It's Orwellian agreed. I would love for companies to only ask for the data that they absolutely needed. I think a lot of people just go with the default and don't fight not because they don't care but because they don't have the energy or inclination or even the awareness.

This is where a lot of the EU regulations tend to be good. They seem to be making the most strides in consumer protection

yes, you're the only person thinking that, which is why this community exists.

It's apathy, resignation, tech illiteracy. People think they're powerless against a god machine. They think "the algorithm" is a black box which can't be deciphered by mere mortals. Except for the few ordained priests known as software engineers. In reality is a practical application of graph theory. Edges and vertices linking their private data to various tags/labels.

It's quintessential cyberpunk

You're not alone, but even people who claim to want privacy are typically unwilling to stop using the very things that violate their privacy. I suspect that until that changes on a mass scale, the expectation that you should give up your data will remain.

everyone thinks that.

they also think it's stupid to show up to a place where they do nothing like half the time with other people they don't really like just so they can have a place to sleep and food to eat. sometimes they even think it was stupid they were ever born. (just me?) there's so much dumb shit we're forced to live with.

bank accounts? dumb. bus fares? fucking stupid. cultural attitudes towards nudity and sex? moronic. cultural attitudes towards portrayals of violence? so much worse. general attitudes about mental health? actively unhelpful. sports tv? non-sports tv? birthdays? birthday cards? the US fucking tax system, where you have to pay on time and get it right or go to jail but they can't just send you a bill? wtf is that even about....

There's so much stupid shit we're forced to live with that you need a 6 month vacation to figure out what maybe means something to you as an individual, but you're gonna have to forget that shit to functionally live in society so why fucking bother...

but yeah, internet privacy. idk, just set up a gang of accounts with your password managers. don't cross reference anything via email. no social media. end up with no friends, and generally a recluse. then you won't get specific ads that try to undermine your freedom... I do all those things, but sometimes I wonder why even bother.

Sometimes it feels like the real loss of freedom is what's required to pursue the idea of privacy. And for that, I don't know there's a remedy.