Probably should assume everything will be leaked, anyone using Tor/VPN for Fediverse apps?

Yeah2206@infosec.pub to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 35 points –

Hello,

Since your Lemmy posts, comments, related activities, and your basic profile information will be stored in the databases across the fediverse, possibly never to be deleted (or kept by somebody who can), do you:

  1. Always use Tor/VPN with a fediverse app?
  2. Recommend others do the same?

If you feel that it is unnecessary, why do you feel that way? If you think it is necessary, why so?

Thanks. I am trying to get a feel of what I should do. For example, if my instance loses its data (due to a hack, sale, vulnerability, etc.), I am pretty sure all the information is lost (including my IP addresses). If other instances lose their data, or keep the data for their own purposes, then my posts/comments/related activities are lost (maybe excluding some of my profile information, my settings, and my IP addresses).

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Using a VPN won't give you much extra privacy unless you don't trust your instance's admins. IP addresses aren't federated, only the content. I don't think Lemmy itself stores any IP addresses, they merely show up in NGINX logs which ideally are rotated fairly frequently anyway.

But at that point if you care that much, you should already be using a VPN 24/7, because practically everything you're logged into has your account tied to an IP at some point and any of them are potentially vulnerable to a breach.

I'm just careful about what I post and what I vote on, this identity is fairly public anyway.

If you don't trust your admins, you can host your own instance. That way you'd control what is federated and with whom.

Buuut your server ip would be public, so idk...

@fermuch If you want to host your own instance but don't want the trouble of making your IP public for every random Bob to see, there is always Masto.host (which I've used before on my own) https://masto.host/