Is Linux Truly The Best Privacy Alternative For The Average User?
Privacy concerns have soared in the public eye. It’s always been a topic of interest, but more so in recent years, after multiple global scandals. The line between conspiracy theories and soft-core surveillance has blurred more than ever, making privacy a much more global and mainstream topic.
Because of it, there’s been plenty of guides, articles and other resources popping up to inform users on their options when wanting to shift from big techs to privacy-focused options.
Recommended among them is Linux, as the main OS alternative to Windows and Mac OS.
From the perspective of a long-term Microsoft user, who has vaguely dabbled in Apple, Linux seems the most frontier, niche option possible. I think of it less as an alternative, and more as a stand-alone service.
Linux seems to have evolved alongside the two big names in the game, and while even Microsoft uses Linux for some of its services, Linux didn’t evolve as a commercial OS the way the two contenders have.
While the open-source aspect is precisely what drives privacy guides to quote Linux as an option, like we’ll see below, Linux can seem awfully too “tech-y”, too frontier, too isolated, and serve only awfully specific needs, that doesn’t leave a lot of space for the average user to make the switch.
The User Case
When I say average user, I mean the majority of people. I mean the overwhelming 70% of people who purchase machines that all ship with Windows, and get straight-forward and easy solution to their problems.
The average user, in this context, is someone used to things working right out of the box. They’re used to purchasing a computer and maintaining it, eventually updating it for parts, and have everything available when booting.
The average user, is someone with privacy concerns, who refuses for tech giants to harvest their data without their knowing or consent, but is otherwise too committed, whether professionally or personally, and doesn’t care or have time to develop the skills needed for that unnecessary learning curve.
Not everyone cares to become as knowledgeable as the average Linux user
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