Privacy

Unlike typical programs that prioritize profit over principles, Kagi Specials highlights privacy-first products that offer quality services with transparent business practices.

A few times per year, we select a limited number of services that meet our core standards: no surveillance, no ads, no selling your data, and products designed with the user in mind. If you’re building a privacy-first service, or know a company that should be featured, we’d love to hear from you. Share details or nominate a project through this quick form.

Just to be clear: there’s no money changing hands here. We’ve partnered with these companies because we believe in what they’re doing, share similar values, and think our respective communities would naturally appreciate what each other has to offer.

In today’s digital world, our personal data is being collected, stored and sold more than ever before. Every time we scroll through social media, shop online or even just browse the web, we leave behind a trail of information that companies and governments are eager to collect and use.

Data privacy has become a more serious concern than people may realize, and it’s high time we start looking into this.

Corporations like Facebook, Google and Amazon gather enormous amounts of data from us. They know our interests, habits and far more. Yet, most of us have no clue how this data is being used or who’s accessing it.

A major concern is that this data is often sold to third parties — without our informed consent — leading to the manipulation of our online experiences and even our real-world choices.

The UK government has announced plans for a digital ID wallet, enabling British citizens to store all government-issued documents on a single location on their smartphones.

However, security experts have raised significant security and privacy concerns around storing so many sensitive documents in a single location.

The new ID wallet is designed to increase the security and convenience of using identification documents for everyday purposes such as proving age and claiming benefits, according to the government.

The digital ID concept also has the potential to become an avenue for privacy abuse and government overreach, if sufficient safeguards are not put in place.

Chris Linnell, Associate Director – Data Privacy at Bridewell, noted that every use of the GOV.UK Wallet will likely leave behind a “digital trail,” with user’s metadata such as the time, location and device used logged. This would create a detailed record of an individual’s movement and activities over time.

notes : This is a serious issue that is rarely discussed. Some countries have already implemented Digital ID like Aadhar in India. Even the World Bank has encouraged other governments to implement this Digital ID. You can check out the website https://id4d.worldbank.org/

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of Nepal has issued an order requiring all social media platforms to be registered in Nepal.

Based on this, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has instructed all network service providers to deactivate 26 platforms, including Signal, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and others.

To lift the ban and operate legally in Nepal, each platform must:

1. Register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

2. Appoint in Nepal:

   • A Point of Contact
   • A Resident Grievance Handling Officer
   • An Officer responsible for monitoring compliance with self-regulation [1]

3. Submit an application in the prescribed format along with required documents, as per the Directives on Managing the Use of Social Media Networks (2080 B.S.). [2]

Reference:

[1] Notice by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Managing the Social Networking Platform Usage in Nepal

[2] Directives for Managing the Use of Social Networks, 2023

Macrodroid has been a favourite of mine for automating things on my phone. This is no longer the case.

It has been silently updated at some point to become a data mining and leaking nightmare. At the time of writing these lines, this app contains 30 trackers from various third party telemetry services according to the latest Exodus report. This is an extremely high number of trackers. Even most junk mobile games can't manage to contain this many. The owner of the app has sold out and turned it into spyware to sell your data to as many companies as possible.

This is particularly worrying considering the level of access and permissions the app requires to work. If you are using the app still, I'm urging you to reconsider.

Spread the word.

Nepal’s government has said it will shut off access to major social media platforms, including Facebook and X, after they failed to comply with authorities’ registration requirements.

The move, announced on Thursday, is part of what the government says is an effort to curb online hate, rumours and cybercrime.

The online restrictions follow a 2023 directive requiring social media platforms – which have millions of users in Nepal with accounts for entertainment, news and business – to register and establish a local presence.

Only five, including TikTok and Viber, have since formally registered, while two others are in the process.

Bhola Nath Dhungana, president of Digital Rights Nepal, said that the sudden closure shows the “controlling” approach of the government

It was recently reported by Jack Poulson on Substack that ICE has reactivated its 2 million dollar contract with Paragon Solutions, a cyber-mercenary and spyware manufacturer.

The reactivation of the contract between the Department of Homeland Security and Paragon Solutions, a known spyware vendor, is extremely troubling.

Linked the section in their terms of service that includes instructions on how to opt out. You have thirty days to do so if you are currently signed up.

A federal jury determined on Wednesday that Alphabet’

Google must pay $425 million for invading users’ privacy by continuing to collect data for millions of users who had switched off a tracking feature in their Google account.

The verdict comes after a trial in the federal court in San Francisco over allegations that Google over an eight-year period accessed users’ mobile devices to collect, save, and use their data, violating privacy assurances under its Web & App Activity setting.

The users had been seeking more than $31 billion in damages.

