Extreme Privacy: What It Takes to Disappear

by Michael Bazzell

30 Sections, 228 Chronological Tasks, 340,000 Words, 590 Pages

Michael Bazzell has helped hundreds of celebrities, billionaires, and everyday citizens disappear completely from public view. Many of his previous books about privacy were mostly REACTIVE and he focused on ways to hide information, clean up an online presence, and sanitize public records to avoid unwanted exposure. This textbook is PROACTIVE. It is the complete guide he would give to any new client in an extreme situation. It leaves nothing out and provides explicit details of every step he takes to make someone completely disappear, including legal documents and a chronological order of tasks. For many, this is the only manual needed to secure a new private life. Digital PDF available at the IntelTechniques website.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Self Help, Business, Hackers, Philosophy, Reference

590 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2024

Reviews

[Daniel Evensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Bazzell's Extreme Privacy is the first place that anybody with a serious interest in privacy should turn. As he has done in past editions, Bazzell presents a complete guide to self-anonymization – one that goes far beyond the normal steps of removing one's name and contact information from Google steps. In fact, this volume goes far beyond the digital world itself, going to great lengths to detail how to purchase even large assets anonymously, including homes and vehicles.

Bazzell's writing is clear and clean – much better than in previous editions of this work. His instructions are up-to-date and easy to follow. It's not always entirely clear what impact certain steps will have, however, nor is it always all that easy to understand why certain steps and precautions are necessary. Even recommendations as common as purchasing computers that lack the Intel Management Engine are thrown out almost casually, missing the contextual discussion that shows why this is a step that ought to be seriously considered.

Bazzell goes to privacy-minded extremes that are far beyond what I will ever be willing to consider. Setting up your own personal home firewall that is designed to shut off all internet access that does not connect through a VPN is a pretty extreme step, for example. Changing one's residence to a state that allows a ghost address to be used to establish residency seems to be a step beyond extreme. Abandoning any sort of stable residence and spending the rest of one's nomadic existence in an RV borders on the ludicrous. While reading this book, you will also likely find that the costs of complete privacy negate whatever marginal benefit you obtain – unless, of course, your life is actually in danger.

Of course, it is a sad comment on the state of modern society that such measures are even necessary. One wonders about the actual legitimacy of the infamous "penumbra of the Constitution" when its realization requires a lifetime of devotion and study. Certainly, it is true that the unending desire for complete anonymity is a quixotic quest just as costly and foolish as the state's insatiable hunger for security. At the same time, though, one wonders whether we really benefit from an economic system that feeds on our own metadata.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides insights in the extent you have to go to be anonymous. I especially liked the first chapters on browser tracking techniques and the stories in the end of the book. Also back-up options are essential and a good practice regardless of privacy consciousness. The level of technical detail is high even for someone who is quite tech savy. Unfortunately, the book is very focussed on citizens of the united states. Many options seem to become irrelevant quickly, especially for european citizens.
Overall I had hoped strategies were explained in more detail to realy understand how each setting influences privacy and what features become unavailable due to turning off these features, to adjust privacy measures according to your own treath level. Thus: insightfull book, but not an easy read and not as usefull for citizens outside of the US.

[Caleb Cranney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a great deal of respect for the level of well-justified paranoia contained in this book. It's not really a conspiracy theory to say that effectively all use of electronic devices by the average user opens the door to someone learning everything about us. This book is an in-depth dissection of how, from using a phone to buying a car, you can keep your information purely your own. The book is directed at people who need to avoid attention from unwanted parties, such as a woman being stalked by a tech-savvy abusive ex-boyfriend or a media cancellation attempt that turns into death threats towards you and your loved ones. However, if you're like me and do not fall under those categories, the book is an absolute eye-opener to all the vulnerabilities that come with using technologies and basic steps you can take to shore them up.

[naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect and definitely seeing a re-read in the future, maybe even yearly

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being somewhat new to the cybersecurity field, this book has a lot of interesting tidbits of the practical issues of falling off the radar. I think these may vary from country to country, since this particular book focuses on the U.S.A.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of these methods are extreme but when you have a very serious situation, such as a stalker, you may need them. The author doesn’t just tell you, for example, “use Linux and install these programs,” he also tells you the specific commands to run to install them.

[e. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. The "international considerations" are a paragraph at most, and in some chapters completely ignored. Only buy this if you are in the US and are completely paranoid.

My least favorite part was when he advocated for one of his clients tracking her own son through the use of gift cards. That's pretty shady. There are other examples where he comes close to infringing on the privacy of others purely to hide himself.

The author comes across as very arrogant and dislikeable.

[Dennis Malmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great place to start for anyone who wants to get control of their online data. While some of the steps are extreme, the book is formatted such that you can jump along chapters and pick and customise the level of extreme you want to go.

Privacy and security on the internet is as the author says: it's a sprint, not a marathon.

[M W · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️ Informative read, but a bit dry in several areas. I did like Michael Bazzell’s down-to-earth writing style, however—it made the book a bit easier to read during the extra highly technical segments.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book to read if you want to 'dissapear' from the internet to avoid bad, or even potentially bad, 'actors' (in the specific cybersecurity technical sense), who might choose to use your own freely given information against you, if not now, then perhaps in the distant future.

[User · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't waste time on this website, you won't get a copy here

[Nick Ayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference material for protection.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn how to maintain privacy in our modern world, this is the book for you.

[Simon Brownhill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very US centric. But good concepts and advice.

[Al Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Bazzell again proves why he is the guru among gurus for electronic data investigation AND privacy. Bazzell is the apex in offensive and defensive OSINT techniques.

[vik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Вичерпна настільна книга. Найкраще, що мені траплялося на цю тему.

[Massimiliano Sartorio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with a lot of actionable advices. This is a book you’ll have to come back to when needed, some of the chapters might not apply to you directly now but may be of interest in the future.