Navigated to Opt Out 05 | Can you ever really opt out of online life?

Opt Out 05 | Can you ever really opt out of online life?

Dec 19, 2025
29 mins

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Episode Description

After weeks of trying to audit, delete, and lock down her digital life, Rae hits the big, uncomfortable question: what if you can’t opt out of the internet, even if you really want to?

In the final episode of Opt Out, Rae speaks with Jathan Sadowski, senior lecturer at Monash University and proud Luddite, about how surveillance creeps into everyday life — from smart cars to smart locks — and why 'just logging off' is a privilege most people don’t actually have. Then she sits down with Carly Kind, Australia’s Privacy Commissioner, to ask what protections exist here, where the gaps are, and what power individuals really have to push back.

Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too.

Technical production by Riley Mellis.

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