Most people never change a default privacy setting, not because they don't care, but because it's not clear where to start. This month the Electronic Frontier Foundation is fixing that. On October 1 it launched Opt Out October, a free guide to taking back your data and your devices, one step at a time.
What it is
The EFF guide is organized around decisions you can actually make: which settings to flip, which platforms are worth leaving, and what to use instead. It's free, there's nothing to buy, and the EFF says it will keep the instructions updated as companies change their toggles.
The sections worth bookmarking
Opt out of AI training: how to stop chatbots and platforms, including services like Twitch and Snapchat, from training on your data.
Leave big-tech social media: a list of alternatives if you're done with the ads, the tracking, and the face-scanning age checks.
Replace big-tech software: private swaps for things like Chrome and Adobe.
Move off Windows: how to get started with Linux if you're tired of ads and AI pushed into the operating system.
How to use it without burning out
Don't try to do all of it. Pick one section this week. The AI-training opt-outs are a high-impact place to start, because they stop ongoing collection rather than cleaning up a one-time mess. We'll walk through those on Friday.
Go to eff.org and open the Opt Out October guide.
Choose one category that bothers you most.
Do the two or three toggles it lists, then stop. Come back next week for the next one.
Quick tip
Calendar it. Put four 20-minute "opt out" blocks on your calendar this month, one per week. Small, scheduled steps beat a single overwhelming afternoon you never actually sit down for.
Up next · Wednesday
Once you decide to drop a service, how do you pick the replacement? A free, nonprofit site that vets the private alternatives for you.