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Let's use technology that doesn't use us. Official Blog: https://takebackourtech.org TBOT Show: https://tbot.substack.com
We are in the final days of fundraising for The Pyramid of Power.
We are aiming to raise $1,000 in the next couple days.
If you haven't yet invested in this project, please consider investing $25 USD. Everyone who invests at least 25 bucks will be invited to join me in a private telegram group for exclusive updates on the final chapter of the series.
This is the last time I will ask for your financial support for this project. I am so humbled and grateful to everyone who has supported and I couldn't have come this far without you.
Thanks for the support! If you can spare it, please consider investing in the FINAL days of our FINAL crowdfunding.
Invest here: https://fundrazr.com/thepopfinal
⚡️Travel Light. Connect Instantly. Stay Private.
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For anyone out there who needs this - the OG feel good frequencies: https://invidious.nerdvpn.de/watch?v=kQbP_3YQqQw
oh and daily reminder make like a cricket and go touch grass 🦗
⚡ The Hidden Cost of Convenience
Windows is pushing users toward the cloud—without asking. Your files, your settings, your digital life moved and managed remotely, often without your explicit consent. Add to that the constant stream of forced updates, and you’ve got a system that prioritizes control over user rights. Convenience might feel smooth, but it comes with serious risks when corporations decide what happens to your data.
📺 This clip is from our webinar *What’s Your Privacy Score?* — catch the full replay here!
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🫶 @takebackourtech
🎥 takebackourtech:f">VIDEOS| 📩 NEWSLETTER | XMPP | SUBSTACK
Why Do You Need Telegram Premium To Prevent Strangers From Messaging You?
From my latest article on Telegram's CEO Pave Durov.
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One thing bothered me about the interview. We do need ask Pavel some hard questions. Why do you have to pay for the ability to prevent spammers from contacting you? Yes - that’s right, you need to pay for Telegram premium to prevent unknown people from sending you messages. 99% of the time - these are scammers preying on people. And most of the spammers use Telegram premium to improve their deliverability. Is Telegram making money of scammers and their victims?
On one hand, I am thankful that Telegram kept a place for dissident voices while most platforms were censoring over the past 4 years. On the other hand, we should demand more from a company that supposedly champions their user’s privacy and freedom.
⚡ What Meta & Apple Really Think of “Decentralized” Messaging
On The Corbett Report’s #Solutions Watch, I told James Corbett about how Apple and Meta were fined €700M for blocking interoperability on their messaging apps. They’re turning “decentralization” into a pay-to-play scheme—forcing you to see ads or pay to remove them, while locking out third-party access.
All this while ignoring that their tech is built on XMPP, a 25+ year-old open messaging protocol. Wild, right?
🔗 Catch the full convo here!
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🫶 @takebackourtech
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Reading about Trump's new mobile phone service and I see this in the privacy policy. I guess Trump really is embracing AI - if you use his service then you'll be enrolled into AI monitoring.
Should I even bother covering the Trump phone in this weeks show? Let me know on @takebackourtech_chat
⚡️⚡️🇵🇸🇲🇾 In a powerful move to confront the Israeli blockade on Gaza, Malaysian civil society organizations have announced plans to launch the largest maritime fleet in history aimed at breaking the siege.
Azmi Abdul Hamid, President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (MAPIM), revealed that his communications with NGOs and humanitarian groups from across the globe have received strong international support for a 1,000-ship Freedom Flotilla bound for Gaza.
At a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Abdul Hamid stated that while the ship Madeleine was hijacked by Israeli forces, it still succeeded in shining global attention on the genocide in Gaza and igniting momentum for broader international mobilization.
“The message of Madeleine was clear. It exposed the scale of the crime and inspired a revival of the Freedom Flotilla movement—this time, with global backing,” he said.
(Collected from Organizers)
@medmannews
NEW - U.S. Army swears in senior tech leaders from Meta, Palantir, OpenAI as lieutenant colonels to be part-time advisors.
https://www.disclose.tv/id/jbna6z7jcv/
@disclosetv
⚡️The TBOT Show Episode #3
Back with episode 3! Today we cover a massive Bitcoin heist, Pavel Durov’s arrest, a new-ish processor architecture, and age verification to download apps.
🎊 Welcome to the # Take Back Our Tech show with Hakeem Anwar. Every Friday, tune into tech news that could change your life. Well-researched and with solutions - all in 20 minutes.
⭐ PLUS - Each story comes with recommendations and there’s one cool tech trick or open-source solution every week.
# WATCH ON SUBSTACK
We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories next week!
Support well-researched content, forward this to your crew.🚢
I'm so psyched at all of the community participation at the trade stands. The community fridge has been stocked with local fresh produce, restaurant leftovers and more.
Today we got a call from another local nursery to pick up their leftover seedlings so there's another round of free giveaways on the porch.
