I’m wondering at what point if any would I give up when it comes to privacy, obviously I’ve been overseas from australia (which is bad in itself for internet surveillance) but at least here our laws in terms of discrimination and rights are good in comparison to say, china or the uae.

should it be reasonable for me to bring a different phone or try to remove any or all personal/identifiable information from my current one beforehand?

Is it also reasonable for me to pay for more private cloud storage or would it be completely useless? if so, are there any options you would recommend?

Or maybe I am freaking out? I managed to visit the UAE and didn’t even think about privacy, and nothing bad seemed to happen.

  • edric@lemm.ee
    181·
    2 years ago

    As with most things privacy related, it depends on your threat model. A journalist may be scrutinized more than a regular tourist. If you’re going for business that involves trade secrets, you’ll also need to be extra careful with your data.

    For China, yes it’s good advice to be a little paranoid with privacy. Just get a vpn before traveling and keep it on at all times. Don’t connect your phone to random usb ports like in your hotel room. Be aware of what wifi spots you connect to and try to limit personal activity online (i.e. logging on to banking, social media, etc.) unless necessary. Only bring in data that you need (i.e. don’t take an external drive of photos that you don’t need). Reset all passwords of the accounts you logged in to when you get back.

    SK is fine for a regular tourist. Just take general precautions and you should be fine. Again, it depends on your threat model.

    • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de
      71·
      2 years ago

      Can you get prosecuted as a foreigner using a VPN in China? I imagine they block most major providers and Tor nodes and track attempts to connect to them.

      • Gooey0210@sh.itjust.works
        6·
        2 years ago

        VPNs are not illegal in China, at least it was when I lived there

        Also, being a foreigner in China is something, your phone can be checked on the arrival, but everywhere else you’re like an emperor nobody wants to make upset

        About USBs, public wifis. It’s not safe not because CCP has exploit plugs everywhere, but because it’s a lot of smart Chinese trying to hack other smart Chinese and use them for spam or get their money, or nudes