Kenny
@kennyqin.com
Platform Engineer | Privacy Advocate | FOSS Enthusiast
π Sydney, Australia
π¬ Signal/Threema
I provide commentary on social issues that mostly relate to digital technology. A follow is not indicative of endorsement.
π Sydney, Australia
π¬ Signal/Threema
I provide commentary on social issues that mostly relate to digital technology. A follow is not indicative of endorsement.
I hosted my own Pleroma node for a few years ago, actually. I think I'll just quit social networks completely rather than doing that again. π
February 6, 2026 at 8:05 AM
I hosted my own Pleroma node for a few years ago, actually. I think I'll just quit social networks completely rather than doing that again. π
I haven't posted here in a while and, truthfully, that's partly because I didn't appreciate logging in one day to see a bunch of age verification nonsense. In Australia, Bluesky is not mandated to do anything but, yet, they did.
No drastic actions for now but I probably won't post much anymore.
No drastic actions for now but I probably won't post much anymore.
January 25, 2026 at 10:08 PM
I haven't posted here in a while and, truthfully, that's partly because I didn't appreciate logging in one day to see a bunch of age verification nonsense. In Australia, Bluesky is not mandated to do anything but, yet, they did.
No drastic actions for now but I probably won't post much anymore.
No drastic actions for now but I probably won't post much anymore.
I managed to get "Reverse Scroller" set up to reverse the scroll input for my locked down MacBook. It's still insanity that I need a third-party app to do this but at least it's done now. π
December 6, 2025 at 6:44 AM
I managed to get "Reverse Scroller" set up to reverse the scroll input for my locked down MacBook. It's still insanity that I need a third-party app to do this but at least it's done now. π
I went searching for my next yearly mobile plan. Again, there's nothing for minimalists like myself. In the last year, I used 12GB of data and that's with more impulse browsing than usual.
The cheapest plan I can find is ~$150. PAYG plans are impractical as the cheapest one I found is $51 per GB.
The cheapest plan I can find is ~$150. PAYG plans are impractical as the cheapest one I found is $51 per GB.
I'm shopping for a new mobile plan and find that every telco expects that you're loading videos and consuming social media non-stop.
I want a cheapo plan that gives me 20GB of data (10 would probably do, honestly) for a whole YEAR.
My mobile phone costs have gone up drastically the last two years.
I want a cheapo plan that gives me 20GB of data (10 would probably do, honestly) for a whole YEAR.
My mobile phone costs have gone up drastically the last two years.
December 1, 2025 at 4:17 AM
I went searching for my next yearly mobile plan. Again, there's nothing for minimalists like myself. In the last year, I used 12GB of data and that's with more impulse browsing than usual.
The cheapest plan I can find is ~$150. PAYG plans are impractical as the cheapest one I found is $51 per GB.
The cheapest plan I can find is ~$150. PAYG plans are impractical as the cheapest one I found is $51 per GB.
It's been almost two weeks with me trying to adjust to scrolling in reverse to what I'm used to. I hate it because whenever I switch to my non-Apple machines, I then have to re-train myself again. Thinking about just abandoning using a mouse.
Got a mouse to use with MacOS and forgot that you can't have separate "natural scrolling" settings for trackpad and mouse. I want to throw this whole setup in the bin now. No, I can't use a utility to fix it. This machine is locked down.
December 1, 2025 at 4:05 AM
It's been almost two weeks with me trying to adjust to scrolling in reverse to what I'm used to. I hate it because whenever I switch to my non-Apple machines, I then have to re-train myself again. Thinking about just abandoning using a mouse.
Thanks. I actually do really appreciate that insight.
November 18, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Thanks. I actually do really appreciate that insight.
Got a mouse to use with MacOS and forgot that you can't have separate "natural scrolling" settings for trackpad and mouse. I want to throw this whole setup in the bin now. No, I can't use a utility to fix it. This machine is locked down.
November 18, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Got a mouse to use with MacOS and forgot that you can't have separate "natural scrolling" settings for trackpad and mouse. I want to throw this whole setup in the bin now. No, I can't use a utility to fix it. This machine is locked down.
I just saw that at the bottom of the article I linked that the contact picker needs to be specifically used by apps. What the heck.
November 16, 2025 at 12:51 PM
I just saw that at the bottom of the article I linked that the contact picker needs to be specifically used by apps. What the heck.
