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Three things you can do today — for free.

No tech experience needed. These three steps cover the biggest privacy gaps most households have.

01

CHECK FOR DNS LEAKS

Run a quick test to see if your internet provider can see everything you browse — even in private mode.

Run the test →

02

SWITCH TO PRIVATE EMAIL

Gmail reads your email to serve ads. Proton Mail is free, encrypted, and built in Switzerland with zero ad tracking.

Try Proton free →

03

LOCK DOWN YOUR ROUTER

Your router's default password is publicly known. Change it and disable remote management in under five minutes.

Read the guide →

New Device Setup

Just Got an iPhone? Top 10 Settings to Turn Off

The 10 tracking, ad, and location settings to change in the first five minutes on a new iPhone.

New Android Phone: Settings to Change First

Delete the ad ID, shut off Google activity logging, and fix permissions on a new Android phone.

New Windows 11 PC: Privacy Setup

Advertising ID, diagnostic data, activity history, and Edge tracking, all dialed down on a new Windows 11 PC.

New Mac: Privacy Settings to Change First

FileVault, analytics, Spotlight, and Safari tracking, all sorted on a new Mac in five minutes.

Big Tech Accounts

05 — BIG TECH

Stop Google From Tracking You

Turn off Web & App Activity and Location History in one place, then delete what's already stored.

06 — BIG TECH

Lock Down Your Facebook and Instagram

Disconnect off-Meta web tracking, cut ad targeting, and tighten who can see you on Facebook and Instagram.

07 — BIG TECH

Stop Amazon From Tracking You

Opt out of interest-based ads, stop Alexa keeping recordings, and clear your browsing history.

08 — BIG TECH

Apple Privacy Settings That Matter

The handful of Apple switches worth flipping, plus Advanced Data Protection and the iCloud+ privacy tools.

09 — BIG TECH

Microsoft Account Privacy

Clear the Microsoft privacy dashboard, turn off ad targeting, and reduce Windows telemetry.

10 — BIG TECH

Lock Down TikTok

Go private, turn off personalized ads, and cut TikTok's location, contacts, and mic permissions.

11 — BIG TECH

Stop LinkedIn Selling Your Data

Turn off LinkedIn's ad data, research, and AI-training use, and control who can see and find you.

Money & Finance

Protect Your Banking Privacy

Turn on alerts, opt out of bank data sharing and prescreened offers, and shut down account takeover.

Make Venmo and Cash App Private

Make Venmo's public feed private, lock the apps with 2FA, and avoid the common payment scams.

Freeze Your Credit

Freeze your credit at all three bureaus (plus the ones people forget) in about fifteen minutes, for free.

Freeze the Bureaus You Forgot

Freezing the big three is half the job. Freeze ChexSystems, NCTUE, Innovis, and LexisNexis too, all free.

Health & Medical

Who Can See Your Medical Data

The real limits of HIPAA, who is actually selling your health data, and how to keep symptom searches private.

Health and Fitness App Privacy

Choosing safe period and fitness apps, locking down Apple Health, and taming Fitbit, Garmin, and Oura.

Smart Home & AI

17 — SMART HOME

How Smart Devices Track You

Your TV, thermostat, and doorbell are constantly phoning home. Here's what they collect.

18 — SMART HOME

Stop Your Smart TV From Spying

Turn off ACR viewing-data tracking on Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Roku, plus the ad ID and voice settings.

19 — SMART HOME

Alexa Privacy Tips and Tricks

Delete recordings by voice, stop Alexa saving audio, lock down purchasing, and prune skill permissions.

20 — SMART HOME

Google Home and Nest Privacy

Stop voice and audio logging, delete history by voice, and tighten Nest camera access and retention.

21 — SMART HOME

AI Assistants and Your Privacy

What LLM assistants send to the cloud, how to turn off training and history, and what never to tell a chatbot.

22 — SMART HOME

Smart Home Network Tips

Segment IoT devices, block their telemetry, keep firmware current, and set them up the secure way.

Kids, Teens & Seniors

Kids' Online Privacy

What apps collect from your kids, how filtering works, and Harbor Kids — DNS-level protection for children's devices.

Protecting Older Adults From Scams

The scams that target seniors, how to block the calls, and a simple family plan to stop fraud before it starts.

Set Up a Parent's Phone Safely

A calm, private, scam-resistant phone setup for an older relative that stays simple to use.

