Techlore Talks

Techlore

Techlore Talks brings you in-depth conversations with the experts at the forefront of privacy, security, and digital rights. Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore and long-time digital rights educator, each episode features meaningful discussions with the people building, researching, and advocating for digital freedom. From cybersecurity researchers and privacy tool developers to open-source advocates and digital rights activists—if they're shaping how we protect ourselves online, they're on this show. Topics include: privacy tools and technologies, cybersecurity threats and defenses, open-source software, surveillance and digital rights, encryption, tech policy, and digital sovereignty. New episodes released regularly. Subscribe and join the community at techlore.tech.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Age Verification Laws and Free Software: A Legal Expert Tells Us What's Actually at Stake

    Age verification laws are spreading fast, but most coverage is either panic or dismissal, with very little clarity on what these laws actually say, who they apply to, or what they mean for free software. In this episode of Techlore Talks, Henry sits down with Jithendra Palepu, who has a legal background and Free Software Foundation Europe volunteer, to actually make sense of it. Age verification, age estimation, age gating, and self-declaration—why the difference matters enormously. We examine what California's AB 1628 actually requires, we discuss why MidnightBSD's decision to ban California users may have backfired against the very principles it was trying to protect, and so much more. If you've had strong reactions to these laws but struggled to fully back them up, this one's for you. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Free Software Foundation Europe: https://fsfe.org• FSFE — Youth Hacking for Freedom: https://fsfe.org/activities/yh4f/• Software Freedom Conservancy: https://sfconservancy.org• Keep Android Open: https://keepandroidopen.org/ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS (00:00) - INTRO (02:43) - DEFINING AGE VERIFICATION (05:15) - THE REAL CONCERN (09:59) - SELF-DECLARATION (13:14) - SERVICE VS. OS AGE VERIFICATION (19:34) - RESPONSIBILITY (23:23) - MIDNIGHTBSD & SYSTEMD (25:27) - LINUX CARVE-OUTS? (27:54) - SHARED & SECONDHAND DEVICES? (29:42) - APPLE + DMA (32:59) - WHAT'S THE OVERALL NARRATIVE? (37:57) - JITHENDRA'S & FSFE'S CONCERNS (42:21) - DO ANY LAWS GET THIS RIGHT? (44:33) - WHO IS DOING THE VERIFICATION? (45:03) - DATA LEAK RESPONSIBILITY (46:37) - OS-LEVEL AGE VERIFICATION IN EU (48:04) - YOUNG DEVELOPERS (49:14) - ENFORCEABILITY (50:54) - ACTIONABLE ADVICE (52:42) - HOW TO FACILITATE DISCUSSIONS (54:37) - HOW TO FOLLOW 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    58 min

  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    Organic Maps Co-Founder on Building a Privacy-First Google Maps Alternative | Alexander Borsuk

    Every time you open Google Maps, it knows where you are, what you searched, how long you stayed, and where you went next. Organic Maps collects none of that. In this interview, Henry sits down with Alexander Borsuk, co-founder of Organic Maps, to talk about what mainstream maps apps are collecting, how an entirely offline-first approach changes the privacy picture, and where Organic Maps is headed next, including live public transit and opt-in traffic data. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Organic Maps: https://organicmaps.app• Organic Maps GitHub: https://github.com/organicmaps• OpenStreetMap: https://openstreetmap.org• OsmAnd: https://osmand.net ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS (00:00) - INTRO (02:26) - ORGANIC MAPS TEAM & STRUCTURE (05:53) - MAP PRIVACY IMPLICATIONS (12:19) - BUSINESS SEARCHING (14:42) - CLOUD-FIRST VS. OFFLINE-FIRST (17:05) - ORGANIC MAPS VS. APPLE MAPS W/ ADP (24:20) - OPENSTREETMAP (27:51) - GETTING INVOLVED & CONTRIBUTING (34:20) - USABILITY & TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC (41:02) - PUBLIC TRANSIT (45:24) - RESTRICTION OF NO REAL-TIME DATA (48:11) - LONGEVITY & BEHIND-THE-SCENES (51:56) - THE NEXT 5 YEARS (54:05) - TRAFFIC DATA (57:13) - POKÉMON GO DATA HARVESTING (59:48) - FINAL THOUGHTS (01:01:45) - HOW TO CONNECT & FOLLOW 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    1hr 5min

  3. 29 MAR

    Telecom Insider Explains What Your Carrier Actually Sees (Cape Interview)

