In the Open

Privacy, open technology, and digital autonomy.

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Paperweight V1 is live 🗿

Your inbox is a paper trail of your digital life. Paperweight maps the companies, accounts, mailing lists, breaches and personal data and helps you clean up & take action

Local-first. Open source. All data stays on your device

https://t.co/UK8fljyQky

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Paperweight is up on uneed today in top 3 📈

Thanks for the initial push @T_Zahil 🙏

Upvotes appreciated 🤩

https://t.co/ENUb05adYh

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

🌱

https://t.co/3fUCtaqGFc

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Privacy updates from last week 👀

1. KYC is becoming a liability factory. Revolut handed customer passports and Bitcoin records to fraudsters using an official-looking government email. IDScan confirmed a breach tied to 153 million driving licences.

Verify everyone. Protect no one.

2. Apple Watch can recap conversations from throughout your day. LG TVs were caught logging audio with the screen off and scanning nearby devices.

Your watch. Your TV. Your glasses. All your devices are turned into a surveillance drones.

3. Anthropic revealed that governments and contractors used Claude to build surveillance systems and monitor dissidents. But Anthropic itself reportedly monitors activists and runs predictive threat intelligence.

Safety for thee. Surveillance for me.

Also happening this week: Bitwarden’s free online Open Source Security Summit.

https://t.co/kAugyxMCkx

[It's FOSS @Itsfoss]

Paperweight scans your inbox locally to find mailing lists, forgotten accounts and breach risks, with bulk unsubscribe and GDPR request tools.

https://t.co/28D8shIPTD

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Seeing so many hacks lately, I really recommend everyone to do periodic audits

1/ Google yourself. Search for any public names, username, handle or real names you use online. What comes up? That's also what scammers see. If you don't like it, take it down. Use pseudonyms where it matters.

2/ Search your inbox for "welcome", "password" or "verify your email." Every hit is an account you made, and a data leak waiting to happen. Delete what you no longer need.

3/ Check haveibeenpwned. Most people find 5-15 breaches they never knew about. Change your passwords, account details, or delete your account.

4/ Stop future leaks before they happen. Use disposable email aliases and isolated profiles. Got breached? Kill that alias and create a fresh one.

Use pseudonyms and burner profiles for services that don't need your real identity. This should be your default. Your name, address, phone and personal data are not needed. Use pick up or delivery addresses for sensitive packages. Don't hand it over.

Companies will not protect you. You have to take control yourself.

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Most clicked 📊

• EU age checks via hardware-bound attestations
• Europe drafts a common VPN security standard
• Meta child-safety addiction trial opens in court
• Flock pitched Uber/Lyft for automated license plate recognition
• X shut down Nitter for good

[In the Open @intheopencc]

3. Age verification by coercion - EU age checks via hardware attestation lock out open systems; regulators sue refusers, while France's under-15 ban just lost in court.

Plus our regular wins, tools, events and updates.

[In the Open @intheopencc]

Second edition of In the Open 👀

Main stories:

1. Keep Android Open - From September Google will block sideloaded Apps and custom ROMs, unless developers register and hand over ID. LineageOS, Motorola and @GrapheneOS refuse to play along.

https://t.co/BQGMCLnEBL

1/3

[In the Open @intheopencc]

2. Surveillance without oversight - Flock pitches gig drivers to scan license plate nrs, Meta patents always-on face ID in their smart glasses, and CBP staff abused government databases for personal vendettas.

@EFF response https://t.co/nrobisBMHl

2/3

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Second edition of @intheopencc is out 👀

https://t.co/2mKxITxkoD

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

This is why I'm building @intheopencc

Privacy should feel human, welcoming and empowering. Tools we can understand, inspect and make our own.

Privacy is multiplayer.

Built with love, in the open 🌱

[Wesley— oss/acc @wslyvh]

Excited to announce @intheopencc 🌱

A new privacy initiative for open technology, and digital autonomy.

Technology is changing rapidly around us. Its a fundamental part of our identity, work, relationships and how we communicate, but new systems for identity verification, biometric monitoring, message scanning and other surveillance infrastructure are creeping into our daily life, and reshaping our digital rights.

With this newsletter, I’ll help you keep track, share the most important developments, wins, tools, resources, and events. Beyond the newsletter, the goal is to build open-source tools, models, research, and find ways to take back control.

Get in touch if you’d like to get involved!

https://t.co/dBeTZ3nXhk

[In the Open @intheopencc]

Hello world 🌱

https://t.co/kgW12NF0PL