Today, I discovered that /e/'s browser, is listening in on my talks with colleagues, so I turned the microphone setting to ‘blocked’. I began to wonder, since /e/OS is free to install and use: am I, like on Google phones, the product or is /e/OS the product and I am not under surveillance?
I chose /e/OS to use internet privately, now I am not so sure if I chose right. How can you assure me that I am in the right place with /e/?
I know I have been way too early to make conclusions, but there a two things that made me wonder.
I was talking about a subject - translating a Dutch word into English - and when I searched for it in the browser, the exact question was one of the results. Coincidence? When I searched on the forum I found that a user found out that his microphone setting in the browser settings was set to ‘on’ for a certain party, Stanford.edu.
I was amazed that on /e/OS the microphone could be turned on by default. Why would someone with this OS want to have it on?
So, I got suspicious about this and made this post, hoping to hear similar stories - or better, not! - and hoping to get a reply from someone of the team.
A case of ‘throw the bat in the henhouse’ to get reactions. So, beforehand, I apologize for the dirty way I addressed this.
why not coincidence? very few questions are really unique…
You may turn off “optimize search results” (or the like) in browser settings → “privacy + security”.
I do not remember exactly original default of microphone etc. in browser settings → “website settings” - I agree: default should be (and I presume: is - according to the thread you linked above) either “off” or “always ask”
