Lived with him for 5 years? That is the first I'm hearing of that, do you recall where you learned that bit? I did just see an article I'm going to read soon that Israel's government set up Eptein's manhattan penthouse with hidden cameras and microphones. As if we needed more proof he was a honeypot to ensnare lawmakers, business leaders, and the aristocracy in compromising situations. This is just one operation too, we don't even know what else they have been up to, I bet they have financial misdealings on the majority of lawmakers.

They are forcing my phone to be the key to everything, including my email. So if I lose my phone, or my service, I'm locked out of everything. If the phone isn't charging I've no way to communicate. Emails main use for me is an insurance to communicate if need be, forcing seemingly random verifications to my phone is a dealbreaker. I dropped all other emails outside a new one that doesn't do that.

But it's everything, they want it to be the key to your car, to your house even. Metal keys work, it's a time tested method of locking things, and more secure than a digital lock. Just as passwords work. If you want to set up a phone as security, go ahead, forcing us to do it isn't about safety though, it's about forcing us to give them commercially valuable information under false pretenses, and we all know it. They think we don't have a choice because they all engaged in a shit trust, all agreeing to not compete and instead change in ways to hurt us that make them more money.

100%. If you can bike, that's both good for your health, AND reduces surveillance.

We need to push for better bikability especially here in North America. Fortunately my city is good, but so many others are not. Especially for older people who may not be comfortable mixing it up with cars if they bike.

Of course also now Flock cameras are everywhere, who watch bikes as well as cars. There is no plate on a bicycle, but I have seen allegations they can perform biometric ID of pedestrians and cyclists.

...or any app based GPS at that point.

I had no idea I’ll remove it immediately

at least I don’t have to worry about my car’s radio system being a little snitch

I feel your pain. It's nearly impossible now to buy a disconnected car, and over time, pre-connectivity cars will become old and less reliable.

I need to look out the windows/windshields to back up.

Which is getting harder on some models of hatchback where it's difficult to see out the rear window. My car is like that. My old car was a 4 dr sedan and you could easily see behind. In my new car I would not feel safe backing up without the camera due to how bad the rear visibility is. Especially in parking lots with the risk that a child below window level had run out from somewhere into my blind spot. That's what keeps me tethered to my backup camera - the fear of hitting another person I couldn't see. Otherwise I would do exactly what you are doing.

I bike whenever I can, but sometimes, I must drive.

Another problem is that on some newer cars, the "little snitch" part of the car is the same subsystem as other features of the car you need, like the directional blinkers. You rip out the snitching part, and you also lose safety features you need legally and ethically.

I hate this. All of this. I hate that the default for so many devices now, not just cars, is surveillance.

Can we disable these cameras and microphones at least? I can't imagine people would have stood for this level of surveillance and control a few generations back. Something is fundamentally wrong with us, I seriously think some systematic pollutant is making us more docile and trusting. Not just taxoplasmosis which could infect up to 30% of the population and does inhibit the fear center, spread between cats and rodents the rodents that get it lose their fear of cats. But all mammals can get it. Spread through feces.

Ebike isn’t gonna take me 500 miles a week on the interstate

If it's those pay-per-ride city bikes, then you bet your ass they are tracked.

Try https://archive.md/tDOFi