THEY ARE WATCHING.
Exposing the surveillance state through investigative journalism.
Independent and reader-funded. Impossible to buy. Who we are.
LATEST INTELLIGENCE
COVERAGE AREAS
News
Breaking surveillance news and daily intelligence briefings
Government
State surveillance, legislation, and government overreach
Surveillance
Surveillance tech, tracking systems, and spyware
Corporate
Big Tech data harvesting and corporate surveillance
Technical
Privacy tools, encryption, and security analysis
THE SURVEILLANCE APPARATUS
Every threat has a face. We sort them by who is watching and how much they can spend, from a lone stalker to a nation-state.
THE INDIVIDUAL
A stalker, an ex, a doxxer. One motivated person with free tools and patience can map your life from your public posts.
THE ORGANIZED GROUP
Harassment mobs, scam rings, private investigators. Coordinated money and manpower turn scattered clues into a dossier.
THE CORPORATION
Data brokers and ad-tech aggregate thousands of data points on you, then sell that reach to every other adversary.
THE NATION-STATE
Legal compulsion, spyware, and signals intelligence. The top of the ladder buys corporate tools and compels corporate data.
DATA SOVEREIGNTY IS RESISTANCE
Privacy is not about hiding. It is about power. It is the ability to determine who knows what about you, and how that information is used.
- Personal Security: Neutralize identity vectors and fraud risks.
- Cognitive Liberty: Prevent algorithmic manipulation of your worldview.
- Algorithmic Justice: Opt-out of biased automated decision systems.
- Human Rights: Privacy is the foundation of all other liberties.
ENCRYPT. OBFUSCATE. SURVIVE.
IMMEDIATE COUNTERMEASURES
Normalize Encryption
Use Signal for text. Use PGP for email. Reject unencrypted communication channels.
Block The Trackers
uBlock Origin + Privacy Badger are mandatory. Do not negotiate with advertisers.
Compartmentalize
Use different emails, browsers, and identities for different aspects of your life.
Obfuscate Your Location
A VPN is the bare minimum. Tor is better. Leave your phone at home when possible.
WARNING: DATA PERMANENCE
The internet does not forget. Data collected today by a "benign" entity can be sold tomorrow to a hostile one. Assume everything is logged forever.
INTELLIGENCE BRIEFINGS
Analysis of government overreach, corporate surveillance, and digital rights
How Accurate Is Facial Recognition When You Wear a Mask?
NIST tested 89 face-recognition algorithms on masked faces in 2020. Some failed half the time. Here is what the federal data still says about masks and accuracy...
ACCESS FILEHow to Spot a Deepfake Video Call Before You Wire Money
The FBI is warning that criminals now run real-time deepfake video calls to authorize wire transfers. The visual tells are subtle; the verification steps are no...
ACCESS FILEHow to Tell If a Surveillance Drone Is Watching You
Surveillance drones are getting smaller and quieter. Here is what RF, acoustic, and visual detection actually catches, and the rules on what you can legally do.
ACCESS FILELock Down a Samsung Galaxy: One UI Settings to Cut Tracking
Cut Galaxy AI cloud calls, Bixby voice uploads, SmartThings Find tracking, and US-carrier bloatware on a Samsung phone running One UI 6.1 or later.
ACCESS FILEWhat Your Kid's School Chromebook Actually Reports
GoGuardian, Gaggle, Bark, Securly, and Lightspeed capture browsing, screenshots, email, and location on school Chromebooks. What each stores, and what FERPA let...
ACCESS FILEWhat Your Smart Thermostat Tells Google About Your Home
Nest, Ecobee, and Honeywell Home thermostats send sensor data and occupancy patterns to the cloud. Here is what each collects and how to dial it back.
ACCESS FILESECURE YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
Every step toward digital privacy is a step toward freedom. Begin with our comprehensive roadmap.
INITIATE ROADMAP