ICE acquires Israeli spyware capable of hacking phones and encrypted apps

ICE has reactivated a $2M contract for Israeli spyware Graphite, sparking fears of civil liberties after previous cases of misuse

Under Trump, ICE has seen its operations and powers vastly expanded [Getty] US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are moving ahead with a multimillion-dollar contract for powerful Israeli-made spyware capable of hacking phones and encrypted messaging apps, drawing criticism from civil liberties groups and surveillance experts.

The $2 million deal with Paragon Solutions, the Israeli firm behind the Graphite spyware suite, was initially signed under the Biden administration in late 2024 but paused amid compliance reviews over privacy and security concerns.

According to The Guardian, the Trump administration has now lifted the pause, restoring ICE’s access to the tool and sparking a fresh debate over government surveillance powers.

Paragon’s Graphite software allows agencies to remotely penetrate smartphones, access encrypted applications such as WhatsApp and Signal, extract data, and even covertly activate microphones to turn devices into listening tools.

Critics warn the technology gives unprecedented surveillance capabilities to US immigration authorities at a time of heightened political and public scrutiny over civil liberty abuses by ICE.

The Washington Post reported that the pause was lifted following changes in Paragon’s ownership structure and the completion of federal regulatory reviews. The decision comes despite mounting evidence from rights groups and cybersecurity researchers about the risks of misuse, including against journalists and activists.

Earlier this year, researchers at the Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity watchdog based at the University of Toronto, discovered Graphite had been used to target the devices of journalists in Italy, including reporters from Fanpage.it, prompting a European investigation.

Italian officials denied any wrongdoing, but the revelations highlighted the growing global market for so-called "mercenary spyware" and the lack of transparency surrounding its deployment.

Related As ICE raids rise across US, attorney warns people to prepare

US affairs Brooke Anderson In Washington, civil liberties advocates have expressed alarm over the implications of ICE regaining access to such invasive technology. Nadine Farid Johnson, policy director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, urged lawmakers to act.

"Reports that ICE has renewed its contract with spyware vendor Paragon compounds the civil liberties concerns," Johnson said in a statement last week.

"Spyware like Paragon’s Graphite poses a profound threat to free speech and privacy. Congress must step in to impose clear limits and safeguards before these tools are used in ways that undermine constitutional rights."

The Guardian reported that ICE officials have defended the contract, insisting the spyware is used strictly for law enforcement purposes, such as targeting transnational criminal networks and human trafficking operations.

However, critics point to the lack of independent oversight mechanisms and the absence of public information about how frequently or against whom the software is deployed.

The Washington Post added that the reactivation of the Paragon deal may signal a more permissive stance by the Trump administration toward domestic surveillance technologies.

Past controversies over the use of spyware such as Pegasus, developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group, have already prompted calls for stricter regulation. The Biden administration previously blacklisted NSO after its tools were linked to the hacking of US diplomats’ phones.

Under Trump, ICE has seen dramatically expanded powers and funding, fuelling concerns about its growing politicisation.

Critics point to sweeping arrests, including of non-criminal migrants, and the use of tactics once considered off-limits, such as unmarked vehicles and plainclothes agents. Civil liberties groups warn that without oversight, the agency risks becoming a tool of political intimidation rather than law enforcement, especially with access to powerful surveillance technologies.

Clearview AI built a massive facial recognition database by scraping 30 billion photos from Facebook and other social media platforms without users' permission, which law enforcement has accessed nearly a million times since 2017[^1].

The company markets its technology to law enforcement as a tool "to bring justice to victims," with clients including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. However, privacy advocates argue it creates a "perpetual police line-up" that includes innocent people who could face wrongful arrests from misidentification[^1].

Major social media companies like Facebook sent cease-and-desist letters to Clearview AI in 2020 for violating user privacy. Meta claims it has since invested in technology to combat unauthorized scraping[^1].

While Clearview AI recently won an appeal against a £7.5m fine from the UK's privacy watchdog, this was solely because the company only provides services to law enforcement outside the UK/EU. The ruling did not grant broad permission for data scraping activities[^5].

The risks extend beyond law enforcement use - once photos are scraped, individuals lose control over their biometric data permanently. Critics warn this could enable:

• Retroactive prosecution if laws change
• Creation of unauthorized AI training datasets
• Identity theft and digital abuse
• Commercial facial recognition systems without consent[^1]

Sources:

[^1]: Business Insider - Clearview AI scraped 30 billion images from Facebook and other social media sites

[^5]: BBC - Face search company Clearview AI overturns UK privacy fine

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract last year with Israeli spyware maker Paragon worth $2 million.

Shortly after, the Biden administration put the contract under review, issuing a “stop work order,” to determine whether the contract complied with an executive order on commercial spyware, which restricts U.S. government agencies from using spyware that could violate human rights or target Americans abroad.

Almost a year later, when it looked like the contract would just run out and never become active, ICE lifted the stop work order, according to public records.