Toss up between Star Trek First Contact and Snatch!

I don’t know if it has been audited or not to be honest but I know the source code is available on the Mega website.

I have not come across Cryptomator but that is now something I am definitely going to look into, I am always doing an audit on software I use and always looking to see what else is out there. Just because I use Mega at the moment doesn’t mean that is what I will be using in a year from now etc

Fossify messages. Not the most feature filled app, does only the basics but because I don’t use SMS as my main communication method it is more enough to receive the odd 2FA text

Since they publish their client-side source code (https://mega.io/developers), anyone can verify that the encryption actually happens locally on your device before a single byte is uploaded.

Unlike Google or Microsoft where you just have to hope they aren’t scanning your files for ads or AI training (which they are!) Mega’s transparency means if there was a backdoor in the client code, the FOSS community would have flagged it years ago, it gives independent researchers a chance to check the behaviour. As an offsite backup is crucial, for me Mega is one of the better providers, not saying they are perfect but good enough for now.

The two I use are Nextcloud and Mega. Nextcloud is my primary location and I have a script that runs daily to replicate the Nextcloud with Mega. I chose Mega because it has end to end encryption and Mega cannot see your data. They also cannot recover your account if you forget your password. They have had issues/controversy in the past but these days they are, in my eyes a solid choice. I also make use of their S3 bucket so that my Proxmox Backup Server can save offsite so technically Nextcloud is included in that as well!

I self host so the data in the cloud is stored on my own equipment, yes it is still technically online but it saves a copy locally so you only need an active connection to sync new items.

I regularly use multiple devices and having that sync is vital. Even at work, I cannot install software but I can install browser extensions. This means I can use my instance for both personal and work. I have also set up most of my family with access, all for free!

Which phone and message app are you using? I also don’t see a way to view photos or files and which camera app?

Obviously GrapheneOS is the best way to go for privacy but if you do stick to OEM Android then make sure you’re using apps like the Fossify suite. I use their apps with all contacts and calendar synced via davx and self hosted on Nextcloud.

What about KeePass, where is that data backed up?

I recently wrote about why the year of Linux might actually be a trap. Most users want control handed to them even if it means giving up their privacy. If Linux goes mainstream, it could lose what makes it special.

https://the.unknown-universe.co.uk/privacy-security/year-of-linux-trap/

SteamOS and Proton are kind of paving the way. It’ll be interesting to see if Steam Frame can take that further, especially on mobile/ARM, and shake up the usual players.

User agents are just the tip of the iceberg. Between TCP/IP stack fingerprinting and modern hardware attestation (TPM/Secure Boot), pretending to be a different OS is becoming a lot harder than just changing a string in your browser settings. The ‘handshake’ I mentioned before is at a much deeper level than that.

You’re right that the average person doesn’t care about fingerprinting, but that’s exactly the problem. To me, browser fingerprinting isn’t just a technical quirk, it’s a violation of privacy that effectively erases your ability to be anonymous, regardless of whether you have a VPN or not.

If we let OS-level ID checks become the standard because people don’t care, we’re essentially legitimising that tracking. My red line isn’t just a government log of my identity, it’s the fact that the tech is being built to make that log possible in the first place. Once the infrastructure is there, the incidental proof of identity quickly becomes the primary feature.

It’s less about a “scan” and more about the “handshake.” Look at things like Windows 11 requiring a TPM and Secure Boot, or the Microsoft Pluton chip being baked into newer CPUs.

They don’t need to inspect your code. They just need a cryptographic “attestation” that says your hardware and kernel are in a “known good” state. If your DIY kernel doesn’t have the right digital signature from the manufacturer, the service whether it’s a bank or a Netflix stream, simply says “computer says no” and denies the connection.

Sure, we’ll find workarounds, but for 99% of people, that “invisible border” is a brick wall.

Actually, even without “tracking” individuals, the metadata is still there. I can see from my own anonymous, privacy-respecting server stats exactly how many hits are coming from Android versus GNU/Linux. There is no personal data involved, but the OS “fingerprint” is clear.

If a small, self-hosted blog can see that high-level data, then a bank or a government gateway definitely can. The comparison to anti-piracy doesn’t quite work because you don’t have to “log in” to a pirated movie, but you do have to authenticate for the services that actually matter. That’s where the compliance gate gets locked.

I think that’s a dangerous assumption to make. If the OS is tied to your physical identity, the ‘VPN’ layer becomes much less of a shield. Once the kernel level is ‘compliant’ with an ID check, the metadata being leaked or even the hardware ID itself makes anonymity a lot harder to maintain.

You’re right about the social media risk, but the OS is the foundation. If you give up the keys to the house, it doesn’t matter how many extra locks you put on the individual room doors. That ‘disappointing risk’ is exactly how the ‘invisible borders’ start getting built.

My real worry isn’t that Debian will cave, but that the services we use every day—banks, government sites, DRM-heavy media—will start checking for a “compliant” kernel. If those “invisible borders” get built, you might have a truly free OS that’s effectively useless for 90% of the modern web.

It’s not about the distro failing; it’s about the “compliant” versions becoming the only key to the door. We have the choice now, but the gap between “free” and “functional” is definitely getting wider.

The systemd age-storage drama was a massive red flag. It showed how easily a “safety” mandate can be used as a wedge into the lower levels of the stack.

My worry is exactly what you said: politicians creating “compliance” requirements that are fundamentally toxic to the GPL or the way community distros operate. It’s not about making Linux better; it’s about making it legally unviable for anyone but a massive corporation to maintain. Digital enshittification via regulation.

I agree with you, that’s exactly what my post says.

Microsoft is the trap. My point is that “Sanitised Linux” is just Microsoft-style shenanigans being forced onto our ecosystem via regulation. I literally started the post by saying Linux is the only sanctuary left.

t’s the “corporate enshittification” cycle. Once Linux becomes a viable market for the mass-market predators, they won’t just move in, they’ll try to legally mandate the bulldozing.

It is a myth, always has been. But the worry isn’t the “Year of Linux” happening, it’s the corporate version of it being forced on us via regulation.

ChromeOS is basically the blueprint for the “Gold Cage”. My real worry is that “security” is just becoming a convenient excuse to swap user ownership for corporate control. Once that “masses” version becomes the legal standard for compliance, the rest of us are basically looking at digital exile.