Beginner Privacy

About

Write Content

Welcome to the Beginner Privacy content guide!

Getting Started

Choose your editing method:

GitHub Editor: Edit directly in your browser.
Local Setup (Recommended): Learn how to setup this website locally.

Check out what to write:

Head over to our Article Status Board on GitHub to see what articles haven’t been written yet.

Create Your Article

Navigate to the content/articles/ folder.
Create a new folder with a URL-friendly name (e.g., why-privacy-matters for “Why Privacy Matters”).
Inside this folder, create three files:
- index.md (English)
- index.es.md (Spanish)
- index.zh-cn.md (Chinese Simplified)

🖼️ Need images?

Create a matching folder in static/images/articles/ (e.g., why-privacy-matters).

Article Template

Include this at the top of your article.

---
title: [Article Title Here]
date: 2025-02-25
authors:
  - name: [Your Name]
    link: https://github.com/[Your GitHub Username]
    image: https://github.com/[Your GitHub Username].png
excludeSearch: false
---

Writing Style

Audience:

Beginner Privacy’s audience consists of adults aged 18 to 50 who possess a foundational understanding of the internet and computers. While avoiding oversimplification, it is important to clarify any jargon used.

Style:

Use American English.
Be concise while covering key details (e.g., why a tool is recommended).
Structure content with Markdown headers (###).

Translating Article

Beginner Privacy is available in 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Chinese (Simplified).

Translate the English version using a tool like LibreTranslate or any other translator you prefer into Spanish and Chinese (Simplified).
Translation Verification: Translate the article that has already been translated back into English, and then compare it to the original English article to:
- Catch mistranslated technical terms
- Verify sentence structure matches the intended meaning
- Identify missing context
Adjust image paths for non-English articles:
- Add ../ to paths (e.g., ../../images/... → ../../../images/... for the Spanish/Chinese articles).
Proofread: Fix formatting issues and ensure clarity.

Markdown & Shortcodes

Explore the Hextra documentation on Markdown and Shortcodes to enhance your articles, making them more interactive and easier to read. Additionally, Beginner Privacy offers several custom shortcodes, which are detailed below

Recommendation Card

When there is a certain tool or piece of software that you want to recommend.

<div class="recommendations">
  <div class="grid">
    {{< hextra/recommendation-card title="MullvadVPN" link="https://mullvad.net/en/vpn" logo="../../../../images/articles/what-is-a-vpn-and-should-you-use-one/mullvadvpn.webp" text="Paid, open source" platformIcon="linux android ios macos windows" buttonText="Visit Website" >}}
  </div>
</div>

MullvadVPN

Paid, open source

Visit Website

Assessment

Help the reader discover more about e.g. their privacy needs.

{{< hextra/assessment id="threat-model-assesment" >}}
{
  "questions": [
    {
      "question": "How sensitive is your typical online activity?",
      "answers": [
        {"text": "Basic web browsing (e.g., reading news, shopping)", "score": 1},
        {"text": "Some personal communications (e.g., social media, emails)", "score": 2},
        {"text": "Handling sensitive work documents (e.g., client data, contracts)", "score": 3},
        {"text": "Activism or whistleblowing (e.g., sharing sensitive information)", "score": 4}
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "What's your biggest privacy concern?",
      "answers": [
        {"text": "Targeted ads", "score": 1},
        {"text": "Mass surveillance", "score": 2},
        {"text": "Having a digital footprint", "score": 3},
        {"text": "Being targeted by malicious actors", "score": 4}
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "What lengths are you willing to go to protect your privacy?",
      "answers": [
        {"text": "I prefer convenience over security", "score": 1},
        {"text": "I'll make some effort, but not too much", "score": 2},
        {"text": "I'm willing to sacrifice a decent amount of convenience for better security and privacy", "score": 3},
        {"text": "I’m ready to invest heavily in security and change my lifestyle", "score": 4}
      ]
    }
  ],
  "resultText": {
    "casual": "Casual User: Basic privacy protections recommended",
    "privacyConscious": "Privacy-Conscious: Medium-level security measures advised",
    "advanced": "Advanced User: Comprehensive security framework needed"
  }
}
{{< /hextra/assessment >}}

How sensitive is your typical online activity?

What's your biggest privacy concern?

What lengths are you willing to go to protect your privacy?

Your Threat Model:

Quiz

Test the reader’s knowledge or assess their understanding of the article.

{{< hextra/quiz id="math-quiz" >}}
{
  "questions": [
    {
      "question": "What is the prime number?",
      "answers": [
        {"text": "3", "isCorrect": true},
        {"text": "4", "isCorrect": false}
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Which of the following are even numbers?",
      "answers": [
        {"text": "2", "isCorrect": true},
        {"text": "5", "isCorrect": false}
      ]
    }
  ]
}
{{< /hextra/quiz >}}