Privly provides you with privacy, but what does that mean? For some people it is enough to hold onto their information unless a government legally forces access, while others would lose their life or freedom if their communications ever escaped the intended audience.

This page is intended to tell you the status of the Priv.ly Project for various uses, so you can be mindful of your privacy as you use it across the web.

Social Networks and Email Providers

Passive Corporate Logging

When you post information through a social network, that information is typically stored by the social network in perpetuity. By using Privly, you have the ability to prevent this permanent logging of information. Please note that the social network will still have access to your metadata when you use Privly. Examples of your metadata include: who you are talking to, when you talk to them, and where you talk to them from.

If you want to protect your metadata in addition to your data, you should consider using the Tor Browser, but using Tor with a browser extension (Privly) could also be used to uniquely identify who you are.

Active Corporate Logging

Corporations are legally prohibited from logging encrypted content stored on your Privly content server. This means it would be very expensive for them to compromise your privacy, but they have the technical capacity to do so. We have applications in development that make stronger privacy claims, but they are currently too difficult to use.

Governments

Passive Government Surveillance

Recent disclosures reveal that governments are working to tap the internet in a way that effectively allows for a “time machine.” Government agents can look at internet traffic for a rolling window in the past. The way Privly shares content effectively mitigates this, meaning it is less likely for this government time machine to be able to query your private data. However, if a government attacks both your social network and your Privly content server it is likely that they will be able to decrypt your content. Do not assume your content is protected from governments.

Active Government Surveillance

A computer running a web browser presents many different potential vulnerabilities. Your computer will not resist active surveillance unless you obtain the equivalent of a masters degree in computer systems and cryptography. The open source community is working to solve this issue, but it is far more likely that we will develop solutions to “passive surveillance” than active surveillance.

Take Note

• The Priv.ly Project is still under active development. Think of using privacy software under “active development” like crossing a bridge that is still under construction.
• The Priv.ly Project does not have a paid staff. People are developing the software because they are passionate about online privacy. This means the software will continue to serve your interests instead of financial interests.
• This page assumes you are using the default privacy applications built into Privly. If you change your application the privacy properties will change.