There's always more than enough of everything we need.
Its time to pray for peace, and not give into the violence. It takes two sides to have a war.
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@iceagefarmer is back!! 🥶
The goal of this article is to move the Overton window for this conversation, and to help people grasp the stakes here. If no one understands the operative plan is to strip us of our “Right to Compute,” there will be no resistance to that plan. But there must be! If AI is the new weapon, we cannot allow it to be wrestled from our hands before it is even born.
🤖 Amazon’s Humanoid Robots Coming to a Doorstep Near You
They’re building a “humanoid park” to test bipedal delivery bots—yes, walking robots that’ll step out of Rivian vans and hand you your package.
With 750,000+ robots already in their network, this could be Amazon’s boldest step yet in phasing out human workers.
Also, fun fact (or nightmare fuel): some of these robots are running marathons now.
I break it all down in this week’s #TBOT Show.
Read the full article on Substack 📖
Watch this full episode
Follow the #TBOT Show
Get privacy gear
NEW PODCAST! 🎙📡🥷
Hakeem Anwar of Above Phone and Take Back Our Tech (@takebackourtech) discusses the different facets of the global panopticon being built around us, why it is still important to take steps to protect your privacy, and how to do that. https://geopoliticsandempire.com/2025/06/10/hakeem-above-algorithm-ghetto
🗞 BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER ON SUBSTACK https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com
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🚨 New Interview Out Now!
I joined Dr. Trozzi to break down how Big Tech turned convenience into control—and why that should concern all of us.
We covered the illusion of safety, the systems behind your screen, and the real tools you can use to take back your digital freedom.
🎧 Watch the full interview here
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🫶 @takebackourtech
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🚨 Texans Will Soon Be Forced to Verify Their Age To Download Apps
Starting Jan 2026, Texas will require age verification for all app store downloads - Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
This means Texans will have to upload documents or use a Digital ID. Kids under 18 need a parent-linked account to install anything.
This doesn't stop harmful content. It enrolls everyone—not just kids—into the digital ID system.
⚠️ 9+ states pushing similar laws. Think it's a coincidence?
Workarounds:
– Use F-Droid or Aurora Store (not available on iPhone)
– Download directly from developers
– Ditch Big Tech phones for privacy-respecting options
Want solutions? Read the full article on Substack
Watch the full show
Follow the show
Get privacy gear
This morning I rose before the sun and listened to the neighborhood wake up. There’s a wonderful lineage of birds near me, and I always appreciate their morning song. One song is peculiarly similar to a car alarm - the same types of horn patterns, repeated one after another.
An alarm brashly notifies everyone around it, getting everyone in earshot into a panic, or annoyance - its the loudest noise out there. Someone or something has crossed the machine’s line and it will not stand for it.
I took a moment to appreciate this bird’s remix, the peaceful way it sung the noises into something worth listening to, with its peaceful pauses and gentle tweets. Singing out loud and leaving space, longing for a reply from a mate?
It reminds me that no matter what humans come up with next, the inorganic, cold, artifical things we can conjure - nature can always find a way to bring us back.
The other day I took my nephew to get a smoothie. While we were checking out the lady at the counter asked for a name for the order. I responded with "David". My nephew looked at me with confusion.
As we walked away I explained that Uncle Derrick values privacy and that there's no reason restaurants need to know your name to make a smoothie for you. I told him about the world before he was born in 2012 and how people used to care about protecting their private information. I said that even though giving a name is "not a big deal" its just one way I flex my privacy muscle and encouraged him to be careful about handing over his personal data while he's playing on his phone.
He responded, "Ok Uncle David", and proceeded to tell me his favorite alias.
🚨 CEO of Telegram Tells All for the First Time After French Arrest
Pavel Durov just spoke publicly for the first time since his surprise arrest in France last year on Tucker Carlson.
He got jumped by the police at the airport, authorities tried to charge him for crimes allegedly committed by users on Telegram including drug trafficking, and distributing child abuse material.
French officials reportedly sent requests directly to Telegram instead of going through proper legal channels—possibly to an address no one monitors. With no response, they moved to detain Pavel.
Durov says Telegram has always complied with lawful data requests and shared info like IPs + phone numbers when required under the Digital Services Act.
Want solutions? Read the full article on Substack
Watch the full show
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If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
- Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Isaac McPherson 1813
🕵️♂️ The $330M Bitcoin Heist That Pumped Monero 50%+
An elderly citizen lost 3,520 BTC in one of the biggest crypto heists ever - Hakeem breaks it down in this video from #TBOT Show Episode 3.
The scammer? Allegedly a Somali operator running a UK call center.
Within 12 hours they:
→ Peeled the BTC off to dozens of exchanges
→ Swapped half of it to Monero, pumping the price 50%
But when I dug into the wallet myself, things didn’t add up. The BTC was moving *before* the reported hack. Custodial exchange behavior? Or something deeper?
