Chris McCabe

"But you clicked consent" Consent isn't meaningful in a 60 page document written in legalese only for liability protection and not for actually informing people about what's going on.

The surveillance situation is existential. Individuals should absolutely focus on using privacy tools to protect themselves. BUT govts are arresting builders of those tools. If we don't also fight to protect builders via policy & litigation, we won't have any tools left to use.

Age verification is front door mass surveillance

Feeling filled with Session spirit.

Still here. Still dedicated to your privacy. Still finding a way forward.

Young Australians should be enraged by the new super tax. The statist talking heads will tell you "it's only on balances above $3M. The rich." Most Aussies will fall for it. Run the numbers. 35yo today. $200k in super. Contributes $15k a year. Earns 8% returns (long run super average). In 30 years their balance is $3.7 million. Caught by the tax. But here's the trick. Australia's money supply has grown about 8% a year for the past two decades. RBA's own data. So that $3.7M buys what $369k buys today. Same groceries. Same house. Same petrol. You didn't get rich. You ran on the spot. And the $3M line? Frozen. In 30 years it only buys what $300k buys today. It's lost 90% of its real value. The govt doesn't have to move the line. Inflation does the work for them. No different from the obscene overreach on anti-money laundering rules. The $10k cash transaction threshold was set in 1988 and never moved. $10k then is $26k in today's money. Adjusted for money supply growth, it's $170k. Same threshold. Almost 3x more transactions caught by CPI, 17x by money supply. That's why you get interrogated at the bank for withdrawing what only covers half a year of school fees. Same trick with income tax. Wages rise with inflation. Brackets don't. Suddenly the average worker is in a "high earner" bracket they were never meant to be in. You don't earn more. The line moved. This one policy tells you everything you need to know about the government and its intentions. It's all about grift and theft. Meanwhile, the kids who get hit hardest are kept busy by an education system arguing about hate speech, social media, and the climate apocalypse promised in 2012. Nobody teaches them how money actually works. The govt likes it that way. So they vote for more taxes. Bigger govt. More "fairness." Pouring petrol on the fire burning their house down. The fix isn't communism. It's the opposite. Smaller govt. Lower taxes. Index every threshold to the actual money supply, not the CPI lie. Decentralise the banks. Despite everything, Australians are entrepreneurial and predominantly hardworking. Imagine what this country could become without the government's boot on its neck.

At least all teenagers in Australia know what a VPN is now.

Exciting week for people still using Big Tech browsers

I can assure you, any attempts to impose age verification through software or the web have nothing to do with "children's safety", and everything to do with eroding anonymity, digital privacy, and expanding government surveillance and control.

"To argue that you don’t need privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don’t need freedom of speech because you have nothing to say.” - Edward Snowden

DeGoogle today and take control over your privacy: 1. @session_app instead of Signal/WhatsApp 2. @ProtonPrivacy instead of Gmail/Google Drive/Google passwords/Google authenticator 3. @brave instead of Chrome/Safari/Microsoft Edge 4. @TutaPrivacy instead of Gmail/Google Drive 5. @enteio instead of Google Photos 6. @mullvadnet instead of NordVPN 7. @Bitwarden instead of Google Passwords 8. @LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office 9. @GrapheneOS instead of Android 10. Linux instead of Windows

Age verification is the Trojan horse for complete control of the internet. Imagine you'd have to register your identity to read a newspaper. That's what this is about. They say it's for the children, but it really is about taking away your right to use the web anonymously.

A heartfelt thanks to all the people in the world who have shown love to Session over the last month. It is immensely appreciated by everyone who uses, contributes to, and cares about Session. We are also extremely grateful to everyone who is continuing to run nodes and provide service to Session users during these uncertain times. There is still a small team (of volunteers) who are working to keep Session alive. We're pursuing all options open to us to keep Session running as long as possible, but won't do anything which jeopardizes the spirit and intent of the project. Privacy, secure, and permissionless messaging matters. Still in the ring. ✊

Big Tech bets on privacy - explore WhatsApp alternatives collectively. Set a 1-week challenge: 1. Try different messengers with your friends: stacks.web3privacy.info/categories/Mes… 2. Play with Signal, Session, Element together. 3. Create group of interest (chat) - invite more friends. 4. Exchange feedback what works/not. 5. Choose new messenger where you will share meaningful news in the future. Changing habits can be hard. But doing it collectively - easier!

New talk w @Cryptic_cm

Take on privacy by @Cryptic_cm x @session_app Full interview link in comments👇

WhatsApp asks for your number. Telegram stores your metadata. Session asks for… nothing. No phone number. No email. No identity. What it is: A fully private messenger built for anonymity. What makes it different: • no personal data required • onion routing hides your IP • decentralized network (no central server) • messages stored across nodes, not companies Features: • end-to-end encryption • disappearing messages • voice + video calls • cross-platform support No SIM. No tracking. No link to you. This isn’t just another chat app. It’s what messaging looks like when privacy actually comes first. Would you switch to something like this?

Warrantless Surveillance Needs to Stop! A Call to Action

@discord stopped working with a VPN for me this week. This feels ominous.

Real decentralisation is the only path to true privacy.