Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to your questions
Table of Contents
Where is Simplified Privacy located?
We are not defined by the dirt upon which we stand. We’re registered and regulated by XMRBazaar, a peer-to-peer marketplace through a binding arbitration deposit. You can read more about this here: Link
Do you accept fiat money?
No, we only accept cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency offers more privacy and fits better with our mission of a more decentralized and uncensored internet. We reject central banking as legitimate. Inflation is a form of slavery.
Where can I get cryptocurrency?
We have an entire article on this subject found here:
Link
What cryptocurrencies do you accept?
Monero, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Lightning, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Solana, Arweave, and others via over-the-counter service.
Do you use a third party cryptocurrency payment processor?
No, we do not use any third party payment processing.
Do you rely on any third parties for your website?
No, we do not use any third parties to give our customers the maximum amount of privacy. We reject Google Analytics and Captcha, Cloudflare, Amazon AWS, and all big tech companies engaged in censorship.
Does your website work on Tor?
Yes, we have a Tor Onion hidden service which you can access here:
privacyy3tsy4mge4qmg4nsid2vnhl7szzupphhkfsxvayx5tl2ztbqd.onion
Does your website have a Web 3 website?
Yes, we have a Web 3 site hosted on IPFS which you can access via Solana, Unstoppable domains, and/or Ethereum Name Service using the links below:
SimplifiedPrivacy.sol
SimplifiedPrivacy.x
SimplifiedPrivacy.eth
Emails
What does it mean to say that the email servers are “decentralized”?
This means that we do NOT buy a server for our company which you’d share with multiple other clients. Instead, each customer gets their own cloud VPS which is purchased anonymously through Tor in cryptocurrency. So the hosting provider doesn’t even know that you’re our customer and you take control of your own private cloud.
Can the VPS provider see the emails?
With a large amount of effort, the VPS provider could in theory snapshot memory to get access to emails. But this data is being sent through SSL encryption, so passive general surveillance is protected against. It would have to be work (and money wasted) for them to get the data. We can use the anology of renting a private condo. You get more privacy and freedom from renting your own condo, than you would if you had roommates in the same bedroom with bunkbeds. While it’s possible to rent the whole building, this would come at a great cost.
We elaborated further on this in our article on emails:
link
Linux
What Linux distributions do you offer support for?
Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian, Whonix, Kicksecure, Fedora, and more.
What Linux distribution do you recommend for those brand new to Linux?
Linux Mint, because it’s so beginner-friendly but also Debian based. This will allow you to easily transition to more advanced privacy Debian-based distros like Whonix or Kicksecure later.
Why do you not recommend Ubuntu for noobs?
We do offer support for Ubuntu, it’s just not our primary recommendation for new users. Ubuntu has the advantage of having the most amount of software documentation directly for it, however it has the disadvantage of a centralized snap store that slows down opening programs. Most Ubuntu programs will work on Mint or Debian and the documentation is similar. Ubuntu also functions perfectly fine as a server, since this often has less reliance on the snap store.
My computer won’t start. What do I do?
Step (1) Buy Bitcoin or Monero on your phone. We have an article on where to buy cryptocurrency found here.
Step (2) Install Signal messenger.
Step (3) Buy a 1-hour technical support time slot on our website with Signal as your chosen contact method. In your order, give us as much detail as you can on your system type, the events that led up to the failure, and what errors you’re getting. If it’s a complete black screen immediately without even going into the bootloader, it may be a hardware issue, which we would be unable to help.
What happens if I buy Linux tech support, but you can’t help me?
If you clearly described the problem in your initial order, we’ll refund you before we even begin or within the first hour. After the first hour, if you wish us to continue we’d have to charge to compensate the staff working on your case. If your problem is due to hardware malfunction and was not clearly documented in the initial booking, then we would be unable to refund your cryptocurrency.
Customized Privacy Advice
What restrictions are there on custom privacy advice?
We can not help you do anything illegal in western developed countries. We reserve the right to suspend service if you openly tell us you are doing criminal activity or reference it.
Can I ask about what governments are capable of doing surveillance wise?
We can not help you do criminal activity, but we can answer technology questions in general about sophisticated well-funded and motivated adversaries to help you avoid illegal unconstitutional mass surveillance going on in some countries or places.
Cryptocurrency Consultation
Can you “mix” my crypto for me?
