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Protecting your Instant Messenger Privacy (Facebook and Others) 2 min read

There’s been a lot of concern lately about Facebook Messenger Privacy, and how far Facebook and others are going to gain access to your private information. The Facebook Messenger app is commonly and frequently accused of using your mic and possibly even cameras to look for clues about what to advertise to you in your feed. It can be plain scary.

So, I thought I would take a moment to suggest some alternate methods of messaging that are not as prone to violations of privacy, or where evidence of a breach of privacy would be much more obvious.

Tree of Social Media Sharing

Here are a few alternate messaging suggestions, in no particular order.

Pigeon Post. People have pretty much forgotten about pigeon post – a tried and true method of message delivery. For ages, important messages have been sent using reliable, loyal pigeons. Did you know there is even such a thing as pigeon races?

Photo by Yu-chuan Hsu on Unsplash

Runners. Ancient Greeks used very fast runners to sprint a message from one place to another. A runner called Phidippides ran a message 26 miles once. He arrived, relayed the message, and dropped dead. So, the communication method of using runners can be quite effective, but sometimes lethal.

Photo Credit: Hammer of the Gods27 (via Wikipedia)

Mail a letter. The U.S Postal Service is alarmingly good at getting a letter reliably from one place to another quickly. For a fraction of a dollar you can send an envelope anywhere in the country, within just days. They, along with UPS and FedEx, offer an overnight service as well when a message needs to arrive QUICKLY.

Credit: pixabay

Use alternate technology as a means of relaying a message

However, with the advent of technology there is little to no reason to use the above methods. They can be slow, costly, or are prone to being unreliable. So, here are some alternate methods that leverage technology while still keeping your privacy priority number one!

Fax. Faxing a message is highly underrated. You can write, type, or print out your message and then put it into a machine that will use a super secret code to screech your message out to its counterpart at the location of your intended recipient. Very secure and very fast!

Phone. Did you know … DID. YOU. KNOW. that you can dial a 10 digit number and SPEAK to your intended recipient? You can LIT-ER-A-LY tell the person your message yourself as if you were there. No delays, no privacy concerns. It’s crazy. We have had this under our noses the whole time.

What method, or methods, will you use to ensure the privacy of your communications?

Craigatron

This post is “Day 5” of the September Blog Challenge.

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