Em on the Internet
Public Interest Technologist:
Privacy, Security, Code, Human Rights
Last update: 2026-04-10
Who is Em?
Em is a public interest technologist, writer, and researcher with a focus on digital rights, data privacy, information security, and software engineering.
She is passionate about human-centered projects, privacy rights activism, and software for the public good. Em has worked as a privacy consultant, tech journalist, and digital rights activist for almost a decade, after redirecting her career from art and design towards technology, while centering on the same topics related to human rights.
In her free time, you can find Em on the social network Mastodon, sharing privacy tips or boosting photos of cats and moss.
Skills Summary
Digital rights activism ▪︎ Privacy advocacy ▪︎ Privacy engineering ▪︎ Investigative research ▪︎ Engaging communications ▪︎ Creative writing ▪︎ Technical writing ▪︎ Information security ▪︎ Python programming ▪︎ Web development ▪︎ Communication written and spoken in both English and French.
Published Articles
Click to see the full article from the original source:
The Privacy Activist Toolbox
A resource including 25 short articles created, researched, and written for the Privacy Guides Activism section. It is an extensive collection of tips to support individual privacy activists and digital rights organizations in their advocacy work.
Chat Control Must Be Stopped, Act Now!
Chat Control 2.0 was an important privacy rights issue for the European Union in the fall 2025. This article explains the issue and invites advocates to fight back against the invasive legislative proposal.
Privacy Washing Is a Dirty Business
Similarly to whitewashing and greenwashing, privacy washing misleadingly, or fraudulently, presents a product or organization as being trustworthy for data protection, when it isn't. Regrettably, privacy washing is a widespread deceptive strategy.
Privacy Is Like Broccoli
When we first start learning about how much data is collected on us, and all the things we need to do to protect it, it's very common to feel stressed and distressed. This is normal, don't panic!
Privacy and Security on Mastodon
While most social media rely on commercial models harvesting users' data to sell to advertisers, Mastodon offers a human-centric alternative that doesn't seek profits from your data and attention. This means better social connections, better controls, and better privacy.
Queer Dating Apps: Beware Who You Trust With Your Intimate Data
Dating apps are horrible for everyone's privacy, but the queer population is at an even higher risk of harm due to discrimination, and even criminalization in some regions. Despite the risks, LGBTQ+ people still need to fulfill their social and romantic needs.
You Can Say NO
In the age of facial recognition and age verification, it might feel like our data is being harvested left and right, completely outside our control or consent. Yet, we still have a powerful weapon to fight back against surveillance: The power to say no.
Stay Safe, but Stay Connected
It can get overwhelming to learn about all the information that is being collected on us. As a coping mechanism, some react by downplaying the danger and ignoring precautions altogether. Others react the opposite way, by isolating themselves. But neither is a viable solution.
Selling Surveillance as Convenience
Increasingly, surveillance is being normalized and integrated in our lives. Under the guise of convenience, applications and features are sold to us as being the new better way to do things. But this convenience is a Trojan horse.
The Importance of Data Privacy For The Queer Community
Data privacy is important for everyone, but it can be vital for some marginalized populations. Privacy can be indispensable for social connection, access to information, and physical safety. For Pride month, we discuss topics at the intersection of data privacy and the LGBTQ+ community.
Your Online Life Is IRL
If you have been inhabiting the internet for a few decades, you're probably familiar with the old adage IRL: In Real Life. But in today's world, can we really keep referring to our digital life as being somehow disconnected from our "real life"?
Sam Altman Wants Your Eyeball
In May 2025, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman announced that the World project he co-founded (formally known as Worldcoin) is opening six stores across the United States, allowing users to scan their eyeballs. Should you scan your eyeball to get a verified World ID? No, you really shouldn't.
Age Verification Wants Your Face, and Your Privacy
Age verification laws forcing platforms to restrict content accessed by children and teens have been multiplying in recent years. The problem is, implementing such measures necessarily requires identifying each user accessing the content. This is bad news for your privacy.
In Praise of Tor: Why You Should Support and Use Tor
You might have already heard of Tor, yet never dared to use it yourself. Tor helps not only journalists and activists, but anybody who seeks greater privacy and access online. But what is Tor exactly? How can Tor help you? And why is it such an important tool?
Encryption Is Not a Crime
Contrary to what some policymakers seem to believe, encryption is not a crime. Anyone asserting encryption is a tool for crime is either painfully misinformed or is attempting to manipulate legislators to gain oppressive power. Encryption is not a crime, encryption is a shield.
Interview with Micah Lee: Cyd, Lockdown Systems, OnionShare, and more
If you don't know who Micah Lee is yet, here's why you should: Micah is an information security engineer, a software engineer, a journalist, and an author who has built an impressive career developing software for the public good. Here's our Privacy Guides interview with Micah Lee.
Privacy Means Safety
Privacy is a human right that should be granted to everyone, no matter the reason. But it's also important to remember that for millions of people around the world, data privacy is vital for physical safety. For people in extreme situations, privacy can literally mean life or death.
Privacy is Also Protecting the Data of Others
In privacy, we talk a lot about how to protect our own data, but what about our responsibility to protect the data of others? If you care about privacy rights, you must also care for the data of the people around you.
The UK Government Forced Apple to Remove Advanced Data Protection: What Does This Mean for You?
