For Swedish & non-swedish citizens (OPSEC related)

[illicit]

Hi everyone! I imagine that most people from Sweden know about this, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

- For Swedish citizens:

The Swedish government sells your data to companies the moment you turn 16, this horrible choice made by the government is an insane breach of privacy and should not be tolerated.

I recommend everyone to go to ratsit.se and request to get your data removed. All it takes is for someone to know your first name to then use this website to find your address, family info etc. Here is a guide on how you can remove your information from these public data holders: https://nathatshjalpen.se/en/a/remove-your-address-and-number/ (ratsit is just one of them to give an example. all names are mentioned in the URL)

- For everyone:

I know that there is a dedicated post about this, but I also recommend using Firefox for desktop users, and SnowHaze browser for mobile users. SnowHaze is a dedicated privacy browser that allows you to spoof things such as UserAgent and plenty of other things to keep you safe. Firefox has a pretty good reputation overall since it's open source and since it does not run on Chromium.

If you have a couple bucks to spare ($5/mo), please get Mullvad VPN. Their reputation is super good and they do not have any ties to other companies but their own VPN browser (click here). They support safe payments, and even cash through mail. "[1] On April 18, 2023, Swedish police raided the offices of Mullvad with a search warrant and intended to seize computers with customer data. Such data did not exist. After consulting with prosecutors they left without taking anything. Source"

Stay safe out there everyone, and feel free to ask any questions about this matter. I will try my best to answer them for you.

 

[ClownWorld2023]

The Swedish government sells your data to companies the moment you turn 16,

Care to elaborate? What data are they exactly selling and why?


I'm aware of the fact that companies can sell your data, and some companies can get your data through shady means.

I remember a long time ago I got contacted by a telemarketeer out of nowhere, which was one of the first times that it happened.
The problem is it kept going, even after I requested not to get called.
Eventually I had to switch phone numbers to get rid of it.

 

[illicit]

Care to elaborate? What data are they exactly selling and why?


I'm aware of the fact that companies can sell your data, and some companies can get your data through shady means.

I remember a long time ago I got contacted by a telemarketeer out of nowhere, which was one of the first times that it happened.
The problem is it kept going, even after I requested not to get called.
Eventually I had to switch phone numbers to get rid of it.

According to my Swedish friend, they do this because they believe this is a good thing for privacy. I've looked through these public data holders and it looks like they make names, addresses, phone numbers, postal codes, house info, salary info and family information public. This is apparently a good way of finding out who your stalker is for example. I don't think it's fair that innocent people aren't aware of this. I've had many cases where Swedish people didn't even know about the existence of something like this, hence why I wanted to bring light to it.

About that telemarketer thing, it's most likely that your phone number was in a database from a breach that got leaked. That's how they usually get numbers to call.

 

[ClownWorld2023]

According to my Swedish friend, they do this because they believe this is a good thing for privacy. I've looked through these public data holders and it looks like they make names, addresses, phone numbers, postal codes, house info, salary info and family information public. This is apparently a good way of finding out who your stalker is for example. I don't think it's fair that people aren't aware of this. I've had many cases where Swedish people didn't even know about the existence of something like this, hence why I wanted to bring light to it.

About that telemarketer thing, it's most likely that your phone number was in a database from a breach that got leaked. That's how they usually get numbers to call.

All this reckless data sharing is ominous for sure.

Thankfully I haven't been a victim of identity fraud or something like that, but the future seems bleak for humanity in general.

 

[illicit]

All this reckless data sharing is ominous for sure.

Thankfully I haven't been a victim of identity fraud or something like that, but the future seems bleak for humanity in general.

Yeah it's pretty scary stuff. The least I could do is educate the people who don't know a lot about stuff like this. I feel like in this current world of tech it should be mandatory.

 

[illicit]

bumping!

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

According to my Swedish friend, they do this because they believe this is a good thing for privacy. I've looked through these public data holders and it looks like they make names, addresses, phone numbers, postal codes, house info, salary info and family information public. This is apparently a good way of finding out who your stalker is for example. I don't think it's fair that innocent people aren't aware of this. I've had many cases where Swedish people didn't even know about the existence of something like this, hence why I wanted to bring light to it.

About that telemarketer thing, it's most likely that your phone number was in a database from a breach that got leaked. That's how they usually get numbers to call.

The government doesn't sell our personal information, it's there for everyone to take part of. You just need to call the tax authority to get information on these things. I personally don't know anyone who isn't aware of that. Sites like Ratsit, Upplysning.se, Birthday.se can then in turn technically sell your data to telemarketing companies, but usually that information comes from sites that require you to actively put your phone number in.

 

[illicit]

The government doesn't sell our personal information, it's there for everyone to take part of. You just need to call the tax authority to get information on these things. I personally don't know anyone who isn't aware of that. Sites like Ratsit, Upplysning.se, Birthday.se can then in turn technically sell your data to telemarketing companies, but usually that information comes from sites that require you to actively put your phone number in.

Oh I see! I've had some moments where people weren't aware of it and given off what my friend said (which I thought to be a reliable source) I took that as the truth. In that case, I apologize. I suppose that the second part is still useful to people. Thank you for letting me know about this!

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

Oh I see! I've had some moments where people weren't aware of it and given off what my friend said (which I thought to be a reliable source) I took that as the truth. In that case, I apologize. I suppose that the second part is still useful to people. Thank you for letting me know about this!

How to remove yourself from those sites is always useful information, after all you are put there without consent thus it's easier for people to find you than if they had to call the tax authority, so it was a good post either way! :)