Edward Snowden has some advice for maintaining online privacy in an age of widespread NSA surveillance. Snowden called Google and Facebook dangerous while praising Apples encryption efforts.

"We're talking about encryption. We're talking about dropping programs that are hostile to privacy, Snowden said inan interview published Saturday by theNew Yorker.For example, Dropbox? Get rid of Dropbox; it doesn't support encryption, it doesn't protect your private files. And use competitors like SpiderOak that do the same exact service, but they protect the content of what you're sharing."

Snowden, the former NSA analyst who revealed the extent of U.S. government surveillance in 2013, did so from a hotel in Hong Kong before leaving for Russia. Having ditched his Hawaii apartment and $122,000 annual salary earlier that summer, he said in the interview he intended only a brief stay in Russia before leaving for Latin America, only to face visa issues that prevented him from leaving. Snowden is now actively sought by the U.S. to face espionage charges.

Dropbox defended itself in a June blog post after Snowden bashed the services security. All of the files its users send and receive are encrypted while traveling between you and our servers and when they are at rest on Dropboxs servers. SpiderOak encrypts data locally on a users computer as well, as opposed to only when it is in transit or in the cloud.

Snowden said Facebook and Google have improved their methods of protecting user privacy but were still dangerous services that should largely be avoided. Ironically, the interview was conducted remotely over Google Hangouts and streamed live on the tech giants YouTube.

Consumers should also be wary of standard text-messaging services from wireless providers, Snowden said. Silent Circle for iPhone and Android and RedPhone, which is currently Android-only, were better replacements because they encrypt texts -- but require that both users install the app to communicate.

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Edward Snowden Offers Online Privacy Tips: Drop Dropbox, Facebook And Google

Edward Snowden being interviewed by Jane Mayer at the MasterCard stage at SVA Theatre during The New Yorker Festival 2014 on October 11, 2014 in New York City.Getty Images

Edward Snowdenhas claimed that if people care about their privacy, they should steer clear from Internet social media sites, like Facebook, Dropboxand Google.

In a remote interview conducted yesterday, as part of the New York Festival, Snowden suggested some of his privacytips.

American people don't have to know the name of every individual that's under investigation. We don't need to know the technical details of absolutely every program in the intelligence community. But we do have to know the bare and broad outlines of the powers our government is claiming ... and how they affect us and how they affect our relationships overseas. Because if we don't, we are no longer citizens, we no longer have leaders. We're subjects, and we have rulers.

- Edward Snowden

Snowdencalled for a reform of government policies and said people who take certain defined positions, where they, "don't have anything to hide," are in fact, "inverting the model of responsibility for how rights work."

"When you say, 'I have nothing to hide,' you're saying, 'I don't care about this right.' You're saying, 'I don't have this right, because I've got to the point where I have to justify it.' The way rights work is, the government has to justify its intrusion into your rights," said Snowden.

Importance of Encryption

Snowden advised individuals to guard their privacy by using encryptedtools and discontinue services that are "hostile to privacy."

He called for a boycott of Dropboxand suggested the use of alternatives, like SpiderOak.

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Edward Snowden's Privacy Tips: 'Get Rid Of Dropbox' and Avoid Facebook

Edward Snowden has some advice for maintaining online privacy in an age of widespread NSA surveillance. Snowden called Google and Facebook dangerous while praising Apples encryption efforts.

"We're talking about encryption. We're talking about dropping programs that are hostile to privacy, Snowden said inan interview published Saturday by theNew Yorker.For example, Dropbox? Get rid of Dropbox; it doesn't support encryption, it doesn't protect your private files. And use competitors like SpiderOak that do the same exact service, but they protect the content of what you're sharing."

Snowden, the former NSA analyst who revealed the extent of U.S. government surveillance in 2013, did so from a hotel in Hong Kong before leaving for Russia. Having ditched his Hawaii apartment and $122,000 annual salary earlier that summer, he said in the interview he intended only a brief stay in Russia before leaving for Latin America, only to face visa issues that prevented him from leaving. Snowden is now actively sought by the U.S. to face espionage charges.

Dropbox defended itself in a June blog post after Snowden bashed the services security. All of the files its users send and receive are encrypted while traveling between you and our servers and when they are at rest on Dropboxs servers. SpiderOak encrypts data locally on a users computer as well, as opposed to only when it is in transit or in the cloud.

Snowden said Facebook and Google have improved their methods of protecting user privacy but were still dangerous services that should largely be avoided. Ironically, the interview was conducted remotely over Google Hangouts and streamed live on the tech giants YouTube.

Consumers should also be wary of standard text-messaging services from wireless providers, Snowden said. Silent Circle for iPhone and Android and RedPhone, which is currently Android-only, were better replacements because they encrypt texts -- but require that both users install the app to communicate.

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NSA Leaker Edward Snowden Offers Online Privacy Tips