Privacy Washing: how Big Tech companies keep collecting your data

Businesses like Google, Microsoft and Meta try to anticipate stronger regulations and the increasing awareness regarding privacy. They introduce settings and new features that seem to strengthen the privacy of the user.

In reality, these companies remain dependant on advertisements that are realised by tracking individuals and collecting huge amounts of data. So even if you change settings, lots of data is still being collected.

Changing settings doesn’t help the fundamental issue

There are several examples of this: AI tools that are presented as useful and more efficient, whereas they are trained by the data that is given by the user. Functionalities like private mode or new cloud solutions don’t always provide the protection that they should give. Very often, the claims of companies and their behavior and business model do not correspond.

An important lesson: be critical and do not blindly trust settings. If you would like to experience true privacy, you will need to make conscious choices and transparent technologies.

NovaCustom: privacy by default, not just as marketing

At NovaCustom, we build laptops, mini PCs and smartphones with privacy and security in mind. We aim for as much transparency and user control as possible. Thanks to our Dasharo coreboot firmware and open-source software that we promote, you are in control over your device – not the other way around. Choose a device that doesn’t track you, doesn’t collect data, but puts you in control.