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hashtagruthless.bsky.social
Hashtag Ruthless Podcasts
@hashtagruthless.bsky.social
40 followers 12 following 16 posts
Podcasts for queer nerds
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hashtagruthless.bsky.social
Your life is yours, don’t give it away to corporations who are actively using it for evil. /end
Some other stuff Clear your past Google data! Go to myactivity.google.com, go through each option and turn off and delete all history. Use a VPN! Remember to turn if off and on again from time to time—if you stay connected to the same one all the time it becomes less secure. Don’t use Google or Facebook to login to stuff! Just use a password! They just want to know what you’re up to, and it’s none of their business. Don’t download that app! They want you to use the app because it gives them more of your personal information. Don’t do it. Use your web browser, and, if they’ve made it (intentionally) unusable on mobile, get out your computer like a weirdo (it’s me, I’m the weirdo. I wrote this post on my computer). stay tuned for hashtag ruthless presents: anticapitalist punk guide to using your money ethically in a capitalist hellscape.
November 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
It’s about refusing to fund companies that are funding atrocities. (Remember: your data is a form of currency!) It’s about the fact that even your grocery list is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. The memes you send your bestie are NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. 🧵
Lock down your phone privacy! (iPhone version) -Disable Siri + Apple Intelligence! This is the biggest, most important step. (If you have a Mac computer, this applies there too!) -Check your Location settings. Turn all location settings to “off”. The ONLY apps that should have access are maps, and that should be set to “while using.” -Disable analytics and improvements -Disable “Significant Locations” and delete old data! -Disable App Tracking -Disable Personalized Ads -Disable Health tracking -Turn off biometrics!! Face ID and fingerprint can both be used to force you to unlock your phone. Make sure your password is long and strong! Lock down your phone privacy! (Android version) All androids -Revoke app access to location/mic/camera/everything. Head to Permission manager and check each app. -Disable ad tracking -Turn off biometrics!! Face ID and fingerprint can both be used to force you to unlock your phone. Make sure your password is long and strong! Pixel -Disable Gemini -Disable AI Mode -Disable Circle to search -Disable Gemini in messages -Disable Magic Cue Galaxy -Disable Galaxy AI (12 separate features to be disabled independently) More phone privacy settings Limit access to all apps. -In your privacy settings, go through each item and limit the apps that have access. Photos should either be “None” or “Limited Access.” Especially for social sites! Camera & Mic should be OFF for everything unless absolutely necessary. Contacts should be OFF for everything unless absolutely necessary. Motion and Fitness tracking should be OFF Some other stuff Get rid of those cameras!!! Your Ring/Nest/Home doorbell is literally Big Brother. You’ve gotta get rid of it. techcrunch.com/2025/10/16/amazons-ring-to-partner-with-flock-a-network-of-ai-cameras-used-by-ice-feds-and-police/ Get rid of Alexa/Google Home! Seriously, do we need to get into why having a device that is mining every piece of information about you and tracking your every move is a bad idea? Switch to Signal! This is less urgent if you’re using Messages with your AI turned off, but if you use ig chat or fb messenger, it’s way past time to make the switch.
November 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
This is the “the glove compartment’s locked, so’s the trunk in the back, and I know my rights so you gon’ need a warrant for that” guide to internet use—it’s not about whether you have something to hide, it’s about saying no to unethical practices. 🧵
Hashtag Ruthless presents: anticapitalist punk guide to the internet. keep it secret, keep it safe. GET. OFF. GOOGLE. Email—Proton is your bestie! It’s easy to migrate all 100,000 of your emails over to your new Proton account. Then delete your gmail inbox, set up auto-forwarding and an auto-reply alerting folks to your new email address. Keep that up for a year, then delete the account. (Also, disable “smart features” before you head out.) Drive/Docs—Proton again! It’s very easy to migrate your entire library>> proton.me/support/import-files-google-drive If you can’t give up gmail, at least turn off “smart features!” By turning this off you disable their inbox data mining. GET. OFF. GOOGLE. Browser—Vivaldi is the only anti-LLM browser out there, so that’s our recommendation. It’s a little slow, but worth it for this: vivaldi.com/blog/technology/vivaldi-wont-allow-a-machine-to-lie-to-you/ However, Tor, LibreWolf, Aloha, and DuckDuckGo are all options as well. Sadly, Firefox is not an alternative anymore: zdnet.com/article/the-firefox-i-loved-is-gone-how-to-protect-your-privacy-on-it-now/ Search engine—DuckDuckGo is the best option we know of, because it’s private and you can turn off “AI” (LLM) features and hide “AI” (LLM) generated image searches. Say no to “AI” (LLMs) Every use of an LLM is an act of theft, an environmental blight, and a privacy violation. There’s no reason and no excuse to use it. And hey, when your doctor/vet/etc asks if they can use their new thing that records your session, the answer is “absolutely not!” (Our only qualms with Proton and DuckDuckGo are their LLM integrations. We yearn for more privacy-focused companies to have a moral backbone and refuse to implement LLM features!)
November 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
We always have the best time talking with our friend and official Data correspondent @chucktingle.bsky.social

