Techlore Talks

SimpleX Chat is the only messaging network where users have no identifiers—no phone numbers, no usernames, no user IDs at all. Henry interviewed founder Evgeny Poberezkin about how unidirectional message pipes create a network where servers don't even know users exist, why this isn't federation, how it compares to Signal and Session, and why the company is based in the UK despite encryption battles.🔗 LINKSSimpleX: https://simplex.chatEvgeny's Website: https://www.poberezkin.com/about.html⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00:00 INTRO00:01:31 SIMPLEX NAME00:04:20 SIMPLEX TEAM00:05:10 SIMPLEX VS. MAINSTREAM MESSENGERS00:08:05 WHY THIS APPROACH?00:11:14 THE FUTURE OF SIMPLEX00:14:28 SIMPLEX NETWORK + FEDERATION00:20:46 REGISTRATION MODELS00:23:11 GOVERNMENT REQUESTS TO SIGNAL00:25:42 REGISTRATION MODELS (CONT'D)00:27:52 MESSENGER DISCUSSION?00:29:54 SIMPLEX LIMITATIONS00:31:00 WAYS TO USE SIMPLEX + SCALING00:37:27 OPEN SOURCE00:42:21 SIMPLEX ENCRYPTION + DENIABILITY00:54:00 SIMPLEX METADATA01:00:53 IP ADDRESS OBSERVATION01:05:02 USABILITY CHALLENGES01:09:53 MESSAGE DELIVERY01:10:58 OUTAGES01:13:14 MULTI-DEVICE SYNC01:13:56 DESKTOP ONLY?01:18:10 BATTERY IMPACT01:19:44 BACKGROUND SYNC01:21:50 FUNDING + SUSTAINABILITY01:30:38 JURISDICTION01:31:56 LEGAL + LIABILITY01:40:37 PRIVACY AS A MEANS, NOT AN END01:41:55 PRIVACY FOR THE MASSES VS. THE FEW01:45:27 WHAT'S NEXT FOR SIMPLEX?01:50:57 HOW TO FOLLOW01:52:09 OUTRO🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support

You don't have to trust Obscura—you just have to trust that not both Obscura and Mullvad are compromised. Henry sat down with Carl, former Bitcoin Core developer and founder of Obscura VPN, to discuss how it's the first VPN that mathematically can't log your activity, what makes it censorship-resistant against networks like the Great Firewall, and what it really means to build privacy that's more than "a pinky promise."🔗 LINKSObscura: https://obscura.netGitHub: https://github.com/Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-clientTrust, 2-Party Relays, and QUIC: https://obscura.net/blog/bootstrapping-trust/Mullvad: https://mullvad.net⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00:00 INTRO00:01:50 CARL'S BACKGROUND00:10:47 APPLE'S PRIVATE RELAY00:17:11 TRUSTLESS MODELS00:19:05 MULTI-PARTY RELAY PARTNERSHIP00:21:39 TRADITIONAL MULTI-HOP00:23:39 CENSORSHIP RESISTANCE00:27:33 MULLVAD VS. OBSCURA TRAFFIC00:29:35 EXIT IP00:30:18 BLOCKS, CAPTCHA, & SPLIT TUNNELING00:31:16 CUSTOM DNS00:32:41 PARTNERING WITH MULLVAD00:36:05 OBSCURA VS. PRIVATE RELAY00:37:10 OBSCURA VS. MULLVAD00:38:33 OBSCURA VS. DECENTRALIZED VPNS00:40:57 OBSCURA VS. TOR00:41:58 REPRODUCIBLE BUILDS00:50:23 CLIENTS & DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE00:55:24 SPEED00:59:06 DEFAULTS VS. CUSTOMIZATION01:00:48 PRICING01:02:43 OPEN SOURCE01:03:34 THE OBSCURA TEAM01:05:39 THOUGHTS ON THE VPN INDUSTRY01:07:49 OUTRO🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support

