I’m not a security researcher or a professional technologist. I’m a gamer who enjoys tinkering with tech — and someone who got fed up feeling like my digital life was out of my control.
My privacy journey started in May 2018. I’d been deep-diving into how companies like Facebook actually work: what they collect, how they track you across the web, and what they do with all of it. I came to a simple conclusion: if you’re not paying for a product, you are the product. That realization made me uncomfortable enough to delete my Facebook account and figure out how to actually protect myself online.
I read everything I could find, tested dozens of tools, and documented what worked. My family became my willing guinea pigs along the way.
My son is a great example of why starting early matters. I introduced these concepts when he was young, and he slipped into using privacy tools naturally. Now he thinks about data privacy as a reflex whenever he goes online. Give the next generation the right tools, and they adapt instantly.
My wife knows far more about yoga and mindfulness than technology, but she cares deeply about privacy. She hates that feeling of surveillance: talking about something out loud and seeing it appear in her social feed an hour later. She knows that once your data is out there, you can’t get it back. Despite having no tech background, she uses these tools every day and understands exactly why they matter.
What I discovered is that most privacy advice falls into one of two traps: it’s either so technical it assumes a computer science degree, or so vague it never tells you what to actually do. Privacy Chick is my attempt to fill that gap: clear, specific, honest guidance that anyone can follow.
Everything on this site is something I personally use. I don’t accept advertising or affiliate payments, and I have no financial relationship with any product I recommend. If it’s here, it’s because I genuinely think it’s the best option for most people.
You have more ability to protect yourself than you think. You don’t need a technical background. You don’t need to understand how encryption works. You just need clear instructions and a willingness to spend a few minutes making changes that will protect you for years.
The time to act is now, before AI and surveillance become even more deeply embedded in daily life than they already are.
Start with the guides marked Critical. Do those first, then work through the rest at whatever pace feels right. Every step you take is a genuine improvement.