On the bright side, Android 17 helps with this.
www.androidauthority.com/android-17-c...
And, yeah, I know GrapheneOS and iOS can already do this.
www.androidauthority.com/android-17-c...
And, yeah, I know GrapheneOS and iOS can already do this.
Android 17 is building a new Contacts Picker to keep your address book private
Android 17 may finally let you share only specific contacts with apps thanks to a new Contacts Picker tool. Here's how it may work.
www.androidauthority.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:45 PM
On the bright side, Android 17 helps with this.
www.androidauthority.com/android-17-c...
And, yeah, I know GrapheneOS and iOS can already do this.
www.androidauthority.com/android-17-c...
And, yeah, I know GrapheneOS and iOS can already do this.
Anyone remember the "Say no to Black Friday" campaigns from a few years ago? π€
www.reddit.com/r/tutanota/c...
www.facebook.com/tutaprivacy/...
www.reddit.com/r/tutanota/c...
www.facebook.com/tutaprivacy/...
November 16, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Anyone remember the "Say no to Black Friday" campaigns from a few years ago? π€
www.reddit.com/r/tutanota/c...
www.facebook.com/tutaprivacy/...
www.reddit.com/r/tutanota/c...
www.facebook.com/tutaprivacy/...
I joined a tech interest group today. Most of the participants were 70+. Surprisingly, they were quite informed on a lot of topics.
Despite mistakenly claiming that Facebook and Google are owned by the same company, one ~80 year old said his social group shies away from FB due to privacy concerns!
Despite mistakenly claiming that Facebook and Google are owned by the same company, one ~80 year old said his social group shies away from FB due to privacy concerns!
November 3, 2025 at 10:46 AM
I joined a tech interest group today. Most of the participants were 70+. Surprisingly, they were quite informed on a lot of topics.
Despite mistakenly claiming that Facebook and Google are owned by the same company, one ~80 year old said his social group shies away from FB due to privacy concerns!
Despite mistakenly claiming that Facebook and Google are owned by the same company, one ~80 year old said his social group shies away from FB due to privacy concerns!
Call me slow but I just found out that #AppleEarPods have a USB-C variant. I grabbed one immediately due to its reasonable price and I'm already convinced that it'll be my go-to for voice calls on Android as well as for as for voice chats when gaming on my #SteamDeck. Such a great product!
October 31, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Call me slow but I just found out that #AppleEarPods have a USB-C variant. I grabbed one immediately due to its reasonable price and I'm already convinced that it'll be my go-to for voice calls on Android as well as for as for voice chats when gaming on my #SteamDeck. Such a great product!
A friend linked an Instagram post with no context whatsoever that I ignored. The next time I saw them, they mentioned a restaurant that apparently they'd messaged me about. I had to kindly tell them that I can't view Instagram posts because Meta makes you log in...
October 27, 2025 at 5:52 AM
A friend linked an Instagram post with no context whatsoever that I ignored. The next time I saw them, they mentioned a restaurant that apparently they'd messaged me about. I had to kindly tell them that I can't view Instagram posts because Meta makes you log in...
Just noticed that your website is now threema.com instead of threema.ch. Maybe worth an announcement?
Threema β Highly Secure Communication For Individuals and Companies
The secure instant messenger from Switzerland. GDPR-compliant chat app for individuals and organizations that value security and data protection. Trusted by millions.
threema.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Just noticed that your website is now threema.com instead of threema.ch. Maybe worth an announcement?
Not sure if there's a better way to do it but I achieved it by following the "Add a custom search engine in Settings" instructions.
support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add...
support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add...
Add or remove a search engine in Firefox | Firefox Help
This article explains how to add or remove the search engines that Firefox uses.
support.mozilla.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Not sure if there's a better way to do it but I achieved it by following the "Add a custom search engine in Settings" instructions.
support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add...
support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add...
Just switched my default browser search engine to noai.duckduckgo.com. This isn't an anti-AI move. I'm just trying to be mindful of the additional compute being used all the time.
DuckDuckGo - Protection. Privacy. Peace of mind.
The Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs.
noai.duckduckgo.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Just switched my default browser search engine to noai.duckduckgo.com. This isn't an anti-AI move. I'm just trying to be mindful of the additional compute being used all the time.