This special compilation episode brings together exclusive interviews from the Ad Filtering Dev Summit (AFDS) in October 2024. Henry sat down with developers and leaders from AdGuard, Brave, and the creator of the legendary Peter Lowe block list to discuss the state of ad blocking, new privacy features, and the future of tracking protection.Featured Interviews:Andre (AdGuard CTO) - Apple's new system-wide filtering API and what it means for iOS privacySofia Orlova (AdGuard UX Writer) - Designing ad blockers for everyone from "grannies to techies"Anton Lazarev - How Brave Shields works, AI privacy features, and why native ad blocking beats extensionsPeter Lowe - The 28-year journey of maintaining one of the internet's oldest and most trusted block listsTopics Covered:Apple's new URL filtering API for iOS/macOSSystem-wide ad blocking vs browser-only protectionManifest V3 and the future of extension-based blockersPrivacy-focused AI tools in browsersThe philosophy behind different ad blocking approachesHow tracking actually works (and why it's creepy)Links:AFDS Recap Video: https://youtu.be/dr7XSnbyv7w🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support

This is a different kind of Techlore Talks. Henry sits down with Marloes de Koning, a Dutch tech reporter from NRC. This wide-ranging conversation explores tech policy from a journalist's perspective, and asks hard questions about age verification, digital sovereignty, news consumption, the rules & role of journalism, and more.🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support🔗 TAKE ACTION• NRC: https://www.nrc.nl• Twitter/X: https://x.com/MarloesdeK• Marloes' Age Verification article: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/04/19/het-hoofdpijndossier-van-de-porno-industrie-controleren-hoe-oud-je-bezoekers-zijn-a4196562• Marloes' Tornado Cash article: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/03/25/hoe-een-rus-uit-amstelveen-met-zijn-cryptomixer-voor-de-rechter-in-den-bosch-belandt-a4194203• Marloes' Birthday of the Cookie article: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/10/11/hoe-het-internet-een-geheugen-kreeg-a4868671⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 INTRO01:27 EARLY YEARS IN JOURNALISM02:25 LEARNING & WRITING ABOUT TECH04:28 DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY07:08 LOCATION OF DATA/COMPANIES09:01 THE RULES OF JOURNALISM10:31 THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM19:11 INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS20:34 HOW TO FIND TRUSTWORTHY NEWS30:06 IS CONSUMING NEWS EVEN WORTH IT?34:55 AGE VERIFICATION45:13 DO PEOPLE CARE ABOUT PRIVACY?53:18 MARLOES' DIGITAL RIGHTS JOURNEY55:19 WHAT'S THE END GOAL?57:53 HOW TO FOLLOW MARLOES59:06 OUTRO📰 ABOUT TECHLORE TALKSDeep-dive interviews with experts fighting for digital rights, privacy, and freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore, bringing you insider perspectives on the threats and solutions shaping our digital future.

Google just announced a policy that could kill F-Droid and open source app distribution on Android. Marc Prud'hommeaux from F-Droid's Board of Directors calls it an "extinction event"—here's why that matters even if you've never used F-Droid.In this interview, we cover:- Google's new Developer Registration Program and what it actually does- Why F-Droid says this is an "extinction event" for open source- How this impacts ALL Android users (not just F-Droid users)- Why app stores like F-Droid exist and why they matter- Concrete actions you can take RIGHT NOW to fight back- What happens next and how developers are responding🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support🔗 TAKE ACTIONKeep Android Open (sign the petition): https://keepandroidopen.orgF-Droid Website: https://f-droid.org⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro01:45 - Marc's Journey to Open Source05:27 - App Store Breakdown (Play Store vs F-Droid vs Apple)10:39 - Malware & App Store Safety19:26 - Google's Plans for Android (The Threat)22:44 - How Bad Is This? (Extinction Event)26:21 - How This Impacts F-Droid31:35 - Why Regular Users Should Care39:45 - Effect on Developers41:29 - What Are The Next Steps?48:54 - Why Is Google Doing This?52:58 - Is Anyone Else Stepping Up?56:35 - What's Next?1:01:34 - Final Words📰 ABOUT TECHLORE TALKSDeep-dive interviews with experts fighting for digital rights, privacy, and freedom. Hosted by Henry Fisher from Techlore, bringing you insider perspectives on the threats and solutions shaping our digital future.