    Most people think turning off location services protects them from being tracked. It doesn't. In this interview, David Dunn from privacy-focused cellular provider Cape breaks down what carriers actually collect, how threats like IMSI catchers and SIM swaps work, and how Cape is building a mobile network specifically designed to minimize that exposure. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Cape: https://www.cape.co• Cape + Proton collab: https://www.cape.co/cape-and-proton ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 INTRO00:01:01 WHAT CELLULAR CARRIERS SEE00:02:50 THE CONCERNS00:04:08 ABUSE OF DATA00:05:28 LTT SIM SWAP ATTACK00:06:33 PHONE CALL BEHIND-THE-SCENES00:12:24 CELL TOWER TRIANGULATION & GEOFENCING00:15:32 LOCATION SERVICES00:16:25 CALL DATA & SMS RECORDS00:19:24 SMS VS. EMAIL SECURITY00:20:23 SIM SWAPPING + IMSI CATCHERS00:24:09 CELL TOWER TRIANGULATION + GEOFENCING SOLUTIONS00:26:38 CALL DATA RECORD + SMS SOLUTIONS00:28:48 WI-FI CALLING00:30:54 SS7 SIGNALING ATTACK PROTECTION00:32:25 4G VS. 5G PRIVACY00:36:34 USER AGENTS + CUSTOM ROMS00:42:15 DEVICE PROTECTION00:46:06 CAPE'S APPROACH00:55:01 MOBILE CORE00:59:18 CDR DELETION01:00:06 IMSI ROTATION01:00:52 OTHER USER CONFIGURABLE OPTIONS01:04:05 PHONE NUMBER REPUTATION01:05:29 ISSUES WITH PRIVACY TOOLS01:08:22 OBSCURA01:10:48 REGISTRATION01:13:04 TRUST & VERIFICATION01:15:37 COMPATIBILITY01:17:33 AVAILABILITY01:17:54 ROAMING01:18:36 LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUESTS01:21:15 PALANTIR01:23:25 PROTON PARTNERSHIP01:25:05 WHO IS CAPE FOR?01:26:43 TELL US SOMETHING SHOCKING01:29:28 OUTRO 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    1hr 31min

  4. 21 MAR

    Why This Linux Distro Is Growing Faster Than Ever (Zorin OS Interview)

    Artyom Zorin, co-founder and lead developer of Zorin OS, explains why this Linux distribution is seeing explosive growth, its user-friendly approach, business models & incentives, privacy, open source, and more. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Zorin OS: https://zorin.com• Zorin OS Pro: https://zorin.com/os/pro/• Zorin OS Education: https://zorin.com/os/education/ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 INTRO00:02:55 ZORIN OS VS. UBUNTU00:04:14 PACKAGE COMPATIBILITY00:07:01 OPEN SOURCE? FREE?00:11:46 BUSINESS MODELS + INCENTIVES00:14:48 TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC00:16:00 PRIVACY BY DEFAULT00:17:51 SECURITY MODEL00:19:48 WHY UBUNTU?00:21:16 DESKTOP ENVIRONMENTS00:25:03 RELEASE SCHEDULE00:26:26 COMPATABILITY LAYERS00:28:52 ARM SUPPORT00:32:32 PROFESSIONAL +CREATIVE SOFTWARE00:36:43 DEFAULT APP CHOICES00:39:19 ZORIN GRID00:42:22 ZORIN EDUCATION00:43:35 DEVICES + INSTALLATION00:47:50 ZORIN OS LIMITATIONS00:50:26 DUAL BOOT00:51:30 THE ZORIN TEAM00:52:58 LOCATION00:53:12 OPEN SOURCE + GIVING BACK00:56:24 DOWNLOADS00:59:17 WINDOWS 1001:01:09 AI01:07:23 THE FUTURE OF ZORIN OS01:09:49 MOBILE DEVICES?01:10:35 HOW TO FOLLOW01:11:18 OUTRO 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    1hr 12min

  5. 28 FEB

    How Ad Blockers Work, Why They Break, and the Future of Private Search (JP Schmetz Interview)