No, we will NOT take escrow of any cryptocurrency for any purpose. We only accept crypto as payment for our technology sector goods and services.
However, we can teach you how to do cryptocurrency transactions in a more private way on your own, through widely available free and open source software that we did not make and utilizing publicly available knowledge. We are in full legal compliance with regulations from major western developed countries.
Legal
What country are you based in?
We are not defined by the dirt upon which we stand, but by the value we add to society. Using encryption as identity, Nostr, Arweave, Tor, Bastyon, cryptocurrency, IPFS, Session, SimpleX, and more, we transcend traditional boundaries.
What are your terms of service?
We can not help you do anything we consider to be illegal in major western developed countries. We reserve the right to use our own discretion to evaluate the potential legality of your requests.
Can I ask tax or legal advice?
No, we can not provide tax or legal advice on privacy or cryptocurrency in any country. We can only offer our subjective technology opinions.
Can I ask where to find good illegal darkweb onion services?
No, we can not provide recommendations to illegal darkweb onion services. Are you responsible for the legality of third party recommendations?
No, we are not able to take on legal liability for third party websites and services that we recommend. Our subjective untrained opinion of their legality is not legally binding to us since we are not selling services to be your lawyer.
Phones
What warranty comes with the phones?
We offer a 1-week hardware warranty directly from us, that if there is any physical defect we will refund your cryptocurrency. Additionally some brand new models may have a 1 year warranty from Google for a replacement, but this would require giving them your information to redeem.
Additionally, there is a 1-year software warranty, where we would troubleshoot and solve your issue remotely.
Why only 1 week?
Cryptocurrency prices fluctuate constantly, and we want to avoid everyone refunding their phone like a call option if Bitcoin or Monero prices rocket up. 1 week upon delivery is a reasonable time length to assess hardware damage.
What does a DeGoogled phone mean?
It is very similar to a regular Android, the main difference is that it doesn’t have telemetry communicating with Google. Please see our previous article on this subject:
link
XMPP
What is XMPP?
XMPP and Signal are both end-to-end encrypted messengers. However Signal is not only a protocol, but a specific network. Signal uses a centralized Amazon server and therefore has some ability to monitor metadata (which is who you’re talking to and when). On the other hand, XMPP is just code. Anyone can host their own XMPP server and communicate with both other servers or inside their own. What are the benefits of having your own XMPP server over just using Signal messenger?
Having your own XMPP server is the equivalent to running your own Signal service instead of relying on the Signal Foundation’s poor choice of Amazon’s AWS. Among Amazon’s biggest customers is the CIA. Academic papers have proven that despite Signal’s “sealed sender” protocol, the metadata can still be discovered.
With your own XMPP server, you completely hide and control your metadata. This metadata is the relationship map of who you’re talking to and when. And also it hides your IP address, so you can use a fast Wireguard VPN instead of Tor and still be relatively anonymous.
What are the benefits of XMPP over Session?
While Session hides the metadata, to do so it onion routes the messages. Having messages hop around 3 different servers slows down the speed and, in it’s current implementation, Session has issues syncing with a degoogled Android. On the other hand, XMPP is blazing fast, especially if you’re talking to someone on your own server.
What are the benefits of XMPP over Matrix?
Matrix is similar to XMPP but has a less efficient implementation. So for Matrix you need to spend more money on a better VPS. On other hand, XMPP is so well-coded and efficient that you can spend under 10 dollars a month and have blazing fast messages. XMPP performs better over Tor or VPNs. Summarize in one word the advantage XMPP has over other encrypted messaging services?
Signal – Metadata
Session – Speed
Matrix – Cost How does Simplified Privacy’s XMPP setup service work?
We use a decentralized and camouflaged system to maximize your privacy and freedom. First we buy a tiny VPS (virtual private server) with a provider, country, and domain name of your choosing. Or if you already have a server, we can use that for you. We then set up XMPP to run on the VPS and hand over the passwords and logins to you. Once you change the password, you are in complete control, and the responsibility to pay the VPS renewals in cryptocurrency falls on you.
Does Simplified Privacy host the XMPP servers?
No, we do not host it and therefore have no ability to monitor your behavior. Instead, we just set you up on a VPS cloud provider of your choice. Or you can provide us with the login or SSH for a VPS you already bought. This decentralized system hides who is even our customer or what they’re doing. Also more importantly, it removes the ability of anyone to force us to compromise your privacy (if we had to hand over your password to a third party VPS cloud). When we’re finished setting up the server, we hand over the passwords for you to change.