Even with encryption and 2FA, if someone steals your logged-in laptop, you're compromised. Michael Altfield created Buskill - an open source USB "dead man switch" - to solve this analog attack vector. In this interview, you’ll hear about the real incidents that inspired it, the advocacy work that fueled it, and the collaborative engineering efforts that turned it into a practical tool for protecting sensitive data.📱 RESOURCES IN VIDEO:• https://tech.michaelaltfield.net/• https://buskill.in/• https://github.com/BusKillTimestamps:00:00:00 INTRO00:01:43 WHAT GOT YOU INTO SECURITY?00:02:32 WHEN DID YOU GET INTO SECURITY?00:03:31 WHAT IS A DEAD MAN SWITCH?00:04:33 WHY DID YOU DEVELOP BUSKILL?00:06:25 WHEN DID YOU START MAKING BUSKILL CABLES?00:06:42 HAS THE PRODUCT CHANGED SINCE THEN?00:07:42 WHO ELSE IS BUSKILL FOR?00:09:08 WHAT OPTIONS CAN BE TRIGGERED?00:10:53 IS IT POSSIBLE TO TRIGGER A FALSE OR ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENT?00:12:16 CAN YOU WIPE ON WINDOWS OR MACOS?00:13:40 LINUX INSTALL OPTIONS00:14:16 MACOS & WINDOWS INSTALL OPTIONS00:14:25 CAN THIS BE DONE ON MOBILE?00:16:39 REAL-WORLD BUSKILL EXAMPLES00:18:13 BUSKILL COMMUNITY00:19:17 BUSKILL + OPEN SOURCE00:19:44 STL FILES + 3D PRINTING00:20:38 IS IT GOOD TO CREATE IT YOURSELF?00:20:50 INTERDICTION00:21:42 EDWARD SNOWDEN ON INTERDICTION00:23:24 OTHER ACQUISITION METHODS00:25:13 NOVACUSTOM PARTNERSHIP00:26:00 BUSKILL + NICHE LINUX DISTROS00:26:57 QUBES DOM000:28:27 UBUNTU & TAILS00:30:02 DOES BUSKILL SUPPORT CHROMEBOOKS?00:31:19 GETTING INVOLVED IN PRIVACY + ADVOCACY00:33:05 HOW PRIVACY IS VIEWED WORLDWIDE00:36:55 PERSONAL CHALLENGES WITH PRIVACY00:39:11 GO-TO PRIVACY & SECURITY TIPS00:40:11 BUSKILL + SECURITY KEYS?00:43:06 SECURITY THROUGH OBSCURITY00:45:25 CLOUD-BASED PASSWORD MANAGERS00:46:09 LIVING WITHOUT A PHONE00:51:57 CAN IT GET WORSE?00:53:18 PROPRIETARY BROADBAND00:58:49 WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT NOVACUSTOM?01:00:56 OUTRO—Keep Techlore Independent:• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/techlore• YouTube Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs6KfncB4OV6Vug4o_bzijg/join• All Support Methods: https://techlore.tech/support

