Ever wondered why televisions all of a sudden became "smart?"

The advent of the TV-as-a-computer has enabled all kinds of functionality; but with this, our content delivery systems have become real-deal black mirrors.

Let's take a look at how your TV watches YOU...

1/15 Devices like Pi-Holes allow you to more-closely monitor the calls which different devices on your network are making.

One such setup, resident in a Proton employee's house, discovered their TV was making thousands of calls home per hour, to all manner of places.

2/15

Concerned about malware on your Android device?

Don't worry, we've put together a practical guide that walks you through how to root it out and remove it.

Your first instinct might be to download some kind of software. Don't.

Follow our steps instead...

1/21 We're going to give these instructions as if you had a Pixel running Android 16.

Steps are the same on other Android devices (10-15) but there may be small differences in how things are labelled.

In particular, Samsung devices will have sizeable changes to path labels.

2/21

Most privacy advice tells you to add things. A VPN, a blocker, another extension, another subscription.

Here's one that works the other way: delete the surveillance machine entirely.

It's 29 years old, free, and many people think it died in 2013.

It's RSS.

1/9 To see why RSS is private, you first have to see why everything else isn't.

Your timeline, your For You page, Google Discover: push systems. The platform picks what you see, and to do that well it has to model you.

The surveillance isn't a side effect here. It's the point.

2/9

A defence contractor has figured out how to track you without ever needing your name, face, or numberplate.

The product, SignalTrace, instead listens to the devices you're carrying, and their sensor clips onto existing cameras your city has likely already got mounted.

1/12 Its full name is ELSAG SignalTrace, made by Leonardo.

The product page subheading is, verbatim: "Identify Suspects by the Electronic Devices They Use."

In surveillance tech this is actually refreshingly honest.

They aren't even trying to hide it.

2/12

Researchers just unveiled FROST (fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing), a technique that exploits your SSD's timing to silently detect every site and app you have open.

No clicks.
No interaction.
Just visit a page.

Let's have a look at how it works...

1/7 FROST uses a contention side channel, looking at the interaction of various processes which are using/competing for a given resource.

Measuring input/output operation timings of an SSD, researchers determined the websites which were open in other tabs, even other browsers.

2/7

Pretty much everyone wants to track you.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center just dropped a report on the 8 Manipulative Design Patterns in Opt-Out Processes.

It analyzes how 38 platforms make it difficult for you to exercise your rights.

How many do you know?

1/10 1. Failing to provide a clear mechanism to opt out of sale and sharing of personal information.

Six companies had a privacy form on their websites, but it didn't contain a choice to opt out of these processes.

This was particularly pronounced with "people search" sites.

2/10

DeGoogled Android user?

Google's next-generation reCAPTCHA, presented to desktop users, prompts you to scan a QR code.

The catch? Google Play Services have to be enabled in order for it to work on these devices.

Let's dig in to what has changed, and possible solutions...

1/7 This should be a familiar sight to anyone who has used Google search, or just encountered a website with Google's reCAPTCHA.

Resources are walled off and a 'challenge' is issued.

If you solve the puzzle (identify cars, bicycles, stairs, whatever) you can carry on.

2/7

The EU just exposed Meta's age verification system.

They've just found Meta guilty of violating the Digital Services Act for failing to keep children under 13 OFF Instagram and Facebook.

What they discovered is shocking...

1/9 🧵 Rules & enforcement are a joke.

Terms say: "You must be 13+" but if you want to report a child under 13 on the platform **IT TAKES 7 CLICKS** to access the form.

The form also doesn't auto-fill.

And when you do manage to report a kid? Often nothing happens...

2/9

The Proton ecosystem has grown significantly, with private AI, a 2FA app, encrypted spreadsheets, video calling, and appointment scheduling all joining the ranks recently.

Now we're sharing our spring/summer 2026 roadmaps.

Here's what's coming...

🧵 1/13 Proton Mail: Your inbox is getting more organized.

A new category view automatically sorts emails by type, so attachments and key messages are easier to find.

Focus on what matters, cutting through the noise. Turn them off or on at any time.

2/13

The era of end-to-end encrypted DMs on Instagram is coming to a close, luckily we’ve got a ready-made list of WhatsApp alternatives (which are relevant here too) if you’re looking to shift conversations elsewhere.

(and to be clear, you should…)

1/10 Let’s start with the gold standard:

Signal

🔐 End-to-end encrypted by default
🧾 Collects almost no metadata
🔍 Open-source + independently audited
📞 Calls, groups, disappearing messages

Downside: requires a phone number

2/10

Hanging out in spicy Discord servers? Well this one’s for you! 🌶️

But even if you aren’t, read on...

Discord is expanding its age verification to all 200+ million (or so) users worldwide.

Until verified, all users will be "teen-by-default", affecting what they can see.

1/6 Unless verified as an adult:

- No access to age-restricted channels, servers, & commands
- Mature content will be blurred
- You won't be able to receive DMs from unknowns
- Friend requests from unknowns will come with a warning
- No speaking on Stage (streaming) channels

2/6

If like many across the world you'll soon be off and looking for something to do, here’s your annual privacy & security tune-up.