As someone who's dabbled a fair amount in self-hosting, photo management is really something I don't think I want to spend the energy managing.
Ente is actually self-hostable if I change my mind. π
Ente is actually self-hostable if I change my mind. π
October 3, 2025 at 8:39 AM
As someone who's dabbled a fair amount in self-hosting, photo management is really something I don't think I want to spend the energy managing.
Ente is actually self-hostable if I change my mind. π
Ente is actually self-hostable if I change my mind. π
@ente.io is a media management tool that I've been using for 2 months now. I love that I can organise and share (with others) my photos and videos knowing that everything is private.
The price is affordable and I can see myself using for many years to come. π€
This post was not sponsored. π
The price is affordable and I can see myself using for many years to come. π€
This post was not sponsored. π
October 3, 2025 at 8:36 AM
@ente.io is a media management tool that I've been using for 2 months now. I love that I can organise and share (with others) my photos and videos knowing that everything is private.
The price is affordable and I can see myself using for many years to come. π€
This post was not sponsored. π
The price is affordable and I can see myself using for many years to come. π€
This post was not sponsored. π
I also looked at Plus Codes which is similar. It's not as user friendly but at least it's open and already adopted in the map apps I use. I just can't imagine sharing the code verbally to someone in an emergency scenario.
plus.codes
plus.codes
Redirecting...
plus.codes
September 11, 2025 at 1:39 AM
I also looked at Plus Codes which is similar. It's not as user friendly but at least it's open and already adopted in the map apps I use. I just can't imagine sharing the code verbally to someone in an emergency scenario.
plus.codes
plus.codes
TIL about what3words. I quite like the concept but it's proprietary and the company behind it will take legal action against you down for stepping outside their ecosystem making it a nonstarter for me; not to mention that their app doesn't work on my phone without installing more proprietary crap.
September 11, 2025 at 1:37 AM
TIL about what3words. I quite like the concept but it's proprietary and the company behind it will take legal action against you down for stepping outside their ecosystem making it a nonstarter for me; not to mention that their app doesn't work on my phone without installing more proprietary crap.
I found this government dataset on Telstra Wi-Fi payphones. You can export the data as GPX and import it into an app like @comaps.app. Super cool!
data.wpcouncils.nsw.gov.au/explore/data...
data.wpcouncils.nsw.gov.au/explore/data...
Find a Telstra Wi-Fi payphone near you
This dataset captures the rollout and usage statistics of Telstra's free Wi-Fi service available at public payphones across Australia. Initiated in August 2022, the program began with approximately 3,...
data.wpcouncils.nsw.gov.au
September 3, 2025 at 11:10 PM
I found this government dataset on Telstra Wi-Fi payphones. You can export the data as GPX and import it into an app like @comaps.app. Super cool!
data.wpcouncils.nsw.gov.au/explore/data...
data.wpcouncils.nsw.gov.au/explore/data...
The elevation graph feature is something I'm greatly looking forward to being added to @comaps.app. Sadly, it seems like there are blockers before it can be added.
codeberg.org/comaps/comap...
codeberg.org/comaps/comap...
August 16, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The elevation graph feature is something I'm greatly looking forward to being added to @comaps.app. Sadly, it seems like there are blockers before it can be added.
codeberg.org/comaps/comap...
codeberg.org/comaps/comap...
TIL: After installing Fedora Silverblue, you should almost immediately install the Flathub version of Firefox if you want a functional browser for video streaming. This is because there are a bunch of dependencies that are a pain to manage that just work out of the box with the Flathub installation.
July 7, 2025 at 11:18 PM
TIL: After installing Fedora Silverblue, you should almost immediately install the Flathub version of Firefox if you want a functional browser for video streaming. This is because there are a bunch of dependencies that are a pain to manage that just work out of the box with the Flathub installation.
Tell me you're an evil company without telling me you're evil. People often ask me why I disallow them to take photos of me. It's because of bullshit like this. π
Facebook is starting to feed its AI with private, unpublished photos
Facebook is starting to feed its Meta AI with private, unpublished photos
Facebook users opting into βcloud processingβ are inadvertently giving Meta AI access to their entire camera roll.
buff.ly
June 28, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Tell me you're an evil company without telling me you're evil. People often ask me why I disallow them to take photos of me. It's because of bullshit like this. π