🔒 Why I'm Taking Control of My Data

Good morning.

What has been happening here in Minneapolis over the past few weeks is heartbreaking (and infuriating) on many levels.

People are being killed, unlawfully detained, physically harmed, and intimidated.

Constitutional rights are being ignored.

There are endless ways people and their families are being negatively impacted behind the scenes, too.

Fred Rogers once said, “Look for the helpers.”

Thankfully, in my community, they’re everywhere. 💜

In witnessing all of this unfold, I noticed something in the details that stood out to me—something that triggered additional concerns.

Today, let's talk about:

• Why I deleted TikTok on January 22 (and what happened after)

• The three-step framework I'm using to take control

• The specific actions I'm taking this week

Take care of yourself, your family, your people, and your community.

That’s what actually matters.

— Gordon

🔒 Why I'm Taking Control of My Data

On January 22, I deleted TikTok from my iPhone.

TikTok updated its privacy policy that morning.

The app looked the same, but this time, three paragraphs stopped me cold.

Precise GPS location tracking.

Citizenship and immigration status.

And a catch-all for "other sensitive personal information" that included health diagnoses, financial data, and sexual orientation.

The new US entity controlling TikTok—Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi investors—now has explicit permission to collect data that the Chinese parent company never handled (the previous Privacy Policy remains in effect for non-US users).

I rarely used TikTok and created no content.

But I didn't want to risk the app using my phone to collect data.

I hit delete.

A few days later, more news broke.

U.S. Department of Justice court filings confirmed that, last year, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) employees shared personally identifiable information on 1,000 Americans (and potentially all Americans, living or dead) through an unapproved third-party server.

Health diagnoses. Banking details. Social Security numbers.

The agency can't determine what data was shared or whether it still exists.

That's when I understood the shape of the problem.

This wasn't about one app or one leak.

The problem is that we've spent years handing over data without understanding what we're trading for convenience.

• Better user experience

• Personalized ads

• Entertainment

• Productivity

• Connection

Those were the promises.

I already knew this about our data, as most of you did.

What changed this week is that I no longer knew what the intent of having that data was.

I went from everything’s fine, to it’s time to regain control of what I can control.

The Framework: Delete, Protect, Switch

I spent this week consumed by research—DeleteMe, Aura, data brokers, privacy tools.

The overwhelm wasn't about how much data is already out there.

It was figuring out where to start.

So I broke it down into three steps: Delete, Protect, Switch.

1. Delete: Remove what you don't need (apps, accounts)

2. Protect: Update passwords and multi-factor authentication, limit future data collection, and remove existing data from brokers

3. Switch: Transition core infrastructure to safer platforms only when ready (email, cloud storage)

The order matters.

Deletion is free and immediate.

Protection requires some time and a subscription, but delivers ongoing value.

Switching is expensive (time, not money) and requires thorough planning.

Start with what you can control today.

What I'm Doing This Week

I found there are 41 records of my personal information across 52 sites.

So, I subscribed to DeleteMe.

Judges and high-profile people use it because it works.

Manual removal from over 750 data brokers, and quarterly reports showing exactly what was scrubbed.

After a year, I'll transition to Aura for broader identity protection, but right now I want thorough data removal.

I also audited my iPhone privacy settings.

Every app is marked "Ask Not to Track."

Unfortunately, Androids don’t have this feature. 😅

I limited Location Services to essential apps like Maps, and only while using.

Photo library access is disconnected from everything except the very few apps that genuinely need it.

I'm reviewing every old password remaining in Google Passwords (which I haven’t used in over a decade), deleting old accounts I no longer use, and migrating everything that matters to my existing LastPass account.

Updating passwords on critical accounts—Apple, Google, financial institutions—even though they're already unique 32-character strings.

Transitioning important accounts from SMS two-factor authentication to my Authenticator app or Passkeys in LastPass.

While I’m at it, I'm putting a new data backup plan in place, because if I'm taking control of my data, I need to trust where it lives.

None of this makes me invisible or fully secure.

But that TikTok update was the signal I needed.

What changed for me is the intention behind the data collection.

Not for better ads or user experience—for something else.

We don't have a clear picture of what that is yet, but the subtle shift was enough.

I'm not trying to disappear.

I'm just working to understand what I've given away—and to stop giving more without knowing why.

ONWARD TOGETHER.

Everyday Insights 👀
A few things worth reading this week

📱 Will TikTok Change Under US Ownership?
What the new privacy policy actually changed and why users are reporting censorship already

🔐 Apple's new iPhone and iPad security feature limits cell networks from collecting precise location data
Apple just made it harder for carriers to track your exact location

⚠️ DOGE May Have Misused Social Security Data, DOJ Admits
The DOJ finally confirms what the whistleblower alleged about unauthorized data sharing on millions of Americans