Edward Snowden’s Revelations: Key Takeaways and How to Reclaim Your Privacy

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Last summer I decided to do a deep dive into the world of online privacy, what we learned from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations, as well as steps one can take to not be constantly tracked and surveilled by both government agencies and Big Tech. The following is a brief summary I put together for those that don’t have the time to read everything for themselves.

1. Mass Surveillance of U.S. and Global Citizens

Edward Snowden’s leaks exposed the vast and intrusive surveillance programs of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and its allied intelligence agencies. Unlike traditional espionage that targeted suspected criminals or terrorists, these programs indiscriminately swept up information on millions of people, regardless of whether they were under suspicion.

PRISM: Direct Access to Tech Companies

One of the most alarming revelations was the existence of PRISM, a top-secret program that enabled the NSA to directly collect user data from major technology companies. This data included emails, messages, video calls, cloud storage, and more from:

  • Google
  • Facebook
  • Apple
  • Microsoft
  • Yahoo
  • Dropbox and others

The companies involved initially denied any direct collaboration, but leaked documents proved they complied with secret court orders that forced them to share information.

The Impact of PRISM on Global Communications

PRISM not only compromised privacy but also raised concerns about:

  • The autonomy of tech companies and their ability to resist government pressure.
  • The potential misuse of collected data beyond national security purposes.
  • The chilling effect on free speech and activism, as users feared surveillance.

Bulk Collection of Phone Records

The NSA worked with telecom giants like Verizon and AT&T to collect vast amounts of call metadata, including:

  • Numbers dialed
  • Call durations
  • Geolocation data
  • Frequency of communication

While officials argued that “only metadata” was being collected, privacy experts warned that such information could be used to build detailed profiles of individuals’ personal lives, contacts, and behaviors.

Metadata: More Than Just Numbers

Despite claims that metadata collection was harmless, analysts could:

  • Determine the nature of relationships based on call frequency and timing.
  • Track movements and identify personal habits.
  • Infer sensitive information, such as political affiliations or medical conditions, from call patterns.

Tapping Undersea Internet Cables

To capture global internet traffic, the NSA and its partners tapped undersea fiber-optic cables that carry data across continents. This allowed them to indiscriminately intercept:

  • Emails and private messages
  • Browsing history and search queries
  • Social media activity
  • Encrypted and unencrypted communication

The Global Implications of Cable Tapping

This practice not only violated privacy but also:

  • Strained diplomatic relations between the U.S. and other nations.
  • Undermined trust in global internet infrastructure.
  • Opened the door for other nations to justify similar surveillance measures.

2. Circumvention of Legal and Constitutional Protections

Although intelligence agencies are required to follow laws that limit surveillance on domestic citizens, Snowden’s leaks revealed that the NSA often operated in legal gray areas or outright ignored these restrictions.

Weak Oversight from the FISA Court

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) was established to provide judicial oversight of surveillance activities. However, Snowden’s documents showed that the court:

  • Operated in total secrecy, issuing rulings that could not be challenged or appealed
  • Approved nearly every surveillance request it received
  • Lacked independent accountability, effectively acting as a rubber-stamp authority

Misleading Congress and the Public

In 2013, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was asked by Congress whether the NSA collected data on millions of Americans. His response: “No, sir… Not wittingly.”

This statement was later proven false by Snowden’s documents, which showed that bulk data collection was routine. This deception fueled public distrust in intelligence agencies and government transparency.

Exploiting Loopholes to Spy on Americans

Since direct surveillance of U.S. citizens without a warrant is illegal, the NSA used various loopholes to justify its activities, including:

  • Partnering with the UK’s GCHQ to gather data on Americans, then sharing the intelligence
  • Collecting “incidental” data on Americans during foreign surveillance and storing it indefinitely
  • Using secret legal justifications to expand the scope of domestic surveillance

The Consequences of Legal Loopholes

These tactics led to:

  • Erosion of trust in legal institutions.
  • Expansion of government power without proper checks and balances.
  • Increased difficulty in holding agencies accountable for overreach.

3. Global Surveillance and Spying on Allies

Snowden’s disclosures showed that the NSA was not just targeting terrorists or adversaries, but also friendly nations, international organizations, and even multinational corporations.

Spying on World Leaders

Among the most controversial revelations was that the NSA spied on the personal communications of foreign leaders, including:

  • Angela Merkel (Germany) – Her phone was tapped, straining U.S.-Germany relations.
  • Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) – Brazil’s government and Petrobras, the state oil company, were monitored.
  • European Union officials – The NSA had tapped into internal communications of EU offices.

Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance

The NSA shared surveillance data with its closest allies under the “Five Eyes” alliance, which includes:

  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Canada
  • Australia
  • New Zealand

This alliance allowed member states to sidestep domestic spying restrictions by having allies collect data on their own citizens and then sharing it.