Ricardo Signes, Chief Engineer at Fastmail, explains why Gmail's email experience has become increasingly fragmented, and what it would take to actually fix the decades-old IMAP protocol that powers most of the internet. We dive deep into JMAP (the modern replacement Gmail won't adopt), privacy-by-design vs. encryption theater, and the hidden trade-offs between convenience and security that no one talks about. If you've noticed your email client feeling broken, this interview reveals why.📱 RESOURCES IN VIDEO:• Fastmail: https://fastmail.com• Fastmail Values Statement: https://fastmail.com/about/values• Cyrus IMAP/JMAP Server (open source): https://www.cyrusimap.org/• JMAP Standard (RFC 8620): https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8620• Web Push Standard (RFC 8030): https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8030• Signal (for encrypted messaging): https://signal.org• Fastmail Data Transparency Report: https://fastmail.com/about/transparencyTimestamps:0:00:00 INTRO00:01:36 WHAT DRAWS YOU TO FASTMAIL?00:03:29 FASTMAIL VALUES & PHILOSOPHY00:08:49 FASTMAIL TARGET USER00:12:43 LACK OF NATIVE E2EE00:16:16 WILL EMAIL EVER BE PRIVATE?00:18:23 FASTMAIL E2EE OPTIONS00:23:43 FASTMAIL CLIENT OPTIONS00:26:18 FASTMAIL INTEGRATIONS00:29:49 BEING GOOD INTERNET CITIZENS00:33:13 BAD INTERNET CITIZENS00:38:26 JMAP & OTHER EMAIL PROTOCOLS00:48:15 REAL-WORLD BENEFITS OF JMAP00:53:07 ISSUES WITH GMAIL ON IOS00:56:06 LACK OF E2EE FOR EMAIL WITH ADP00:57:29 DOES JMAP MAKE E2EE EASIER?01:00:43 FASTMAIL + OPEN SOURCE01:10:48 PROTECTIONS AGAINST BAD ACTORS01:14:46 PHONE NUMBER REQUIREMENTS01:22:55 AUSTRALIAN JURISDICTION01:25:55 THE FASTMAIL TEAM01:28:45 PRODUCTIVITY-FOCUSED EMAIL CLIENTS01:34:27 FASTMAIL + IMAP01:35:49 WHY THE NAME "FASTMAIL"?01:38:27 IS JMAP WHY FASTMAIL IS SO FAST?01:42:03 FASTMAIL'S IDEAL AVATAR + FUTURE PLANS01:46:25 HOW TO FOLLOW RICARDO + FASTMAIL01:48:03 OUTRO—Keep Techlore Independent:• Become a Techlorian: https://discuss.techlore.tech/s• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/techlore• YouTube Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs6KfncB4OV6Vug4o_bzijg/join• Affiliate Links: https://techlore.tech/affiliates• All Support Methods: https://techlore.tech/support

When you sign into Chrome, Google collects your entire browsing history to build behavioral profiles for targeted ads. In this interview, Firefox CTO Bobby Holley breaks down why Mozilla maintains Gecko as an independent engine, how Firefox approaches privacy differently from Google and Apple, and why the stakes for browser independence are higher than ever.Timestamps:00:00 INTRO01:24 CTO DAY IN THE LIFE03:34 STICKING WITH GECKO OVER CHROMIUM06:33 COMPETING ON PRIVACY09:06 PRIVACY IN FIREFOX21:03 INSPIRATION FROM THE TOR PROJECT22:57 WHAT USERS GAIN FROM FIREFOX26:56 THE BEST FIREFOX CONFIGURATION29:59 MANIFEST V2 VS. V3 + AD BLOCKING30:53 MAINTAINING MANIFEST V232:26 UBLOCK ORIGIN BY DEFAULT?33:46 FIREFOX'S APPROACH TO AI39:14 GECKO ON IOS?42:25 FEELINGS ABOUT THE DMA IN EUROPE43:53 WINDOWS DEFAULT BROWSER BEHAVIOR44:52 DMA ENGINE CHOICE PROVISIONS45:13 BEING THE DEFAULT BROWSER ON LINUX46:52 NEW THREATS TO PRIVACY50:33 HOW TO FOLLOW BOBBY & FIREFOX51:47 OUTRO—Keep Techlore Independent:• Become a Techlorian: https://discuss.techlore.tech/s• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/techlore• YouTube Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs6KfncB4OV6Vug4o_bzijg/join• Affiliate Links: https://techlore.tech/affiliates• All Support Methods: https://techlore.tech/support