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⚡️Understanding Telegram’s Privacy and Security

Telegram is trusted by millions, but how does it handle your data? Dive into its privacy principles: no ads and minimal data storage. Explore the differences between cloud chats and secret chats, and learn how to protect your privacy while using Telegram.

👉 Watch the full webinar
📱 If you want real solutions, start with Above

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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⚠️ What to do if FOSS apps get blocked on phones — FOSS War Room

At the Parallel Society 2026 “FOSS War Room,” we war‑gamed five imminent tech‑freedom disasters and gathered the sharpest minds to sketch real‑world solutions.

Scenario: Google’s 2027 Developer Verification will make any unregistered app un‑installable after 30 days, killing F‑Droid, Aurora Store and the donation pipelines for independent developers.

Note - This talk was recorded before the release of Google’s new unverified app flow

▶️ Watch the mastermind to get solutions

Check out these privacy projects:
https://logos.co/
https://dark.fi

📲 Privacy phones aren’t just alternatives - they’re better than big tech. Learn more about Above.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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A digital identity already exists for most people. A digital ID is different: it’s an official, cryptographically verifiable credential that can live on your phone, often inside wallet apps tied to Apple or Google ecosystems. That’s the shift. Identity becomes portable, scannable, and easy to require everywhere.

If you want to slow your involvement, start treating your phone less like an identity container and more like a tool you control. Use privacy-respecting tech, reduce what you share publicly, and keep payments and daily life as offline as you reasonably can.

🔗 Read the full blog post here

📱 Privacy isn’t a setting, it’s a system. Above helps you build it.

Is it just me or is it really weird that a private search engine is encouraging me to look up porn?

If you make a normal search on Presearch at nighttime you see this huge 'ad' for their Spicy Mode...

I really do wonder what incentive they have for directing users towards it. At this point we all know that its a harmful addiction that millions of people are caught up in.

I don't care if people seek it out themselves but it feels like a conflict of interest for a private search engine to be directing people to porn sites, one of the most privacy invasive and harmful industries on the web.

Not to mention they are programming people's behavior by showing this mode at night...

That and seeing a million ads littered in the search results. This doesn't feel private — it feels weird and like Presearch sold out big time.

—
Ah, I see now — an OnlyFans aggregator paid the big bucks to steer searchers towards their site. Sometimes I hate the internet.

⚡️NEW CONTENT: Own Your Router with Open-Source Firmware

Earlier this month, the FCC banned all new foreign-made routers. A National Security determination warned that compromised routers "can enable in-depth network surveillance, data exfiltration, botnet attacks, and unauthorized access to U.S. government or American businesses’ networks.".

A little funny considering that most people in the U.S rent routers that behave similarly. Internet service providers encourage customers to use their routers, which are locked down with proprietary firmware. This enables them to monitor your internet usage, open up your network as a public hotspot, or use WiFi sensing to detect who's in your house.

It seems we already have enough to worry about at home, and lots of reasons to own our routers. I had the pleasure of chatting with Daniel — an experienced open‑source networking engineer. Regaled by his deep knowledge of Wi‑Fi firmware, open‑source router projects, and mesh networks I asked him for a short interview. The interview will dive into the future of open‑source networking, practical advice for home‑router users, and the changes he believes are needed to give users more control over their own connectivity.

👉 Read the article
📱 If you want real solutions, start with Above.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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I recently spoke with Jerm Warfare about digital ID, privacy, and the future of individual freedom in our increasingly controlled world. Check it out!

https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/hakeem-anwar-on-substack-and-digital-id-creep-jerm-warfare

If Above built a subscription-based private AI service, what would you like it to do?

Is there a way it could make your life better?
How could it empower you to learn on your own instead of abstaining to the AI?

Let me know your thoughts.

⚡️Off-Grid Health Technology: Ayurveda

In this polytoxic world where we face stressors from all sides, in our air, water, food, and energy — handling our health seems overwhelming at times.

Despite the abundance of health information, the only thing we can agree on is that we disagree on pretty much everything.

Its almost as if — we’re all different!

Ayurveda is a system that recognizes our uniqueness and gives us the knowledge to understand nature.

Today I invite you to step into this world with Nicole Wilkerson of New Leaf Ayurveda. She’s been assisting me in my own personal health journey and its opened my mind to what’s possible.

In this interview we reveal the importance of Ayurveda, a 10,000 year old body of knowledge.

We cover:

• Sometimes you can’t start with “detox”
• Health is not a one-size fits all approach
• Synthetic medicines versus natural medicines
• What ‘true’ health looked like in ages past
• Off-grid Ayurvedic techniques, no power needed
• Common traps that are messing up your health

Watch the full interview on Substack.

If you’re interested in a consultation or joining Nicole for her off-grid retreat in April, book here.

