sarcasm not necessary here. this is exactly where this is going.

anybody know when this started? i don’t have my tv connected to the network, and have not updated the firmware in 2 r 3 years.

surveillance for thee, privacy for me. typical.

unfortunately, if you are big enough as a corporation, by definition you are that kind of organization, or you would not be where you are.

we are ruled by sociopaths who crave power wealth and fame. we are doomed.

unga bunga, genius!

i concluded lowkey is similar to “down low”, personally. a bit like keep this quiet, but…

such words can be useful to signal being slightly uncomfortable about the fact… when not overused. i see your point, of course!

i think you probably still have the meaning wrong, as i concluded it is the equivalent of “down low”,which to me is saying “don’t want this to go public”. you know, don’t want people to notice. sensitive topic. yadda yadda.

either way, over used. i remind my 10 yo when i notice him doing it. i point out such phrases lose meaning when overused. they become fillers, not information.

since childhood i hve had a tendency to exhale before answering and people conclude i am sighing as if i am burdened by having to entertain the topic at hand. does not help my social standing.

like, totally!

I should probably try what the O.P. did as I also have an ASUS router with Merlin. However, in my case, I have a Synology NAS and I set up VPN on that and use that server as my VPN. I have a certificate-based sign-in through a single port on the router.

I use a Public VPN service when I’m out and about and then connect to my VPN when I need to do stuff on my network, Like syncing my Joplin notes.

I see. From what you wrote, it sounds like you’re saying I need to be a revolutionary and go out and fuck with people. I’m not ready to do that on my own.

Further, I don’t have a strong social network of support. Anything I would do would be a lone wolf operation. And I don’t have the training or experience for it. Lone Wolf operations fail and do not change the world.

Plus I have a child who’s not old enough to live in the world on his own. I am not going to take away the support he needs by throwing my life away.

Dealing with a surveillance state like the United States of America requires a whole lot more finesse and sophistication than you seem to think is necessary.

If you’re paying them, why do they need to know your location to accept it? We’re in a capitalist system. Money is money.

Always on although my Phone VPN recently has failed to start up automatically or has shut down randomly lately and I got to get that fixed.

My reasons are just privacy. I’m not using it to get around regional restrictions. Additionally, it helps when I want to use a public Wi-Fi, especially if it doesn’t have any passports on it.

I will not connect to public wifi without VPN.

you mean like elecing progressives, being vocal in my town? well, duh. does not change the fact that the current federal government is actually suportive of the surveillance and is more likely to harass protesters than listen to them.

Which ones exactly? And are they bad things to lack rather than minor preferences? I’m pretty sure it has both the front and back camera, so I guess it doesn’t meet the one camera priority.

maybe it’s the headphone jack? is that really important?

I appreciate the thoughtful reply. I was referring to the current situation with our government when I said no one will stop them. I assure you I am working to elect their replacements. Even then, if they get total control of Congress, there will still be two years before they can get control of the executive.

Once they have that, it will be several years before they clean out the operators behind all of This crap.

We are fighting the flock surveillance. I am not exhibiting defeatism. I am exhibiting resignation. It is a fact that with the powers that are currently in control, nobody is going to do anything. In fact, they are Increasingly helping it to get worse.

…Unless you go for Fairphone 6 Plus.

they don’t even care about PR anymore, do they?

they and the other large corporations know nobody will stop them, and anybody who needs to fly has no recourse. ethics? that’s for us, not them.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody.