and i’ll be holding on to you.

(✿◠‿◠) twenty one pilots big fan of music and some dude named josh dun

[eleni-anz]

Ummm byee

[snumblesaurus]

So I kind of hate that Putin is trying to restrict the flow of information into Russia so that he can control the narrative, so for my Russian friends, here is my guide on

How to get around internet censorship and maintain internet privacy

This will be an extremely long post 😅

Priorities

Download the Tor Browser

This will hopefully help you access the internet regardless of Russian government bans. It’s a little slow, but better than nothing. It hides your IP address from the internet, so it’s kind of like using a VPN. A very basic summary of how Tor works: your internet traffic is routed through several “nodes”. The Entry Node, can see your IP address but has no idea what data you’re sending, and this goes through several middle nodes, until it reaches the Exit Node. The Exit Node can see what data you’re sending, but it can’t see your IP address so it doesn’t know WHO sent it. That’s why it’s a good idea to do nothing identifying when using the Tor Browser, like writing personal information. Here’s a blog post with more detailed information about the Tor Browser.

Get a VPN

VPNs are often used to get around government internet restrictions. Russia will probably not be able to do much about it. However, not all VPNs are created equal. Nearly all of the free VPNs are a scam that turn around and sell your data, so free VPNs are not secure. The only exception to this is ProtonVPN which has a free tier, but it’s very slow. Basically the only good VPN is one you pay for. When choosing a VPN, be aware of where the company is based, because if a VPN company is based in the USA, it will have to comply USA privacy laws. So choose a VPN based in a country that has good privacy laws. A great one is Mullvad VPN, which is based in Sweden. But for the purposes of Russia, just making sure your VPN is not Russian or in a country sympathetic to Russia is probably good enough.

Alternative Front-Ends A frontend is the the part of a website which the user interacts with directly. To browse the contents of websites, you usually have to visit them. However, many people have made alternative privacy-respecting frontends to popular websites that allow you to see the site’s content without actually visiting the website. This helps avoid tracking, data-collection, and even countries’ attempts to ban websites. Twitter is banned in Russia right now, but using all an alternative frontend to Twitter works (according to my Russian friend).

Google Translate

Lingva Translate / Instances

SimplyTranslate / Instances

some instances allow you to choose to translate with several other services (such as DeepL)

Imgur

Rimgo / Instances

Instagram

Bibliogram / Instances

Medium

Scribe / Instance

Reddit

Libreddit / Instances

Teddit / Instances

TikTok

ProxiTok / Instance

Twitter

Nitter / Instances

Wikipedia

Wikiless / Instances

YouTube

Invidious / Instances

Piped / Instances

YouTube Music

Beatbump / Instance

If anyone knows of one of these for Tumblr please let me know. I found this site called Tumgir but it looks sketchy and unlike the rest of the ones I listed, it’s not open-source. So visit with caution, but I’m mentioning it because it might be better than nothing.

There are also these browser extensions that automatically redirect site links to the available alternatives:

Mozilla Firefox

LibRedirect - Redirects YouTube, YT Music, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Imgur, Reddit, Wikipedia, Medium, etc.

Google Chrome

Privacy Redirect - Redirects Google Maps, Google Search, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, Youtube.

iPhone (iOS 15+) Safari

Privacy Redirect - Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, Google Translate, Google maps, Google Search, Medium

Android

UntrackMe - Google Maps, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube

Messaging / Communication

Matrix is a federated and decentralized End-to-End Encrypted (E2EE) messaging with many platforms, the most popular of which is Element. It’s like Discord, but worse. It’s getting better over time though! You can even use a a throwaway email to sign-up.

If you’re Russian you likely already know about Telegram, but MAKE SURE you’re aware that only Secret Chats are End-to-End Encrypted. So don’t say anything that would get you in trouble outside of a Secret Chat.

End Notes

China is way better at internet censorship. They’ve had years to build the infrastructure to control the flow of information online. And yet, the Chinese people still manage to “climb the wall” and find ways around this. Russia is new to this game and doesn’t have the resources China does. So I really doubt it’ll be that hard to get around their attempts to block websites. Have faith! And feel free to DM me for more info cause this post just scratches the surface for things you can do tbh.