In February 2025, the Washington Post reported that UK officials had contacted Apple to demand the company grant them access to any iCloud data. Two weeks later, Apple removed Advanced Data Protection in the UK. This was terrible news for the UK, and a frightening omen for everyone worldwide.
No, Privacy is Not Dead: Beware the All-or-Nothing Mindset
I regularly encounter two types of discourse in my work: The first is the idea that privacy is dead, the abdication mindset. Despite feeling like the opposite, the second one is the idea that for anything to have value it must be 100% private. But in reality, privacy is much more nuanced.
The Future of Privacy: How Governments Shape Your Digital Life
Data privacy is a vast subject that encompasses so much. Some might think it's a niche focus interesting only a few. But it is a wide-ranging field influenced by intricate relationships between politics, law, technology, and much more.
Tutorials & Reviews
“We [Don't] Care About Your Privacy”
They all claim "Your privacy is important to us." How can we know if that's true? With privacy washing being normalized everywhere, it becomes increasingly difficult to evaluate who we can trust with our personal data. Fortunately, there are red (and green) flags we can look for to help us.
How To Improve Your Privacy and Security on Mastodon
The advantages provided by a decentralized network using open-source software maintained by a nonprofit organization are undeniable. Mastodon offers much more robust protections for your privacy than commercial social media. This tutorial will show you how to make the most of it.
KeePassium Review: A Flexible Password Manager for iOS and macOS
If you have been looking for a password manager giving you full control over your data, KeePassium is a fantastic option. KeePassium allows you to choose which storage provider to trust with your database, and change it whenever you want.
KeePassXC + YubiKey: How to set up a local-only password manager
If you prefer to only store your passwords locally only, KeePassXC is what you need. In this tutorial, we will set up KeePassXC to work with YubiKey as an additional factor to secure your local-only password database.
How to Reset Your YubiKey and Create a Backup
If you are not familiar with it already, a YubiKey is a physical security key produced by Yubico that can be used for various authentication and security purposes. This tutorial explains how to reset a YubiKey to factory defaults and create a near copy of it for backup purposes.
CryptPad Review: Replacing Google Docs
If you have been thinking about migrating to a privacy-focused replacement to Google Docs, now is the time. Google products are atrocious for data privacy. The real solution to this is end-to-end encryption. This is what CryptPad offers.
Using Tails When Your World Doesn't Feel Safe Anymore
There is a growing number of people who no longer feel safe in their own home or country. Whatever the reason, many people might not feel safe to browse certain topics online. This tutorial will help people in such situations learn how to browse the internet and use a computer in a more protected and anonymous way, in order to stay safe from harm.
Control Alt Delete Blog
The Solutions to Proctoring Software
If you are in a situation where you are forced to deal with a proctoring software, there are still things you can do to reduce the harm to yourself and to others. Here's what to do if you are: an educator, an institution, a student, a software developer, or just someone who cares about privacy rights.
The Problem with Proctoring Software
Proctoring software has been around for a few years now. If you are not familiar with it, it's a type of software often used to monitor remote exams and tests. As it turns out, proctoring software is one of the most invasive forms of spyware there is.
Easy Practical Privacy Tips for Everyone
If you are just getting started on learning more about digital privacy, you might feel a little bit overwhelmed. Nevertheless, it is of the greatest importance that you do not let this feeling break your spirit! Here's a list of some practical steps that you can slowly adopt to improve your privacy.
The Mastodon's Guide to the Fediverse
You might have heard of Mastodon due to the recent migration from Twitter. This article will guide you through the steps to join Mastodon, learn its unique culture and language, and have a fantastic experience on the Fediverse.
The Importance of Using Messaging Apps With End-to-End Encryption
Instant messaging has become one of our most used form of modern communication. What can we do to protect our sensitive data when using instant messaging? The first line of defense is end-to-end encryption. This article compares four messaging apps that use end-to-end encryption.
Improving Your Privacy Using Compartmentalization
The concept of compartmentalization is a simple one. The idea is to keep a separation between the different tasks that you do online. There are many things that can be done easily to reduce your digital prints and improve your privacy using compartmentalization.
Python Programming
Click to see the code on GitLab:
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Cipher File Shredder ✄
An experimental cryptographic individual file shredder for improved data erasure.
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Random Key Generator 🁄
A small script with options to generate a string of random characters for passwords.
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DnD Dice Roller ⎔
A fun script to roll virtual Dungeons & Dragons dice in a terminal app.
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Many Emails Manager ✉︎
A command-line manager to keep track of multiple email addresses with contacts.
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Blog Article Formatter ✍︎
A static site generator using a blog layout for easy update of articles from text files.
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Blog Article Formatter - Tutorial:
How to Steal This Blog's Layout (Legally, Easily, and Automatically)A technical tutorial to install and use the Blog Article Formatter CLI-application.
Contact
To email me, copy the following address and replace "(at)" with "@":
emontheinternet(at)pm.me
Social Media Writing (Mastodon)
https://infosec.exchange/tags/TinyPrivacyTip
https://infosec.exchange/tags/TinyMastodonTip
https://infosec.exchange/@Em0nM4stodon
https://controlaltdelete.technology/articles/the-mastodons-guide-to-the-fediverse.html