Sovereignty Wiki
The Sovereignty Wiki
Plain-English definitions of the concepts behind digital sovereignty — each one a citable reference, linked to the guides that put it into practice.
Digital Sovereignty
The practical ability to own and control your data, identity, and tools rather than renting them from platforms that can change the rules.
Data Broker
A company that collects, aggregates, and sells personal data about you, usually without your direct knowledge or consent.
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)
Encryption where only the people communicating can read the messages — not the service carrying them.
Zero-Knowledge
A design where the service provider cannot access your data because it never holds the keys to decrypt it.
Metadata
Data about your data — who, when, where, and how — which can reveal as much as the content itself.
Risk signal Model
A clear picture of what you are protecting, from whom, and what happens if you fail — used to choose proportionate defenses.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Requiring a second proof of identity beyond your password, so a stolen password alone is not enough to log in.
Password Manager
A tool that generates and stores strong, unique passwords so you never reuse or memorise them.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A tool that encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a remote server, hiding it from your network but not from the VPN provider.
Data Minimization
The principle of sharing and storing the least personal data necessary — the data you never give out cannot be leaked, sold, or stolen.
Impersonation scam (Impersonation Scams)
Messages that impersonate a trusted party to trick you into revealing credentials or money.
De-Googling
Gradually replacing Google services with privacy-respecting alternatives to reduce dependence on a single data-driven ecosystem.
Data Portability
Your ability to export your data from one service and move it to another in a usable format.
Right to Be Forgotten
The legal right, in some regions, to have personal data about you erased from a service or search results.
Digital Footprint
The total trail of data you leave online — deliberately posted or passively collected — that others can find and use.
Self-Custody
Holding the private keys to your own digital assets yourself, instead of trusting a third-party custodian.
Financial Privacy
Keeping your transactions, balances, and financial behaviour from being needlessly exposed, profiled, or sold.
Attention Economy
The business model in which products compete to capture and monetise your attention, often at the cost of your wellbeing.
Digital Minimalism
Deliberately reducing your digital tools and inputs to the few that deliver real value, and cutting the rest.
Social Engineering
Manipulating people, rather than technology, into giving up information, access, or money.