Does Simplified Privacy keep on-going access to my XMPP server?
No, we hand over all passwords to you on a third party VPS provider. So once you change it, we have no ability to monitor or control you in any way. We also transfer the VPS account to an email you control, and we lose access.
Does Simplified Privacy offer technical support for XMPP servers?
Yes, we offer 1 year of support for any malfunction. However, you have to agree to not modify the XMPP or DNS settings because that is a likely source of breaking it. If you request support, you have to give us the new passwords to get in. If we can not fix the problem, we reserve the right to wipe the VPS and re-set it fresh. This could erase any accounts or message data you have.
Can I erase even my purchase account data immediately?
Yes, we can wipe everything, but then you lose your right to customer support.
Tor Entrances
What is a Tor Bridge?
Tor is a decentralized mixnet network that has entrance servers. Since these entrance servers are public, connecting to them let’s external actors know you’re using Tor. Bridges are a more private option to enter Tor and were originally intended to evade censorship. Anyone can host their own entrance or bridge server.
What are the benefits to running my own Tor Bridge?
Malicious actors such as governments run Tor servers for the purpose of de-anonymizing users. Some estimates put malicious nodes as high as 25% of the entire Tor network. If you control the server of your own entrance, then you know it’s not malicious and will respect your privacy. Only the bridge sees your real IP address (or your VPN if you use that first).
Why should I run my own bridge over entrance guard or exit node?
Bridges have lower requirements on CPU and RAM and therefore cost less for the VPS. In addition, bridges offer more privacy by making better attempts at masking the connection type. Therefore we only sell bridge setups because of the clear benefits to the customer.
How does Simplified Privacy’s Tor Bridge setup service work?
No, we do not host it and therefore have no ability to monitor your behavior. We do not rent or own servers, and we completely avoid any centralized systems. Instead, we just set you up on a VPS cloud provider of your choice. Or you can provide us with the login or SSH for a VPS you already bought. This decentralized system hides who is even our customer or what they’re doing. Also more importantly, it removes the ability of anyone to force us to compromise your privacy (if we had to hand over your password to a third party VPS cloud). When we’re finished setting up the server, we hand over the passwords for you to change.
Does Simplified Privacy keep on-going access to my Tor Bridge server?
No, we hand over all passwords to you on a third party VPS provider. So once you change it, we have no ability to monitor or control you in any way. We also transfer the VPS account to an email you control, and we lose access.
How does Simplified Privacy’s XMPP setup service work?
We use a decentralized and camouflaged system to maximize your privacy and freedom. First we buy a tiny VPS (virtual private server) with a provider, country, and domain name of your choosing. Or if you already have a server, we can use that for you. We then set up XMPP to run on the VPS and hand over the passwords and logins to you. Once you change the password, you are in complete control, and the responsibility to pay the VPS renewals in cryptocurrency falls on you.
Does Simplified Privacy offer technical support for Tor Bridge servers?
Yes, we offer 1 year of support for any malfunction. However, you have to agree to not modify the Tor or DNS settings because that is a likely source of breaking it. If you request support, you have to give us the new passwords to get in. If we can not fix it, we reserve the right to wipe the VPS and re-set it up again fresh.
How do I use my own Tor bridges?
Tor Browser or Whonix both have the ability to input a custom bridge. We will deliver the product directly to you via your chosen contact method with clear instructions, and we’ll answer any questions you might have.
How much money is required for a Tor bridge setup?
We charge a flat $120 fee to register your VPS account, setup the server, configure the software settings, transfer the email on the account to yours, and consult with you on how to use it. Then in addition, you have to pay the monthly (or yearly if you choose it) plan on the third party VPS. Please see the product info page for current pricing on VPS providers.
Is my Tor bridge shared by other people?
Our company does not share it, but the Tor network does so automatically. This is actually good because it provides other people that your traffic could have potentially been.
What operating system do you use to set up Tor bridge servers?
Debian Linux, because it’s the most stable, reliable, and (most importantly) the most common on the Tor network. We want you to blend in with the rest of the Tor network and even with our other customers. Anonymity loves company, and we aim to make all our customers the same. In addition, Debian is offered by the widest variety of VPS providers, so we can spread our customers around the entire internet. This cripples the ability of any VPS provider to monitor or censor us.