your phone without providing an excuse.

You do not owe anyone an explanation for why they cannot use your phone.

one person who lived it

Avoid using online forms, such as car insurance comparison sites, as they can lead to increased spam calls and texts.

Using one online form can result in spam calls and texts about related services.

one person who lived it

Use a dedicated work phone for client interactions to prevent clients from snooping through personal photos.

Clients often start looking through other pictures when handed a phone to view one image.

one person who lived it

Set WhatsApp privacy settings so you must accept or decline invitations before being added to group chats.

It avoids being added to useless groups.

one person who lived it

Set your phone to send all calls to voicemail by default, reserving live answers for exceptions assigned special ringtones.

This solves the problem of dealing with unwanted calls later.

2 people, independently

Play a song from a music app after finishing private viewing to overwrite the last audio buffer on paired Bluetooth receivers.

Reconnecting to a paired receiver may play the last audio that was on the phone.

one person who lived it

Assign a trash can image to the 'JUNK CALL' contact photo so you can instantly recognize spam calls at a glance.

It is fun and allows for quick visual identification.

one person who lived it

Answer the phone with your full name instead of 'hello' to avoid triggering robocall activation.

In some regions, robocalls only activate once you say 'hello'.

• This may not apply in every country.

one person who lived it

Ignore calls from your hometown area code if you have moved away, as scammers often spoof local numbers.

Scammers frequently use numbers with familiar area codes to appear local.

one person who lived it

Check for active Bluetooth connections to vehicles before playing private audio, as car systems may auto-connect and play loudly.

Bluetooth may automatically connect to a car with loud speakers.

one person who lived it

• Be cautious when your phone auto-connects to a car's Bluetooth system, as it may automatically play previously accessed media.1

Tell managers or colleagues not to pick up your phone without permission, as they may receive inappropriate messages like dick pics.

One person reported that after warning their manager about this risk, the manager picked up the phone and received a dick pic shortly after.

one person who lived it

When loaning your phone for a call, monitor the user and immediately request its return once the call ends.

To prevent the borrower from browsing through your device after finishing their call.

one person who lived it

Avoid entering free raffles or contests at shopping centers.

These are often data mining operations that sell your information to callers.

one person who lived it

Keep your phone volume low or on silent in public to prevent accidental playback of sensitive content.

Sensitive sites may not fully exit and can play audio unexpectedly if opened.

one person who lived it

Refuse to unlock your phone until your legal representation instructs you to do so.

one person who lived it

Be wary of international numbers with unfamiliar country prefixes.

Operators advise people not to answer such calls.

one person who lived it

Be aware that powering on some Bluetooth speakers can automatically turn on and connect to a previously paired phone's Bluetooth.

one person who lived it

Design your unlock pattern to overlap itself multiple times to obscure the path in grease marks.

When they check the grease marks it's overlapped.

one person who lived it

• After entering your pattern using all 9 nodes, continue swiping randomly before lifting your finger to obscure the completion.1

Do not swipe through photos on someone else's phone, even if they are showing you one.

You never know what the next picture could be.

one person who lived it

Save original project files (such as PSD, Blender, or Krita files) with layers intact.

These files document the creative process and serve as proof of authorship.

2 people, independently

Enter the website's name in the 'Name' field when signing up for free services.

This allows you to identify which site leaked your information if you receive spam addressed by that name.

one person who lived it

Wipe your phone and back up data elsewhere before travel to prevent access to contents during border security or arrest.

For regular people, breaking encryption is likely too much hassle for authorities to pursue compared to terrorists.

• Authorities may still find ways to break encryption if they are determined

one person who lived it

Magnify the image a bit before passing your device to another person so they cannot scroll to different pictures.

When an image is enlarged, swiping to other photos is blocked until you zoom back out.

