The #TBOT Show with Hakeem Anwar

Here are this week’s stories:Dating an Undercover? SpyCops Victim Tells All: Environmental activist Kate Wilson fell in love with an undercover cop who was investigating her during their two years together. Almost a decade later, she’s breaking her anonymity to discuss her win against the Met UK police.US & UK’s AI Plan: With US President Trump’s visit to the UK, the Tech Prosperity deal was hurried through. New data centers, a supercomputer, and I think they just copied China’s plan. Find out why. Crypto Privacy Makes You Suspect: Hakeem reviews new FinCEN rules which may make basic crypto privacy suspicious, and the upcoming CLARITY Act which forces any mixing services or exchanges to register with the government. The New Freenet: Freenet is a fully decentralized peer-to-peer network that allows for distributed computing. It attempts to tackle the reputation problem with ghost keys. But there’s one big problem. Share this post with your crew. 🚢🪄 We aim for our show to be well-researched, well-informed, and focused on the most impactful stories while being concise. We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories soon.Digital ID is more than just identification. It’s a whole verification ecosystem that could fracture the internet. Learn about how it works in this report preview. Be the first to get your eyes on the report—sign up for the waitlist!Break the limits of big tech with Above Phone. You’ll unlock features and freedom you didn’t even know existed.* Works with any cell service—and over WiFi with an internet phone number.* Download the apps you love from private app stores with open-source solutions and the appls you’re used to!* Have complete control over your app permissions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe

The internet is changing fast. Stay on top of it: The Future of the Internet: It’s more than just a digital ID. It’s a whole verification ecosystem that could fracture the internet. Learn about how it works in this report preview. Be the first to get your eyes on the report—sign up for the waitlist!Google’s Antitrust Decision: Google bullied other big tech companies into complying with their monopoly. Then they were sued and threatened with selling Android and Chrome browser. The judge has now has ruled on the case. So, what’s changed? Well I’ll Be Dammed: A scientist in the southwest used piles of rocks and logs to restore some of the dryest regions to green wetlands. Learn about her 20 year study and how we can restore our environment. How to Overthrow Google Maps: It seems big tech maps have a monopoly on locating points of interest. StreetComplete is an app that crowdsources locations for use on open source maps. Share this post with your crew. 🚢A new episode of Source Insights is coming out this week. Source Insights includes my personal take on philosophy, spirituality, energetic technology, and more. This week on Source Insights, I reveal the one health decision I made that turned my life around as well as my take on some energetic technologies. Source Insights is only available to paid subscribers. Don’t miss out on Source Insights—level up your subscription to Take Back Our Tech today!🪄 We aim for our show to be well-researched, well-informed and focused on the most impactful stories while being concise.⭐ PLUS - Each story comes with recommendations, and there’s one cool tech trick or open-source solution every week. We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories soon.Today’s AI-driven operating systems send your personal media to big tech companies for analysis, leading to your photos being searchable. And the photo and video editing apps available in big tech app stores silently harvest your data, send your media off to third parties, and sell them to the highest bidder. Most people don’t even know all this is happening when they snap a photo or edit a video.Join us for a FREE Webinar: Media Mastery: Open-Source Photo & Video Editing📅 Monday, September 29, at 12 pm CDTLEARN HOW TO:✅ Take high-definition photos and videos with Above Phone✅ Use special photo modes like panorama and HDR✅ Organize and protect sensitive photos in a vault✅ Perform basic photo and video editing on Above PhoneBONUS: Exclusive Above Phone discount for attendees!We’ll also review how Android and iOS users can adjust their settings to increase the privacy and security of the media on their devices.Break the limits of big tech with Above Phone. You’ll unlock features and freedom you didn’t even know existed.* Works with any cell service—and over WiFi with an internet phone number.* Download the apps you love from private app stores with open-source solutions and the appls you’re used to!* Have complete control over your app permissions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe

