Best of Privacy — June 2025

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    Article
    Avatar of theregisterThe Register·47w

    The European Union Linux desktop

    European governments are increasingly moving away from Microsoft Windows and Office to Linux-based alternatives, driven by concerns over digital sovereignty and data privacy. Denmark, Germany's Schleswig-Holstein, and French cities are leading this transition, citing worries about US political influence over American tech companies and the need to maintain control over government data. The shift is accelerated by Microsoft's push toward cloud subscriptions and recent incidents involving service disruptions to international organizations under US sanctions.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of selfhstselfh.st·49w

    Self-Host Weekly (13 June 2025)

    Weekly roundup covering self-hosting news including AList's controversial commercialization and community fork creation, FileBrowser maintainers' departure, new releases like Bibliotecha book tracker, macOS 26 native Linux container support, and dozens of new self-hosted applications spanning analytics, media management, development tools, and productivity platforms.

  3. 3
    Article
    Avatar of theregisterThe Register·49w

    Firefox is dead to me

    Firefox faces mounting challenges including performance issues, website compatibility problems, controversial privacy policy changes, and Mozilla's strategic pivot toward AI. The browser struggles with JavaScript-heavy sites, memory usage problems, and slower performance compared to competitors like Chrome. Mozilla has discontinued useful services like Pocket and Fakespot while laying off employees and maintaining heavy financial dependence on Google for 90% of its revenue. Firefox's market share has dropped to just 1.9% according to US government analytics, leading to questions about its long-term viability.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of phProduct Hunt·48w

    AroCrypt: Encrypt files, then make them vanish inside images

    AroCrypt combines AES-256 encryption with steganography to hide encrypted files inside PNG images. This cross-platform, open-source tool provides local file protection without requiring setup or dependencies, allowing users to securely store sensitive data in plain sight by embedding it within ordinary-looking images.

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    Article
    Avatar of selfhstselfh.st·47w

    Self-Host Weekly (27 June 2025)

    Weekly newsletter covering self-hosting news highlights PewDiePie's de-Googling video that showcases self-hosted alternatives like Vaultwarden, Nextcloud, and Joplin running on Raspberry Pi 5. Features Metadata Remote, a new web-based tool for managing audio file metadata with MusicBrainz integration, deployable via Docker. Includes terminal tip for saving command history and calls for community content submissions.

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    Article
    Avatar of infoqInfoQ·48w

    The Void IDE, Open-Source Alternative to Cursor, Released in Beta

    Void IDE, a Y Combinator-backed open-source code editor, launched in beta as a privacy-focused alternative to Cursor and GitHub Copilot. Built as a VS Code fork, it supports multiple LLMs including local hosting via Ollama, allowing developers to maintain control over their code data. The editor offers AI features like inline editing, contextual chat, and code generation while enabling migration of existing VS Code configurations.

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    Article
    Avatar of nuxtandvueVuejs&Nuxtjs·48w

    Nuxt: Simple Cookie Consent

    A developer has created a lightweight, headless cookie consent module for Nuxt 3 that provides full control over cookie categories, script injection, and consent logic without imposing styling constraints. The module features categorized script control, consent expiration, versioning, event hooks, SSR safety, and development helpers. It's designed as a community-friendly alternative to bloated existing solutions, offering reactive state management and real-time preference handling while remaining experimental and seeking community feedback.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·50w

    My Mac Contacted 63 Different Apple Owned Domains in One Hour - While Not is Use

    A Mac user discovered their M2 MacBook Air contacted 63 different Apple domains in one hour while idle, representing 25% of all DNS queries despite using NextDNS to block telemetry. The domains included services for push notifications, CloudKit, iTunes/App Store, location services, crash reports, and various Apple infrastructure components. Notably, an older 2019 Intel MacBook Pro with identical DNS settings only had 3% of queries going to Apple domains, suggesting newer Macs may have increased background communication with Apple services.

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    Article
    Avatar of 80lv80 LEVEL·50w

    Borderlands 2 Goes Free on Steam Amidst Intense Review Bombing

    Borderlands 2 became free on Steam but faced massive review bombing due to controversial Terms of Service updates by Take-Two and 2K. The new EULA introduces extensive data collection practices, bans mods, includes forced arbitration clauses, and restricts VPN usage. Players are protesting these privacy-invasive changes, resulting in only 18% positive recent reviews despite the free game offer.

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    Article
    Avatar of thedevcraftThe Dev Craft·49w

    Built a browser extension to keep your secrets safe!

    Hide Secrets is an open-source browser extension that automatically detects and masks sensitive information like API keys, tokens, emails, phone numbers, and credit cards on webpages by blurring or replacing them with [REDACTED]. The extension helps protect personally identifiable information and high-entropy secrets when sharing screens or taking screenshots, and is available on the Chrome Web Store with source code publicly available on GitHub.

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    Video
    Avatar of davidbombalDavid Bombal·48w

    OSINT tools to track you down. You cannot hide (these tools are wild)

    OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) techniques can reveal extensive personal information through free tools and APIs. The demonstration covers three levels of OSINT: basic Google searches, intermediate techniques using specialized tools like people search engines and phone number lookups, and advanced methods involving API exploitation and automation. Key techniques include diversifying search engines, using Android emulators for shady apps, leveraging government databases, and automating form submissions to extract voter records and personal addresses. The presenter emphasizes maintaining redundancy across tools and proper documentation through mind mapping to avoid rabbit holes during investigations.

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