Since Orchid launched in December 2019, concerns about privacy have come to the fore. A global pandemic has upended the way people around the world live, work, learn, and more. In this unprecedented year, the surge in remote work and schooling have heightened awareness of online privacy risks and driven more people than ever to seek out solutions such as VPNs. At the same time, new laws aimed at protecting individuals' privacy online continue to be adopted and enacted in regions around the world.

Privacy is Orchid's mission. So as the past year unfolded in real time, we shared insights, and strategies for people looking to understand the state of online privacy and ensure they are protected when using the Internet. Now, as we near the end of such an eventful year, we're taking the opportunity to revisit these pieces. If you missed them the first time, or want to re-read a particular favorite, we have pulled together some of our top privacy-related tips and explainers of 2020 below.

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ORCHID'S TOP 2020 PRIVACY TIPS

Data creep and the ever expanding targeted ads: You're not imagining it. Advertisers can now show us what we want before we know we want it.

What's the best VPN for crypto users? VPNs were developed to address users' innate desire for privacy -- and therefore, personal autonomy. And though it serves a different use case, cryptocurrency appeals to this same core need. Both technologies seek to offer an alternative to centralized, opaque, and often inflexible legacy systems.

State of privacy: deep dive into the U.S. data protection laws. Around the world, from living rooms to boardrooms to legislatures, data privacy is a salient and growing concern. As more and more aspects of life have shifted online in recent years, people and governments have begun to recognize that our digital actions leave behind footprints.

Can you protect your privacy by using a VPN to access TikTok and WeChat? Some in the U.S. have begun turning to VPNs to use TikTok and WeChat, even if it goes against their government's wishes.

Defending freedom in the time of coronavirus: The world is in the grip of a pandemic. Governments are reacting in different ways, but a common thread is a trend toward greater surveillance and restrictions on movement.

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How to protect students' privacy online: For the first time ever, students and parents are confronted with the prospect of the school year taking place partly, or even entirely, online.

Tracking pixels, building blocks of internet surveillance: An introduction to the small snippets of code that allow third parties to record people's behavior online.

Can you be tracked using a VPN? The short answer is yes: even with a VPN, you can be tracked.

Orchid's tips for protecting your privacy working from home: The COVID-19 pandemic has tens of millions of people working remotely for the first time. This has forced people everywhere to determine how best to remain productive -- and private -- without the institutional infrastructure of corporate wi-fi and desktops.

FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT PODCAST

Orchid co-founder and CEO Dr. Seven Waterhouse and Beanstalk Ventures Managing Partner Ken Seiff discuss the dark side of the Internet: "It's likely there will be ... government intervention that tramples on our right to privacy as a result of the pandemic."

Pioneer Programmer Brian J. Fox on Championing Open Source: When Brian J. Fox, Co-founder of Orchid and the original author of the GNU Bash shell, started out as a pioneer programmer, it was the free exchange of creative ideas that drove advances in computer science. So it ran completely counter Brian's open source philosophy when corporations such as Microsoft wanted to encase software in intellectual property rights in order to charge license fees.

VIDEO

How to beat surveillance capitalism and reclaim your privacy: Learn how blockchain technology can be used to protect people online.