Hello, I am a network and security engineer. I am passionate about IT systems, networks, and everything that makes them secure and reliable. I find it particularly exciting to understand complex technical relationships and develop practical solutions. When it comes to technology, I like to try new things, constantly learn, and share my knowledge with colleagues and interested parties.
Every few months, the same thing happens to me.
I read an article, stumble across a discussion, or see another one of those privacy threads online—and suddenly I’m back in the privacy rabbit hole. In this whirlwind of thoughts about tracking, profiles, data giants, and the question of whether I’m actually being completely naive when I use the internet.
And then I do what many people probably do: I start researching what I can do better and what options I have to better protect my privacy on the internet.
There are an incredible number of privacy guides out there. Websites, GitHub repos, blogs, checklists, PDFs, etc. And almost all of them have one thing in common: they start off sensibly – and end up somewhere between “cancel your Netflix” and “it’s best not to use the internet at all.”
No Google. No WhatsApp. No online payments. No Amazon. Ideally, cash, a feature phone, and a self-hosted blog on a server that you only maintain during a full moon.
And every time I think to myself: Yes, technically that may all be true, but no normal person lives like that.
I don’t want to deny that total privacy can be a legitimate goal. If someone consciously says, “I want to leave as few digital traces as possible,” that’s perfectly okay. But that’s not an everyday model for most people.
I see it all the time in my own circle: family, friends, colleagues. They use Google services, WhatsApp, order from Amazon, pay via PayPal, and stream the latest series. Not because they’re stupid. But because it’s practical. Because it works. Because it’s part of normal life. And yet many of them throw their data around unnecessarily.
Not out of ignorance – but because no one explains to them:
“You don’t have to turn everything off. You just have to consciously adjust a few things.”
This blog is not a privacy manifesto, nor is it a tech nerd project. It is for people who say:
In other words: privacy for normal people.
I don’t believe in “all or nothing.”
I believe in:
and that mental health is also worth something.
If I can use three settings in an app to:
…then that’s a win for me.
And that’s exactly what I want to write about here.
I have often experienced situations like this:
Someone says to me: “Online privacy and security are important to me.”
And five minutes later:
Not because the person doesn’t care, but because no one has explained what is really relevant – and what isn’t.
If, in moments like these, you simply changed:
you would have 80% of the benefit without giving up anything. It’s not rocket science, but you’ll hardly find it in any guide.
This blog is for you if you:
and still want to feel better about it
This blog is not for you if you:
This is not a judgment – just a clear distinction.
In the future, this blog will focus on very specific topics, such as:
And again and again: Why less is often more
I am not writing this blog because I am doing everything correctly, but because I have realized that I am not alone in these thoughts. If you find yourself relating to something you read, it is not a coincidence; you are precisely the target audience. Yes, occasionally there will be a slightly more technical article dealing with technical issues and solutions from my everyday work.