Phone Privacy 101

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BIO:
Our speaker this month is Nate Bartram. Nate Bartram is the founder and editor of The New Oil, a project dedicated to making data privacy and cybersecurity accessible to the masses through education. Nate has invested years into studying and understanding today’s tech landscape and the tools available to users – both legislative and technical – to help everyday citizens protect their privacy. He is a firm believer that privacy does not require people to abandon all tech and go live in a cabin in the woods, nor does it (or should it) require everyone to become a tech expert with proficiency in programming and self-hosting. This intersection of user-friendliness and data protection is where Nate aims to educate. Nate’s background lies largely in the audio/video industry, with a degree in music and over a decade of experience in the AV industry in various aspects from live concerts and conferences to studio production and even installation of permanent systems.

TALK SUMMARY:
Most of us know that our phones are horrible for privacy. They track where we go, who we talk to, what services we routinely use, and more. But few of us can afford (or want) to simply abandon our phones entirely. Thankfully, we are not powerless. Board member and editor of The New Oil Nate Bartram returns to EFF-Austin in June to give another talk about harm reduction on our mobile devices - how we can reduce the amount of spying from the manufacturer, the carrier, and the third-parties while still participating in the digital world comfortably. Learn how to make your device work for you instead of the other way around at this month's meetup.

HOW TO ATTEND:
Capital Factory is located at 701 Brazos Street, on the 1st floor of the Omni Hotel. We are in the Apollo meeting room. To locate Apollo, locate Capital Factory's main event room off the Omni lobby, Voltron, Suite 150. Once inside, there should be someone at the desk to direct you to our meetup, but, if no one is there, proceed to the left past the kitchen and down the hallway, Apollo is right around the corner. You may also message us on this event or message us at @EFFaustin on Twitter or @effaustin on Mastodon if you are having trouble finding us. Please note that the room will be locked and EFF-Austin will not have access until 10-15 minutes before 7:00pm CST. We will try to have someone in the Omni lobby earlier than that in front of the Voltron doors to greet you if you arrive early, but otherwise just wait in the lobby until you are let in.

Talk will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/user/austintechlive and will later be archived at https://www.youtube.com/user/effaustin. Questions for the speaker from virtual attendees may be submitted via the Youtube livestream chat, our Twitter account, @EFFaustin, our Mastodon account, @effaustin, or our Bluesky account, @effaustin.bsky.social.

Parking for the Omni Garage can be validated at the Capital Factory front desk inside room Voltron, Suite 150, reducing the cost to $8. If no one is at the desk, check with EFF-Austin meetup organizers, we can provide you with one. Attendees must park after 5pm and leave before 10pm to receive the discount, otherwise they will be charged full price, which is $3.25 for every 30 minutes. Affordable street park is also available nearby. Details: https://capitalfactory.com/parking/

AFTER PARTY:
Join us for the discussion from 7:00PM-9:00PM, followed by drinks and camaraderie from 9:00PM-10:00PM in the Omni Hotel lobby.