Global Backlash Against U.S. Spying

Many countries reacted strongly to these revelations by:

  • Strengthening domestic privacy laws.
  • Reducing reliance on U.S. technology companies.
  • Pushing for independent internet infrastructure to evade NSA monitoring.

In addition, individuals developed privacy-oriented tools like Signal and started privacy-oriented companies such as Switzerland-based Proton.

4. Covert Exploitation of Technology

The NSA actively worked to undermine global cybersecurity in order to maintain its surveillance dominance.

Weakened Encryption Standards

  • The NSA influenced encryption standards to insert vulnerabilities that allowed them to break encryption.
  • These backdoors made online communication more vulnerable not only to government surveillance but also to hackers and hostile nations.

Planting Backdoors in Software and Hardware

The NSA secretly inserted surveillance backdoors into:

  • Commercial software (such as Windows operating systems)
  • Internet routers and networking equipment
  • Some encryption tools used for online security

This made the internet fundamentally less secure, as these backdoors could also be exploited by cybercriminals and hostile foreign governments.

Hacking and Cyber Attacks

  • The NSA launched cyber operations against foreign networks, hacking companies, governments, and institutions.
  • Some of these tools later fell into the hands of cybercriminals, leading to devastating malware attacks.

5. Big Tech and Data Brokers

Going beyond Snowden’s revelations about government surveillance by agencies like the NSA, major tech companies are also continuously collecting vast amounts of user data. This data is often sold to brokers, who then resell it to governments — including the U.S. and foreign entities — or to virtually anyone willing to pay for it. Tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft engage in extensive data harvesting, gathering information through search histories, location tracking, voice assistants, cloud services, and more. Beyond these corporations, countless apps — many of which appear harmless — are designed to siphon personal details, often without users fully realizing the extent of the data being collected. From fitness trackers to weather apps, social media platforms to budgeting tools, personal information is routinely gathered, analyzed, and monetized. This ecosystem of mass data collection fuels a multibillion-dollar industry that thrives on tracking, profiling, and influencing user behavior, often with little transparency or meaningful oversight.

6. How to Reclaim Your Privacy

While mass surveillance remains a reality, individuals can take steps to protect their digital privacy.

1. Use Encrypted Communication

  • Messaging: Use Signal or Session instead of SMS or WhatsApp.
  • Email: Switch to ProtonMail or Tutanota instead of Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, or Yahoo.
  • Calls: Use encrypted VoIP services instead of regular phone calls. You can also make encrypted voice or video calls on Signal and voice calls on Session.

2. Browse Privately

  • Use Brave or a hardened version of Firefox instead of Chrome, Safari, or Edge. For sensitive searches, use Tor.
  • Enable privacy extensions like uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger.
  • Avoid Google search while logged in to an account; use DuckDuckGo, Brave or Startpage.

3. Protect Your Devices

  • Use a VPN (like Proton or Mullvad) to hide your IP address.
  • Encrypt your hard drive with BitLocker (Windows) or FileVault (Mac).
  • For highly sensitive tasks, consider a privacy-focused OS like Tails or Qubes OS.

4. Limit Data Sharing

  • Turn off tracking features on your smartphone and uninstall unused apps, or any apps where you can use a browser instead.
  • Use de-Googled phones (GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, LineageOS) instead of stock Android or iOS for far better privacy (the new iPhone 16 may be the overall worst phone in terms of user privacy, and contains “Apple Intelligence” technology that potentially undermines the use of encrypted communication apps).
  • Delete unused accounts and minimize social media usage.

Conclusion

Edward Snowden’s disclosures revealed an extensive surveillance system operating with minimal oversight. To regain control over their digital privacy, individuals can adopt privacy-focused tools and stay informed. This summary only touches on a complex issue — I’ve only barely scratched the surface — but you can explore it further through books such as Permanent Record by Edward Snowden, Means of Control by Byron Tau, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, and Extreme Privacy by Michael Bazzell. Additionally, YouTube channels like Naomi Brockwell TV and Rob Braxman Tech provide valuable insights. The key is to stay vigilant and proactive rather than remain complacent.

See also:

NSA Files Decoded: What the revelations mean for you

15 Top NSA Spy Secrets Revealed by Edward Snowden

CIA’s Chief Tech Officer on Big Data: We Try to Collect Everything and Hang Onto It Forever
It’s hard to believe but they are now completely open about massive public surveillance, and this was describing technology from 12 years ago.

Emerging Details of Chinese Hack Leave U.S. Officials Increasingly Concerned;
The U.S. is investigating a China-backed hack of telecom companies
Highlighting the stunning incompetence of our government and telecommunications companies, the Chinese recently hacked the very same systems that the U.S. government uses to spy you on.

How Chinese Spies Got the N.S.A.’s Hacking Tools, and Used Them for Attacks
Chinese intelligence agents acquired National Security Agency hacking tools and repurposed them in 2016 to attack American allies and private companies in Europe and Asia, a leading cybersecurity firm has discovered.

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