Takeaways:
– Don’t trust CEXs
– Hold Monero for private deals
– Use non-custodial tools like StackWallet
-Check out Unstoppable Swap for BTC/XMR swaps
Want solutions? Read the full article on Substack
Watch the full show
Follow the show
Get privacy gear
Do I have any Japanese homies following this channel? I'll be taking a trip there soon :)
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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.
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⚡️The TBOT Show Episode #3
Back with episode 3! Today we cover a massive Bitcoin heist, Pavel Durov’s arrest, a new-ish processor architecture, and age verification to download apps.
🎊 Welcome to the Take Back Our Tech show with Hakeem Anwar. Every Friday, tune into tech news that could change your life. Well-researched and with solutions - all in 20 minutes.
⭐ PLUS - Each story comes with recommendations and there’s one cool tech trick or open-source solution every week.
WATCH ON SUBSTACK
In today’s episode:
• $330M Bitcoin Heist, Pumps XMR Price 50%: 3,350 Bitcoin is gone in the wind, in what makes the top 10 of the biggest cryptocurrency heists of all time. They say an elderly BTC holder was socially engineered and the scammers quickly converted half of it to Monero. Is that all there is to the story?
• Pavel Durov Speaks Out: The Telegram CEO goes public for the first time since he was arrested by French authorities - he answers questions surrounding his arrest and how Telegram complies with laws, what data they give on people. However - there’s one question that no one has asked him that I intend to ask.
• RISC-V Open Architecture: Concerned about hardware backdoors? Open processor hardware may be closer than you think with the RISC-V open architecture. This year, group of ex-Intel employees broke off to create their own processor based on RISC-V, and the first RISC-V laptop was released. When can we expect devices in our hands?
• Age Verification To Download Apps: Texas passes a bill for age verification for both Google and Apple app stores. They’re not alone - 9 other states are proposing similar bills. We’ll look at what this means for app stores and most importantly - for the kids.
• Reddit Alternative: Lemmy is a federated Reddit alternative that anyone can run at home. Each instance federates with each other to share communities and posts.
🪧 Follow the show on Substack
📝 Follow our blog
New E-Book from Above:
• 5 Must-Change Privacy Settings on iPhone & Android
• Get privacy gear
We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories next week!
Support well-researched content, forward this to your crew.🚢
UPDATE | Israel has bombed residential buildings and areas in the Iranian capital Tehran, in attacks that appear to be assassinations.
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The idea that anyone could use powerful AI is not attractive to the powers that be.
Don’t take my word for it. Here is Bill Gates admitting that “managing AI” is right up there in terms of importance with climate change, bioterrorism, and nuclear war:
Gates is not just winging it, these are highly intentional words, each with decades of planning behind them. He is signaling the agenda to control AI. AI is seen as so powerful that it is a threat to the technocratic takeover. It can't be allowed in our hands. This is the new gun control. AI is seen as the new weapon, and an informed populace therewith, a threat to the state.
LEARN MORE — FULL ARTICLE: https://unshadowed.substack.com/p/ai-decoding-the-psyop
- iceagefarmer
⚡ Profiles = Protection: Why App Isolation Matters
@takebackourtech
When people ask me why I isolate apps into separate profiles, I tell them—it’s not just about convenience, it’s about security. A lot of these popular apps come loaded with trackers. And usually, the more downloads an app has, the more invasive it is.
Creating separate user profiles on your phone means those apps can’t talk to each other. It’s like having multiple phones in one device—and it’s one of the smartest ways to protect your data and your peace of mind.
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I swear it feels like SOME conservatives were born yesterday and know nothing about protests. There are lots of movements which organize nationally. And many of them are funded by big orgs connected to the political parties. This isn't new. This doesn't mean there will be riots.
Stop letting Rumble and Twitter influencers fill your head with fear that June 19th is going to be a civil war or mass rioting everywhere. Most of these types of protests are just old liberals and angry college students who go out to the streets, hold signs, and chant, and then go home.
They feel good but they're largely ineffective. Then you have a few agitators who travel from protest to protest to cause trouble. Some of them may be agents of the government or just angry nihilistic losers. I've known activists like this. They just want to cause trouble.
The point is if you're in a right wing echo chamber right now telling you that George Soros is behind everything and the world's going to burn next week maybe consider getting more balanced sources of information.
⚡️Activists Were Targeted with Spyware via SMS
@abovephone
Pegasus spyware hijacked the phones of journalists, organizers, and human rights defenders—through a single text message.
Amnesty International blew the whistle.
We built the solution: Above DataSIM
🛡 No SMS
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Protect your voice. Ditch the number.
Read how it works: https://abovephone.com/above-datasim/