Teens and Social Media Privacy

Private-account settings, what not to post, account security, and how to handle strangers and sextortion.

Your Teen's First Phone

A privacy-first first-phone setup, with parental controls that protect your teen without spying on them.

Email Privacy

How to Filter Junk Email

Gmail, Yahoo, and Xfinity filters, hidden tracking pixels, and the safest way to unsubscribe.

Why You Should Switch to Proton Mail

End-to-end encrypted email that Gmail can't read, with a free plan that covers most households.

DNS & ISP

What Is DNS Privacy?

Why your ISP can see every website you visit and what you can do about it.

How Your ISP Tracks You

What Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T can legally collect and sell about your browsing.

Unbound & Recursive DNS

Why Harbor Privacy uses Unbound to resolve DNS directly from root servers — no middleman.

Everyday Privacy

33 — EVERYDAY

Stop Spam Texts and Robocalls

Block, report to 7726, turn on built-in filters, and reduce future spam calls and texts for free.

34 — EVERYDAY

Is Public Wi-Fi Safe?

What is actually risky on public Wi-Fi, what to turn off, and when you really need a VPN.

35 — EVERYDAY

Prep your devices, handle border searches, stay safe on hotel Wi-Fi, and avoid trackers and oversharing.

36 — EVERYDAY

How to Delete Your Old Accounts

Find your forgotten accounts, close them for good, and revoke the logins connected to them.

37 — EVERYDAY

Do You Need a VPN?

What a VPN really does and doesn't, when it's worth it, and how to choose one without getting scammed.

46 — EVERYDAY

Lock Down Your Mailbox

Claim USPS Informed Delivery before a scammer enrolls your address and watches your incoming mail.

Security

38 — SECURITY

Spotting Phishing & Malware

How to identify dangerous emails, fake links, and malicious sites before they get you.

39 — SECURITY

Router Security Basics

Default passwords, firmware updates, and guest networks — the three things most people skip.

40 — SECURITY

Password Managers & 2FA

Why reusing passwords is the number one way accounts get hacked, and how to fix it for free.

41 — SECURITY

Browser Fingerprinting

Advertisers track you without cookies using your browser's unique fingerprint. Here's what that means.

42 — SECURITY

Data Broker Opt-Outs

Companies sell your name, address, and phone number. You can make them delete it — here's how.

43 — SECURITY

Remove Your Info From Google Search

Use Results About You and removal requests to pull your phone, address, and personal data out of Google.

44 — SECURITY

How to Browse the Web Privately

Choose a private browser, block trackers, fix the settings, and learn what incognito actually hides.

47 — SECURITY

Stop SIM Swap Attacks

Turn on your carrier's free number lock so a thief cannot steal your number and your text login codes.

Tools We Trust

Privacy Tools Harbor Privacy Actually Uses

These are tools we recommend to every customer — not because we get paid to (and we'll tell you when we do), but because they're the ones the privacy community consistently agrees on. No bloatware, no free VPNs that sell your data, no gimmicks.

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Email · Referral

Proton Mail

End-to-end encrypted email based in Switzerland. Free plan available. Gmail alternative that doesn't read your email to serve ads.

Try free → proton.me

* Harbor Privacy earns a referral fee on paid upgrades.

Passwords · Free

Bitwarden

Open source password manager. Free for individuals. Independently audited. The top recommendation from r/privacy for years running.

Get free → bitwarden.com

No referral — just the best free option.

Messaging · Free

Signal

End-to-end encrypted messaging and calls. No ads, no data collection, open source. The gold standard for private communication.

Get free → signal.org

No referral — recommended because it's the best.

Browser · Free

Brave Browser

Chrome-compatible browser with built-in ad blocking, fingerprint randomization, and tracker blocking. No setup required — just download and use.

Get free → brave.com

No referral — consistently recommended by privacy researchers.

Search · Free

DuckDuckGo

Search engine that doesn't track your queries or build a profile on you. Good results for everyday searches. Set it as your default in 30 seconds.

Try → duckduckgo.com

No referral.

DNS · Harbor Privacy

Harbor Privacy

DNS-level privacy for your whole home network. Blocks ads, trackers, phishing domains, and telemetry on every device — automatically. Built on the South Shore.

Get started → harborprivacy.com

This one's ours — we're obviously biased, but it works.

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