Read more about Ayurveda : https://newleafsac.com/blog/

This is the first of more interviews, stay tuned. Leave us a comment if you have questions you want answered in future interviews.

📲 Protect your digital life with Above

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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We’ve been training AI for years without noticing. CAPTCHAs. Autocorrect. “Not interested.” Every click teaches the machine.

Now cloud AI wants your prompts, your ideas, your images, and your workflow. Ethical AI flips the script: run offline, keep your data, and use models intentionally.

If you’re going to use AI, use it for your own purposes, on your own terms.

🔗 Read the full breakdown

📱 Start with the device you carry everywhere. Learn more at Above.

⚡️What to Use Instead of Calls and Texts

Standard calls and texts aren’t private—records can be logged for years. Instead, use encrypted, internet-based tools like XMPP for messages and Above’s Jitsi for calls. Take control of your communication privacy.

👉 Watch the full webinar
📱 If you want real solutions, start with Above.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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📂 Want alternative news? Check out these channels 📢

#TBOT is now part of GeopoliticsLive, a collection of channels covering geopolitics, politics, global news, economy, and more. All English speaking! Stay informed.

Whether you're seeking in-depth analysis, breaking news, or expert insights, our catalog has got you covered.

👉 ADD CHANNELS

⚡️The Rise of Wi-Fi Positioning Systems

Beyond GPS, modern tech giants like Google and Apple have mapped billions of Wi-Fi access points worldwide. This data, gathered from our devices, can reveal detailed location information. Learn how this affects privacy and how secure alternatives, like Above Phone, can protect you.

👉 Watch the full webinar
🔒 If you’re done with big tech defaults, go Above.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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⚠️ What to do if private cryptocurrency is outlawed — FOSS War Room

At the Parallel Society 2026 “FOSS War Room,” we war‑gamed five imminent tech‑freedom disasters and gathered the sharpest minds to sketch real‑world solutions.

Scenario: Within six months, possession of privacy coins (Monero, DarkFi) and mixer services will become a punishable offense under new FINCEN regulations.

▶️ Watch the mastermind to get solutions

Check out these privacy projects:
https://logos.co/
https://dark.fi

📲 Break the limits of big tech with Above Phone. You’ll unlock features and freedoms you didn’t even know existed.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
📩 WEBSITE & NEWSLETTER | 🎥 VIDEOS| XMPP | SUBSTACK

⚡️The One-Click Exploit: A Journalist’s Close Call

A Mexican journalist reporting on political scandal received a wave of fake texts: a Facebook warning, a TV headline, even a debt notice. All were traps to deliver Pegasus spyware. They’ll use any tactic to make you click. The takeaway: Never click links from texts—get to the page another way. Stay alert.

🪧 Watch the full webinar
📲Build your privacy stack with Above.

—
🫶 @takebackourtech
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The EU has already set a timeline: eIDAS updates created the legal basis for the EU digital identity wallet ecosystem, and the stated direction is broad acceptance across companies and services in the coming years. These systems don’t stay local. Once one region normalizes them, the model spreads.

The best response isn’t panic. It’s refusing unnecessary enrollment, delaying adoption where you still have choice, and building alternatives that don’t require constant verification, from how you pay to how you communicate to who you rely on.

🔗 Read the full blog post

📱 Above is a privacy ecosystem, not just a device.

Please read and share my latest article:

Oracle and the Rise of the AI Surveillance State Under Trump

While Peter Thiel’s firm Palantir has rightfully gained the ire of the American public, Larry Ellison’s Oracle is also steadily becoming entangled with the US government—and that should worry all Americans.

https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/oracle-rise-ai-surveillance-trump/

Two-thirds of large U.S. data centers are in water-stressed regions, and many use potable water for cooling. That’s not abstract, it’s local communities paying the cost.

Cloud AI scales this problem. Ethical AI reduces it by keeping compute local and minimizing dependence on hyperscale infrastructure. It’s also simpler than most people think: open-source models, local installs, and curated datasets.

Use AI with boundaries, not with blind trust.

🔗 Read the full breakdown
📱 Reduce tracking with tools that don’t monetize your data.

⚠️ Test Disabling Microsoft's Copilot?

Hey there. Anyone want to test "disabling" Microsoft's Copilot from their Windows 11 machine? I would test it myself but using Windows is against my religion.

Follow these instructions from 2023:

1. Launch registry editor.
2. Navigate to HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
3. On left, right click Windows folder. New > Key, name it “WindowsCopilot”
4. Select “WindowsCopilot”. Right click and create a DWORD value ”TurnOffWindowsCopilot” set to 1
5. Restart the computer.

Do you see any signs of Copilot after the restart? It usually lives in the Notepad, and in your taskbar.

Let me know what you discover at:
https://t.me/takebackourtech_chat

Or by contacting me here:
https://takebackourtech.org/contact