Find The Gayly Planet on the pod player of your choice for our full hour long discussion of The Measure of a Man!
October 2, 2025 at 9:53 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
He's gonna need a lot of cactuses.

Our Superman bonus ep was a delight to record, don't miss it!
Superman in his iconic flying toward the camera pose, one arm stretched forward and the other full of photoshopped potted cactuses. Text says "omw to sort out the American government"
September 17, 2025 at 6:28 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
Our interview with @chucktingle.bsky.social AND our review of Lucky Day are available now for your listening pleasure!

Just head to The Gayly Planet feed in the podcatcher of your choice to listen.

-the interview is half spoiler-free, but the review is fully spoiled-
image of the cover of Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle with text above/below that says “existential horror but make it hopepunk. Listen now on the gayly planet”
August 18, 2025 at 6:42 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
There is no way to ethically participate in the Harry Potter fandom 2/7
there is no way to ethically put money in jkr's pocket. screenshot of a tweet asking "how do you sleep at night knowing you've lost a whole audience from buying your books?" and JKR responding "i read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly." where does her money come from? -universal studios licensing, plus food and merch sales from WW. -the new TV show--do not watch it. -book sales, movie sales and rentals, streaming service rights for HP, robert galbraith, ichabog, etc. -official merch sales. -cursed child ticket sales. -video games. -anything else officially associated with an IP she owns. what can I read instead? -the sunbearer duology by aiden thomas. -the supernatural investigations series by BB alston. -the legendborn series by tracy deonn. -the scholomance trilogy by naomi novik. -the earthsea cycle by ursula k. le guin. -anything by rick riordan. -the hunger games by suzanne collins. add more recs in the comments! more in the caption and at hashtagruthless.com/resource-guide. comment policy: our comments are moderated. we delete anything we don't like because we have no obligation to be a forum for your arguments. don't waste your time--go have a nice sandwich instead.
July 2, 2025 at 6:46 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
There is no way to ethically participate in the Harry Potter fandom 1/7
How to ethically engage with harry potter- spoiler: you can't. there is no way to ethically participate in this fandom. screenshot of a news headline that reads "JK Rowling uses Harry Potter wealth to fund anti-transgender organization." at this point any engagement with this fandom is inherently transphobic. this includes fan content, even if it's funny/critical/queer/whatever. for trans folks it comes across as unsafe, regardless of your intentions. fan content keeps HP culturally relevalt and drives more people to the original works. the fandom tried and failed to fire her. It's time to salt the earth. how do I talk to my kids about this? "we can't read these books because the author is a very mean person who is using her money to hurt people." what do I do with all my HP stuff? "that's a very personal choice. maybe make a ceremony out of disposing of it. maybe repurpose it into something new. maybe put it in a box in the attic." is this really necessary? "unfortunately, it is. JKR is using the wealth and power we have given her to cause serious harm on a structural, political level."
July 2, 2025 at 6:46 PM
hashtagruthless.bsky.social
It feels appropriate for our first post on this app to be the announcement of the next era of EsGAYpe From Reality! Our coverage of the Sunbearer Duology by @aidenschmaiden.bsky.social has officially begun, and you can listen to our chapter one episode now!
images of the sunbearer trials and celestial monsters books with text "EsGAYpe From Reality is officially in our sunbearer duology era, listen to our chapter one episode now!"
March 12, 2025 at 9:31 PM