Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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Okay, so I just found out my phone number company got my data exposed. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Okay, here we go: I woke up to a scam message on my WhatsApp. I just blocked the number, before starting to wonder how they got my number. And guess what I found out? They got a data breach and didn't tell their users a singular thing. And when asked about it, they tried to deny it.

(In Portuguese for whoever can/wants to read it): https://itshow.com.br/hacker-vende-dados-clientes-infraestrutura-aws-claro/

So, here I am to ask: What can I do to avoid getting my phone number "less breacheable"? Is there a specific company that supports brazillian phone numbering I should switch to now?

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[–] MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

But as I said, it isn't only WhatsApp, my phone operator also happened to have a data leak and keep quiet about it.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 1 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

My point is changing providers is a fruitless endeavour. Your phone number is probably sourced and sold several times/day. Switch carriers and they'll do the same thing. Why? Because no one will stop them, and most people don't know or even care, so why wouldn't they? And your phone number is already out there anyway, there's no taking it back.

[–] MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Sooo, nothing we can do about it?

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 1 points 1 hour ago

Yes and no. You can try and go without a phone number but I've found that to be literally impossible. Or you can change your phone # periodically, that's what I do.