6 people, independently

Set videos to loop when showing them on your phone to prevent your gallery from flashing on screen after playback ends.

to avoid exposing your entire photo library

one person who lived it

Configure a secondary PIN or password that unlocks only essential apps (phone, SMS, browser) without access to personal data.

It allows limited functionality while keeping personal info secure.

• Available only on some phones.

one person who lived it

Block men on dating apps who post profile photos with Hooters waitresses.

Posting such photos is considered a juvenile move.

one person who lived it

Name a folder something innocuous, such as 'American Dad Season 2', to disguise its true contents.

One user reported this approach has persevered through operating system changes over a decade.

one person who lived it

Embed your username in a photo using a tiny font in an inconspicuous location with a color similar to the background.

Reposters likely won't notice it, but you can point it out to prove ownership.

one person who lived it

Disable GPS location services before taking photos to prevent geo-location data from being stored in the image file.

Geo-location data stored in images can reveal private information, such as home addresses or infidelity.

one person who lived it

Disable fingerprint unlock when traveling alone to prevent unauthorized access if you are incapacitated.

Biometric systems may not perfectly verify that your eyes are open or focused.

one person who lived it

Remove compromising photos, such as nudes, from your phone to prevent embarrassment if the device is seized.

one person who lived it

If you need to connect multiple devices to an untrusted Wi-Fi network while hiding their count from the administrator, use a wireless bridge that runs traffic through a firewall.

The bridge makes multiple connected devices appear as a single connection to the network administrator.

one person who lived it

Work out whether you trust your ISP or a VPN provider more, as using a VPN transfers spying ability from the ISP to the VPN company.

VPN companies exist based on their agreement not to compromise users, so the choice depends on who you believe cares more about privacy.

one person who lived it

Use cellular data or a personal hotspot for private browsing instead of corporate Wi-Fi.

Traffic on your own network does not pass through the corporate network, keeping it hidden from IT monitoring.

one person who lived it

Disconnect smart TVs from the internet entirely and use an external player instead.

This avoids creepy tracking features and ensures the television functions only as a screen without unnecessary internet access.

3 people, independently

Download private content beforehand and enable airplane mode when viewing it to ensure no wireless signals transmit audio or data.

This ensures there is no cell data, WiFi, or Bluetooth, making you safe.

one person who lived it

Recognize that Netflix libraries differ by region due to licensing contracts, so switching regions grants access to different content.

Content only appears if Netflix believes you are in the country contracted to stream it.

2 people, independently

Disconnect from workplace Wi-Fi when accessing sensitive personal content on mobile devices.

Workplace networks track traffic even if you are not using the work computer.

one person who lived it

Do not turn off your ad blocker until websites, ad-networks, and ad-buyers accept financial liability for malware infections and commit to supporting users in case of an outbreak.

You cannot feel safe or unblock until these parties are financially liable and committed to user support in the event of a malware infection.

one person who lived it

Manage individual cookies through your browser's security settings by clicking the lock icon to block third-party cookies while allowing first-party ones.

If you block third-party connections, they cannot place the cookies at all.

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Use a download manager to maintain speed and stability when switching VPN connections for downloads.

Switching VPN connections can disrupt current downloads.

one person who lived it

Use Violentmonkey or Greasemonkey instead of Tampermonkey for running scripts like SponsorBlock.

Tampermonkey is closed source, while Violentmonkey and Greasemonkey are open source, which is better for privacy.

one person who lived it

Periodically delete your clipboard and keyboard predictive text history to prevent adult content search terms from appearing as suggestions.

Searching for other things may trigger embarrassing suggested words based on past activity.

one person who lived it

Recognize that declining cookies via website buttons may not protect you from fingerprinting.

Fine print often states that not specifically rejecting tracking constitutes assent.

one person who lived it

Avoid installing proprietary QR scanner apps if general-purpose solutions or native camera features exist.

Many third-party apps are ad-filled garbage.

one person who lived it

Binge-watch content available in your current location before traveling to a region where it is unavailable.

one person who lived it