The Death of Online Privacy
July 29, 2025
This past Friday, the UK seemed to have finally implemented their ID-based age verification system, which was originally proposed back in 2017, across multiple websites. At first glance, this appears reasonable. It's designed to keep children and teenagers away from pornographic/NSFW content. The stated goal of protecting minors from harmful material is important. With Gen Z facing record porn addiction rates and the spread of incel ideology, there is a problem needing fixing, and restricting access seems reasonable. All sunshine and roses so far, right? Not really.
The issue isn't the intention behind these systems, but rather the infrastructure of surveillance they create. What we're witnessing is the normalization of mandatory identity verification for accessing basic internet services.
But where exactly does it stop? Right now, it's "just" pornographic content. Tomorrow? Forums where controversial topics are debated like 4chan? Social media platforms like (vomit) X/Twitter? Streaming services like Spotify or Netflix when they carry explicit material? Imagine having to scan your passport with your phone just to listen to music or to watch a movie. While this scenario might seem far-fetched today, the technical implementation and legal framework exists right now.
I mean, haven't we learned from the PATRIOT Act? Or the Snowden/NSA leaks? Government overreach isn't some far-fetched fantasy, it's happening right in front of us. The surveillance state doesn't kick down your door at 3 AM. It arrives through "reasonable" legislation that's "for the children" or "for your safety."
First things first, get ready to embrace an inconvenient life. Privacy is no longer free (if it ever was). It costs time, money, and convenience. But if you're serious about maintaining some autonomy, here's what you can do:
Use Signal for messaging. Not WhatsApp (owned by Meta), not Telegram (questionable encryption), and definitely not SMS. Signal is open source, properly encrypted, and doesn't require your phone number to be shared with contacts. Good luck getting your family members on Signal, however.
Email is harder. ProtonMail is a decent option (i recommend applying caution), but remember, email is inherently insecure. For sensitive communications, use Signal or, if you're feeling adventurous, learn PGP encryption. Or self-hosting an Email server.
Don't fall for the YouTubers who shill NordVPN or ExpressVPN. Both are garbage, and rely on the tried and true method of "trust me, we said we won't" when it comes to storing your traffic. If you insist on using a VPN, use Mullvad. However, better alternatives exist, such as Tor and I2P. Tor routes your connection through multiple relays to hide your identity, while I2P creates a fully anonymous network for both browsing and hosting.
Stop using Google. I'd recommend DuckDuckGo here, but they're starting to fall out of grace, so consider Startpage or Searx.
Social media is poison for privacy anyway, but if you must, alternative frontends exist. Nitter for Twitter, Invidious for YouTube, Libreddit for Reddit. They strip the tracking and often work better than the original sites.
This should be pretty obvious. Ditch Windows, ditch macOS/iOS, and go for Linux/Android (with a custom ROM like LineageOS). Linux isn't as hard as people make it out to be. Installing software is easier than clicking through a bunch of OK buttons on Windows.
To reiterate, ditch macOS. While Apple likes to taunt their focus on privacy, it's mostly performative, and again, relies on the "trust me, we don't because we said so" method.
Use open source software whenever possible. LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office, GIMP instead of Photoshop, etc etc.
Let's be honest here. You don't really care. Most people don't care. Why's that? Doing all of this is inconvenient. Everything has to be convenient nowadays. That's exactly why mass surveillance works: it's easier to just accept it.
The age verification system in the UK isn't exactly the end of the world by itself. But it's another step toward a future where data will be the global currency (if it isn't already, as we speak) and privacy a term long forgotten or stripped of its meaning.