Mastodawn

Subscribe to The Privacy Cloud, a free bi-weekly newsletter that discusses how to protect your online privacy. Posts are published on Wednesdays, and at the end of each month, I send out a roundup of privacy-related news that I find worth reading.

https://theprivacycloud.substack.com/

#privacy #newsletter

The Privacy Cloud 🔐☁️ | Monique Barrow | Substack

A bi-weekly newsletter about privacy and how to better protect it. Click to read The Privacy Cloud 🔐☁️, by Monique Barrow, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

Monique Barrow 6d ago

We have 100 days to stop Google from implementing the Android Developer Verification program, which demands developers verify themselves before they can develop Android apps.

Keep Android Open is a campaign being raised that calls for Google to drop the verification program. Their open letter has 71 signatures from prominent privacy organizations/companies.

To learn more about the initiative and what you can do, check out their website.

https://keepandroidopen.org/

#google #android

Keep Android Open

Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.

Show thread

Monique Barrow May 23

Looking to leave Discord for a more private alternative? Check out AlternativeTo’s page: https://alternativeto.net/software/discord-app/

Best Discord Alternatives: Top Group Chat Apps in 2026

The best Discord alternatives are Stoat Chat, Signal and Telegram. Our crowd-sourced lists contains more than 100 apps similar to Discord for Web-based, Android, iPhone, Windows and more.

AlternativeTo

Monique Barrow May 23

Discord now has end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls, but not DMs. Interesting timing since in a few months, Discord will roll out their global age verification measures for a second time (originally meant for March 2026, it’s now set for the second half of 2026).

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/discord-calls-finally-get-end-to-end-encryption-but-your-dms-didnt-make-the-cut/

#discord #privacy

Discord calls finally get end-to-end encryption, but your DMs didn’t make the cut

Discord's multi-year encryption project is done. Every call is now E2EE by default across consoles, mobile, and browsers. However, there’s a catch that you might want to know.

Digital Trends

Monique Barrow May 21

Android users: You should check out Molly, a Signal fork that aims to improve the official Signal app.

https://theprivacycloud.substack.com/p/what-is-molly

#privacy #security

What is Molly?

Signal gets an upgrade

The Privacy Cloud 🔐☁️

Monique Barrow May 12

Electronic Frontier Foundation May 11

Canada’s C-22 bill is a surveillance overreach that paves the way to backdoor encrypted communications of users around the world. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/canadas-bill-c-22-repackaged-version-last-years-surveillance-nightmare

Canada’s Bill C-22 Is a Repackaged Version of Last Year’s Surveillance Nightmare

Last year, the Canadian government pushed Bill C-2, which would erode Canadian digital rights in the name of “border security.” The bill was so bad it didn’t even make it to committee because of the backlash from the privacy community. Now, the spring’s worst sequel, Bill C-22, aka The Lawful Access Act, is trying it again.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Monique Barrow May 11

The Tor Project May 11

PSA: please update Tails with the latest release. It is an emergency release to fix a critical security vulnerability in the Linux kernel, as well as security vulnerabilities in Tor Browser and in the Tor client. https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tails-7_7_3/

New Release: Tails 7.7.3 | Tor Project

This release is an emergency release to fix a critical security vulnerability in the Linux kernel, as well as security vulnerabilities in Tor Browser and in the Tor client.

Monique Barrow May 7

If you enjoy what I do, please help me reach my goal on Ko-fi!

https://ko-fi.com/moniquebarrow/goal

Support Monique Barrow

Ko-fi

Monique Barrow May 6

"FreeTube is a free and open source YouTube client that is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. FreeTube blocks ads and prevents Google from tracking you as you watch your videos."

https://theprivacycloud.substack.com/p/how-to-watch-youtube-videos-without

#privacy #youtube

How to watch YouTube videos without the ads

No more ads

The Privacy Cloud 🔐☁️

Monique Barrow May 3

"Linux may get a hall pass from one state age-check bill, but Congress plays hall monitor"
"Big tech vows to continue CSAM scanning in Europe despite expiration of law allowing it"
"California’s 3D Printer Law Would Criminalize Open Source, Enshittify The 3D Printing Space"
"Utah’s New Law Targeting VPNs Goes Into Effect Next Week"

Check out the latest monthly news roundup for the full list of headlines.

https://theprivacycloud.substack.com/p/april-2026-privacy-news-roundup

#privacy #surveillance #tech

April 2026 Privacy News Roundup

News

The Privacy Cloud 🔐☁️

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