[phantom-evil]

[ginwhitlock]

c: @carlislesscarf

[bluehollanov]

if you're going to listen to any celebrity right now, listen to john boyega. hes spoken out since the start, since way before this. hes had to deal with people telling him that him speaking out isnt right and 'kids look up to him so less swearing'. he was breaking at the protests. and the fact his career could be ruined for speaking from his own experience and basic white celebs get praise for posting a picture isn't right and if you need anything to make you realise that the treatment of black people is different from anyone else, this should be it.

[monzterzack]

The DEA has been authorized to search information and do surveillance on protesters, so people been around sharing info to encrypt your devices

And as such someone shared this list of devices which are safe for communication between protesters

[illicitdun]

i posted this on my other account but i have a larger platform on here so i’m putting it here too:

if you are in a position where you are able to donate, please consider doing so! i’ve been seeing many people using this link to split donations between many organizations involved in this movement.

Split a donation between 70+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers

Split a donation to all the bail funds, mutual aid funds, and activist organizations listed on this page. If you have questions or would lik

if you are unable to donate or attend protests you can still do your part at home! please please please sign petitions, there are many listed here under “sign petitions”! for those able to donate and attend protests safely, this carrd also has resources for you!

and most importantly, please EDUCATE yourselves! read up, be informed, and be aware. i beg you.

Black Lives Matter.

Ways To Help

Ways To Help

[illicitdun]

yay! also im going to watch it. did you watch the grammys? did any of ur faves win?

i only watched like 15 minutes so honestly i’m not sure :( i know lizzo won though and i love her 🥺

[illicitdun]

whats it about? txt is a really great kpop band n they only have 2 albums!

it’s on netflix! it’s about a personal protections officer (richard madden) who is assigned to the home secretary (keeley hawes). he’s a former soldier and has to keep her safe despite their clashing views. there’s only 6 episodes (one season) so far!

i don’t listen to much kpop but i’ll try and remember to check them out next time i do!

[illicitdun]

im good im listening to txt again wyd?

rewatching bodyguard !! 🥰

[illicitdun]

hru?

i’m good! how are you?

[illicitdun]

whos your favorite got character?

omg i havent been on here in so long so i don’t know when you sent this i’m sorry! but robb stark is my favorite 🥺

[starlingsongs-deactivated201608]

Knowing that trans women of color started the movement in the united states and were literally immediately erased and excluded from what they started is the most deeply jading knowledge.

It is the original sin of the so-called queer community and it damns it from the cradle.

[starlingsongs-deactivated201608]

no white gay boy will ever reblog this, watch:

[lesbian-mimikyu]

no white gay will reblog this

[queerfemme]

no white lgb person will reblog this

[lgbtqkidsrock]

Without Stonewall, without the efforts of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, the LGBTQ Community wouldn’t be where it is today. Don’t forget the roots, don’t forget the catalyst.

[cyberlesbiab-deactivated2021052]

and then TERFs wanna be like, “hmm well the LGBT community existed before Stonewall!”

but like…Becky, of course LGBTQ+ people existed before Stonewall. We’ve all existed since the beginning of time. But the movement got a shock to its senses, a jump-start, a rocket-into-space when that glass shattered via Marsha P. Johnson, and when Sylvia Rivera was up on-stage protesting guess who was on the sidelines heckling her?

The same fuckers who won’t ever reblog or acknowledge this

[bitterbearsf]

My apologies to the original poster as I photo captured this post to add to the thread-I reposted this last year for pride and expect to repost it every year I have left-it’s our history people.

[internutter]

Marsha P. Johnson allegedly died of suicide in 1992, and her death was never investigated. Even I, a mere prole, could catch the “she was murdered” vibes from the circumstances surrounding the discovery of her body.

Without a trans black woman, LGBT+ rights would not exist. Never forget. Never “pay it no mind”.

R E M E M B E R

[greycoupons-deactivated20200217]

And whatever you do, don’t watch that awful movie Stonewall.  Go watch a documentary on Marsha P. Johnson instead.

[illicitdun]

also if you’re going to a show this leg i’m so excited for you to see fall away live with dr blum. literally magic

[illicitdun]

yesterday was one of the worst days i’ve had in a long time but seeing these guys is something that never fails to turn that around, if only for a few hours.

[mulbery-street]

Tyler announcing Jenna's pregnancy with the sweetest play on words .

[etherealmadden]

Richard Madden. Hands. 1986.

[edmundodiaz]

- You ever been to Rome? - Yes, many years ago.

[twentnyonepilots]

＼(＾∀＾)メ(＾∀＾)ノ