When protecting your online privacy, no single solution exists. Instead, it's about changing your habits and using certain tools. Below are a few of our recommendations.
Simple ways to reclaim your privacy
Increase awareness
Think about and discuss aspects of your own privacy. To help you get started, read about the fundamentals of privacy.
Use a VPN
Choose one that you really trust.
Switch to a privacy-friendly search engine
Many search engines track, save, and share your every search. Find one that keeps your searches to you. We recommend DuckDuckGo.
Browse in “privacy” mode
This helps to prevent cookies and other tracking techniques from being used. We recommend Firefox. Once open, use the shortcut command Ctrl+Shift+P or click on the hamburger menu and choose "New Private Window”.
Close and open a new privacy window frequently. Ideally, open a new window for each site that you visit.
Terminate cookie-based tracking
Use the “Strict” setting in Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection to prevent website cookies from following you across multiple sites. Here’s how.
Use a privacy-focused messaging app
We recommend Signal – and here's why.
Check for https
Especially when dealing with money online, make sure that the end of the URL’s prefix has an 's' – https. This means that your connection with the service is secured with end-to-end encryption.
Consider the business model
For the online services you use, consider their business model and how they make their money. In a world of big data, when something is “free”, it’s very likely that you are the product.
Think before you click
Always be careful and mindful about which sites you visit, which attachments you open, and which links you click.
Perform a connection check
While connected to Mullvad VPN, use our connection check to get a quick overview of your connection status. Your browser could still be leaking information and therefore jeopardizing your privacy.
Next step
Up next: use Privacy tools for your browser.