    Most ad blockers start by blocking everything—then you become tech support for friends & family when pages break. Henry interviewed JP Schmetz, founder of Brave Search and CEO of Ghostery, about making trackers visible, why there are only 3 search indexes in the world, reinventing the open web with AI, and how to avoid becoming "the family CTO." 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Ghostery: https://www.ghostery.com/• Who Tracks Me Database: https://whotracks.me/• Ghostery Private Search: https://www.ghostery.com/private-search• Brave Search: https://search.brave.com/ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 INTRO00:01:32 ORIGINS WITH GHOSTERY00:03:15 SEARCH ENGINES + BROWSERS00:06:32 GHOSTERY'S BROWSER EXTENSION00:09:09 THE PRIVACY DISCONNECT00:13:02 REAL WORLD IMPACTS00:16:03 PRIVACY VARIES BY LOCATION00:16:47 PAGE BLOCKING + BREAKING00:24:06 ADAPTATION + TRUST00:28:48 ROLES AT GHOSTERY + BRAVE00:29:22 OPEN SOURCE00:30:38 BRAVE SHIELDS OR GHOSTERY?00:32:36 SUGGESTED CONFIGURATIONS00:40:13 WHOTRACKS.ME00:44:30 WHAT IS A TRACKER?00:47:39 WHAT ARE THE INCENTIVES?00:50:31 DOES BLOCKING = NO DATA SHARING?00:53:50 THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS00:57:27 PRIVATE SEARCH01:00:11 META SEARCH VS. INDEPENDENT INDEX01:02:30 CONTEXTUAL VS. TARGETED ADVERTISING01:06:28 BRAVE SEARCH ADS01:08:16 INDEXES01:10:53 AI + SEARCH01:19:43 WHAT'S NEXT?01:22:22 PUBLISHING + INCENTIVES + THE FUTURE01:25:30 HOW TO FOLLOW 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    1hr 27min

  6. 14 FEB

    Why This Password Manager Requires a Private Key (Passbolt Interview)

    Most password managers use your master password as the encryption key—which means it can be phished and brute-forced. Passbolt uses a random private key instead. Henry interviewed co-founder Remy about why they optimized Passbolt for teams, how granular permissions prevent credential leaks, and why self-hosting matters for businesses. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Passbolt: https://www.passbolt.com ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 INTRO01:20 PASSBOLT TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC05:52 PASSWORD MANAGER BASICS06:51 PASSBOLT TYPICAL CUSTOMER07:41 PASSWORD MANAGER OPTIONS10:33 ATTACKS ON BUSINESSES13:17 PASSBOLT BUSINESS MODEL16:24 SELF-HOSTING19:22 PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY22:09 SUITE VS. FOCUSED PRODUCT24:12 FEATURE REQUESTS25:49 EMAIL ALIASING27:04 PASSKEYS28:54 MANIFEST V3 + BROWSERS30:26 PASSKEYS (CONT'D)33:30 TOTP36:49 INTEGRATIONS37:59 TWO PASSWORDS?42:09 REMY'S FAVORITE PW MANAGER43:39 COMMON MISTAKES?44:38 HIDING TOTP SEEDS46:49 FINAL THOUGHTS47:30 HOW TO FOLLOW47:51 OUTRO 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    49 min

  7. 7 FEB

    Why Everyone Should Use an Ad Blocker (AdGuard Interview)

    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. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• AdGuard: https://adguard.com/• AdGuard Home: https://adguard.com/en/adguard-home/overview.html• AdGuard DNS: https://adguard-dns.io/• AdGuard VPN: https://adguard-vpn.com/• AdGuard Mail: https://adguard-mail.com/• Andrey's AFDS 2025 Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2c5WMjpVZc ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 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 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    1hr 4min

  8. 31 JAN

    How Peer-to-Peer Apps Stay Free Forever (Holepunch Interview)

    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. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS• Holepunch: https://holepunch.to/• Keet Messenger: https://keet.io• Pears: https://pears.com• Pear Pass: https://pass.pears.com ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 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 🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★

    1hr 15min
See All (69)

About

Techlore Talks brings you in-depth conversations with the experts at the forefront of privacy, security, and digital rights. Hosted by Henry Fisher, founder of Techlore and long-time digital rights educator, each episode features meaningful discussions with the people building, researching, and advocating for digital freedom. From cybersecurity researchers and privacy tool developers to open-source advocates and digital rights activists—if they're shaping how we protect ourselves online, they're on this show. Topics include: privacy tools and technologies, cybersecurity threats and defenses, open-source software, surveillance and digital rights, encryption, tech policy, and digital sovereignty. New episodes released regularly. Subscribe and join the community at techlore.tech.

Information

  • Creator
    Techlore
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Techlore, Inc.
  • Show Website
    Techlore Talks

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