Here are our stories for the week: AI Companions Worse Than Porn: People are turning to artificial intelligence for companionship, seeking emotional connection. AI companies are more than happy to supply this new drug, realizing personalized AI brings the most user engagement. A new Meta leak shows companies adopting a more personal strategy that enables subtle romances with users—including children. Why Your Word Doc Never Looks Right: Shots fired as LibreOffice, a popular open-source office suite, calls out Microsoft for their proprietary document format. We look at the history of OOXML versus ODF and see how MS strong-armed standardization. But in 2025, does LibreOffice smell blood in the water as governments in Finland and Germany shift to Linux and open source? Deep Sea Desalination: Water shortages are leading companies to start pumping water from the deep sea. But is this safe? What’s the environmental impact? We take a look as the largest subsea desalination plant prepares to go live off the coast of Norway in 2026. Solutions: Find your perfect XMPP server! I love XMPP—but finding a server isn’t the easiest task. That’s changing with providers.xmpp.net, a project by XMPP community members that lets you sort and find high-quality servers. Share this post with your crew. 🚢🪄 We aim for our show to be well-researched, well-informed, and focused on the most impactful stories—all in 20 minutes (ain’t nobody got more time than that)!⭐ PLUS - Each story comes with recommendations, and there’s one cool tech trick or open-source solution every week.We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories soon.✅ XMPP + Above Phone is an excellent communication solution!Are you ready for a phone that respects you? Enjoy private app stores, secure web browsing and communication, download videos to your phone, navigate with open-source maps, and so much more.🔥 And best of all, there are zero connections to big tech!This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s the stories for the week: Monero Attack Update: We passed the date of the attack and I think it surprised everyone involved. Now we’re in uncharted territory—a war of attrition. Learn what’s going on. EU Age Verification Forces Google On Its Citizens: The EU just released an open-source age verification app that’s supposed to be private. There’s only one problem—it forces use of Google services. Developers are pissed. This could impact the future of degoogled phones. Tune in!AGPL Is Not FOSS: The AGPL license is commonly used in open-source projects, but it imposes a requirement on its users. Is it actually FOSS? Inventor of Plastoline Missing: 21-year-old inventor Julian Brown turned plastic into gasoline, in his backyard. Now he may be in danger. We’ll look into his work and whether we can turn plastic into fuel. Solution: Mine Monero on Your Computer in 3 Minutes with Gupax. Thanks for watching the TBOT Show! This post is public so share it with your crew. 🚢🪄 We aim for our show to be well-researched, well-informed, and focused on the most impactful stories all in 20 minutes (ain’t nobody got more time than that)⭐ PLUS each story comes with recommendations and there’s one cool tech trick or open-source solution every week.We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories next week!This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to unlock Source Insights.Finally, a laptop that respects your privacy and your freedom of choice.✅ Modern reliable hardware.✅ A cutting-edge Linux OS that's actually easy to use.✅ Access to more software than ever before.❌ And best of all, no big tech tracking! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe

Took a week off and now I’m back. 😎 (with a new addition to the show?!) (also, big sorry for the show being 40 minutes) Here’s the stories for the week: Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat - The Real Story: The tech mogul Jack Dorsey released a censorship proof messaging app in late June - named Bitchat. It runs a bluetooth mesh network, end to end encryption, and rolling IDs and is picking up traction. I share my thoughts on the app, and concerns I have - but that’s not even the real story. I think Jack has a bigger message than just the app. World’s First eSIM Hack: A security lab out of Poland just demonstrated a hack on one of the largest SIM providers for IoT devices. We’ll get techy in our understanding and ask the question, could this impact our phones? Digital ID, Coming Soon To Mexico: The Mexican government has signed a new Biometric ID law, known as the CURP. How is this enforced and what does it mean for Mexican residents? Find out today. Decentralized Video Conferencing: Recently I’ve been relying more on video conferences instead of calling people, especially while traveling. Good thing I’ve got the Jitsi app, I’ll show you my setup! New Show, “Source Insights”: You follow #TBOT to stay informed on tech freedom. Now go deeper with a new weekly show “Source Insights”, where Hakeem shares his tools, lifestyle and productivity tips, entrepreneurial advice, wisdom from guides, and personal experiences. Go deeper, join me as a Source Seeker. Unlock access with a paid subscription. UNLOCK ACCESS Thanks for watching the TBOT Show! This post is public so share it with your crew.🪄 We aim for our show to be well-researched, well-informed and focused on the most impactful stories⭐ PLUS each story comes with recommendations and there’s one cool tech trick or open-source solution every week.We’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories next week!Take Back Our Tech is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Are you ready for a phone that respects you? Enjoy private app stores, secure web browsing and communication, download videos to your phone, navigate with open-source maps, and so much more.🔥 And best of all, there’s zero connections to big tech! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe

A new week in tech - a new episode from #TBOT. Today on the #TBOT show (all in ~20 minutes):Our top story: AI Search Blasts The Web: Own a website? Google’s new unassuming AI mode may just kill web traffic coming from search engines. Find out how this AI search works and what it means for the internet. Uncle Sam Wants You To Wear a Smart Watch: In a recent Health and Human Services budget hearing, RFK Jr announced he wants all Americans to wear health trackers. We’ll look into why he may want this and whether there’s a hidden agenda. Your Password Is Probably In This Leak: Cybersecurity researchers discover 30 different mega-databases on the darkweb, containing 16B credentials. Find out which apps were targeted, how the data was collected, and how to protect yourself. Self-Driving Cars Takeover US Cities: Tesla’s Robotaxis launch in their first city - Austin, and Google’s Waymo driverless ride service launches in Atlanta. Who’s winning the driverless race and what are the technologies behind them? 👨‍💻 Solution: A Private Non-AI Search: Rejecting AI Search with a meta-search engine. In today’s solution video, Hakeem gives you a tour of SearxNG - a search engine that can search other search engines. These meta-search engines protect your privacy, filter ads, and gives you complete control of your searches. 🎊 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. 🪧 Follow the show on Substack📝 Follow our blog #TBOT related news: Get a deep dive into SIM swapping on our Above webinar5 Must-Change Privacy Settings on iPhone & AndroidGet privacy gear This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe

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 gearWe’ll be publishing full posts and clips of each of these stories next week! Support well-researched content, forward this to your crew. 🚢 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tbot.substack.com/subscribe