Techlore Talks

Ad blockers have broad permissions to intercept all your web traffic—which means you need to know which ones to trust. Henry interviewed the CTO and co-founded of AdGuard about why they pivoted from data collection to privacy protection, how DNS filtering differs from local ad blocking, and Apple's revolutionary new API that lets ad blockers work system-wide on iOS without ever seeing your traffic.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00:00 INTRO00:06:04 PRE-SNOWDEN VS. POST-SNOWDEN00:07:58 TYPES OF FILTERING00:15:03 LOCAL FILTERING VS. DNS & VPN00:18:14 INTERCEPTING WEB TRAFFIC CONCERNS00:21:27 ADGUARD VS. BROWSER SOLUTIONS00:26:15 ADGUARD EXTENSION VS. OTHERS00:31:15 ADGUARD FILTERING VS. OTHERS00:32:04 ADGUARD HOME00:34:08 PRICING STRUCTURE00:35:52 BASED IN CYPRUS?00:38:25 OPEN SOURCE?00:41:04 THE AD BLOCKING ECOSYSTEM00:44:26 MITIGATING ATTACKS00:51:13 THE ROLE OF AD BLOCKING00:54:37 APPLE'S NEW API00:57:38 COMPARISON TO DNS FILTERING00:58:56 ETA FOR THESE UPDATES00:59:43 APPLE'S PATTERN01:00:58 BLOCKING APPLE DOMAINS01:02:28 WRAPPING UP🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support

Peer-to-peer networks have no servers—just devices talking directly to each other. Henry interviewed Mathias Buus Madsen, CEO of Holepunch, about how BitTorrent handled 40 million users without servers, why their messenger Keet can't go down even when usage spikes, their new P2P password manager, and how P2P apps are more energy efficient than data centers.🔗 LINKSHolepunch: https://holepunch.to/Keet Messenger: https://keet.ioPears: https://pears.comPear Pass: https://pass.pears.com⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00:00 INTRO00:01:25 WHAT IS PEER-TO-PEER (P2P)?00:03:16 BENEFITS OF P2P00:05:38 GETTING STARTED IN P2P00:08:43 NEGATIVE P2P ASSOCIATIONS00:14:13 P2P CENSORSHIP RESISTANCE00:17:14 P2P SAFETY00:21:29 KEET (P2P MESSENGER)00:26:21 OPEN SOURCE?00:27:12 BEING SERVERLESS00:31:04 OPEN SOURCE VS. CLOSED SOURCE00:34:05 ARE UPDATES P2P?00:34:33 IS THERE AN APK?00:35:37 BACKGROUND SYNC00:39:27 WHAT ELSE DOES HOLEPUNCH WORK ON?00:42:04 MORE INFO ON THE STACK00:45:00 FUNDING + TETHER00:48:09 P2P PASSWORD MANAGER?00:54:48 AUDITS00:55:57 AVAILABLE ON LINUX?00:58:33 CENTRALIZED/HYBRID P2P?01:01:49 P2P DOWNSIDES?01:05:01 APPLE FINDMY NETWORK01:07:16 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT01:11:48 SERVICE DOWNTIME01:12:52 HOW TO FOLLOW01:13:59 OUTRO🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: https://techlore.tech/support

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

The Digital Markets Act is a can opener for Big Tech's walled gardens, forcing Apple, Google, and Microsoft to open their platforms whether they like it or not. Henry sat down with Lucas Lasota from the FSFE (Free Software Foundation of Europe) to understand what the DMA actually does, why Big Tech is fighting it in court, and what it means for open source software and your digital freedom.Topics Covered:The Digital Markets Act explained - how the EU is regulating Big Tech platforms (and what's missing from the law)Interoperability: the "can opener" for competition - why forcing WhatsApp, Apple, and Google to work with smaller apps mattersApple's gatekeeping tactics - billion-euro barriers and why no independent app stores exist on iPhone yetSmall tech vs Big Tech - why 94% of EU software comes from companies with less than 9 employees (and why the DMA forgot them)Links:Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE): https://fsfe.orgFree Software Foundation (FSF US): https://www.fsf.orgPublic Money, Public Code campaign: https://publiccode.eu⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00:00 INTRO00:01:36 WHAT IS THE FSFE?00:04:12 LUCAS' ROLE AT FSFE00:05:44 INTRO TO THE DMA00:09:45 THOUGHTS ON REGULATION00:12:47 PUBLIC MONEY, PUBLIC CODE00:21:25 BREAKDOWN OF THE DMA00:30:54 DMA ENFORCEMENTS00:31:44 INTEROPERABILITY00:36:20 DMA ENFORCEMENTS (CONT'D)00:38:50 DMA CRITICISMS00:50:41 USB-C ON IPHONES00:53:03 APPLE'S "MALICIOUS COMPLIANCE"00:56:57 UNDERSTANDING THE EU01:02:12 EU COMMISSION & OTHER ORGANIZATIONS01:06:58 DMA'S GLOBAL INFLUENCE01:11:57 BIG TECH + INTERPRETATION OF LAW01:18:23 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.