Cue a looooong thread to bookmark for when you’re ready to lock it down.

If you've already done all of this, you dropped this: 👑

1/15 Audit your browser extensions

Why?

People add extensions to their browsers for many different reasons.

They will often have wide-ranging permissions, meaning they could access and track your online activity.

Not useful? bin it!

Even if it is, proceed with caution.

2/15

The GrapheneOS team has said that “France isn’t a safe country for open source privacy projects,” pointing to what it describes as the expectations of encryption backdoors.

Last week, it announced it has removed all servers from France.



1/5

https://x.com/GrapheneOS/status/1993035936800584103

This raises some questions: what is GrapheneOS, why do people use it, and what's up with France? 🇫🇷

For the first question: GrapheneOS is a nonprofit, open-source, and Android-based operating system used by many people seeking better privacy, security, & control.

2/5

Security researchers say a design flaw in WhatsApp’s contact-lookup feature has enabled what they call the “largest data leak in history”, exposing billions of phone numbers without breaking encryption.

Normally the lookup process would incur rate limits, normally...

1/5 But in this case, they were able to run through 7k phone numbers /second (and session), using 63bn numbers generated by their tool.

None of this required decrypting a single message.

They confirmed 3.5bn phone numbers, more than the number officially stated by WhatsApp.

2/5

As 2025 winds down, we’re continuing to build tools that let you take control of your digital life without compromising privacy.

Our latest roadmap reflects your feedback and our mission: to empower you, not exploit you.

Here’s a peek at what’s coming next 👇

1/4 ✉️ Mail & Calendar

Smarter inboxes will use Category View to automatically sort emails while staying private.

🌐 VPN

We will add free servers in 5 additional countries (Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, and Singapore) - better speeds, more coverage.

2/4

Europe outsourced its digital backbone for decades.

Today, that choice has become a strategic liability.

New Nordic snapshots show how deep that dependency runs in 🇩🇰Denmark, 🇫🇮Finland, 🇮🇸Iceland, 🇳🇴Norway, and Sweden🇸🇪.

Let's talk about it! ⬇️ Baseline: 74% of Europe’s publicly listed companies depend on US tech for email/security (the gateway to cloud, docs, identity, and security).

Nordics Stats

🇩🇰DK: 89% → 9 sectors at 100%; consumer staples distribution & retail 0%

🇫🇮 FI: 92% → 16 sectors at 100%; household & personal products 50%

🇮🇸IS: 97% → 16 sectors at 100%; household & personal products 50%

🇳🇴NO: 96% → 17 sectors at 100%; media & entertainment 75%

🇸🇪SE: 91% → 9 sectors at 100%; banks 27%

Read the full study: proton.me/business/europ…

How much do you know about the most advanced censorship system in the world?

Framed as protection against "Western influence", China's Great Firewall controls the political + economic narrative for China's 700M+ users (a quarter of all internet users).

1/8 But it doesn't stop there...

A massive leak of 100,000+ documents has revealed that a Chinese company, Geedge Networks, is exporting GFW-style tech to authoritarian regimes worldwide.

Recipients include Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Myanmar, & others.

2/8

Imagine this: you open an email from your inbox and start reading.

In the background, text is fed to your AI extension, making it delete every email from your inbox.

This isn’t a dream; with AI agents and prompt injection attacks, it’s currently a possibility.

1/5 Anthropic recently announced Claude for Chrome, a browser-based AI agent that can take actions on behalf of users.

The extension is currently only available as a preview to 1,000 subscribers on Anthropic's Max plan.

The limited release is due to security concerns.

2/5

Your face is yours, but Big Tech doesn’t want it to stay that way.

It’s time for a deep dive into facial recognition. ⏳

Governments, advertisers, and tech companies are finding new ways to capture, analyze, and profit from the most personal part of who you are.

1/7 Facial recognition technology is biometric software that identifies/verifies a person by analyzing their facial features.

Your scanned face is compared with a database, which contains images from government databases, social media, or the open web.

2/7

Switzerland prides itself on independence, yet 68% of listed firms run on US email (the gateway to the whole tech stack). 🇨🇭

Independence is hard if your infrastructure is controlled abroad.

Let’s talk about it 👇

1/5 Why it matters

🚩 Foreign laws reach Swiss data (CLOUD Act)
🚩 Geopolitical leverage over critical sectors
🚩 Less control over data storage and processing
🚩 Swiss data can be used to train AI
🚩 Limits Swiss innovation

For a nation built on independence and neutrality, this is a massive vulnerability.

2/5

Ever had someone give you something and not want to give it back? Data brokers feel the same…

An investigation by The Markup found that 35 registered Californian data brokers have noindex code on opt-out & data deletion pages.

Why? To keep them off search engines.

1/6 That's not the only way that brokers create obstacles to user privacy.

An analysis of 750 US-based data broker groups revealed that 100s of brokers registered in one state but failed to register in another, despite the legal requirement.

Most of them operate nationally...

2/6