1y ago

Has Techlore sold out?

I like Techlore (https://www.techlore.tech if you don't know) and I usually regard them as one of the most impartial and most trustworthy Youtubers out there. But for the past few months, I couldn't help noticing their somewhat heavy bias towards some of their video sponsors. Still, everybody has to eat right?

This time though, it looks like Synology flew them over to Taiwan, and if you watch their video at the event, it's wall-to-wall Synology shilling. I'm really disappointed.

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I lost interest when they moved from matrix to discord
- Oh I didn't know that. Privacy-wise, Discord is... suboptimal to say the least.
  
  They didn't move from Matrix to Discord, that's a very misleading way to frame it. They had Matrix, Discord and their forums, then they closed Matrix and encouraged people to use the forums instead. They left the Discord open for people who require real-time privacy advice. Here is their detailed reasoning behind the change, if you are interested.
Since you noticed the bias, let me give you the real dark history of both Techlore and PrivacyGuides ( Jonah Argon ) and how they took over Privacy Tools.io and closed their subreddit.
https://www.privacytools.io/guides/jonah-aragon-privacyguides-failed-attempt-to-takeover
Don't trust Privacy YouTubers, trust experts who know what they're talking about
- Always funny when people try to pretend this PrivacyTools guy is some brave whistleblower when in reality he destroyed his own website going for a cash grab and then got butthurt when people created better alternatives that actually gave genuine advice instead of ads.
  
  There's no pretending... if you actually click the link the first video is about the practices or Techlore, so I'll make it easy for you :
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cEfJ1UTNvw
  The rest of the article, talks ( with proof ) about the betrayal of Jonah Argon, changing the website license for example...
  got butthurt when people created better alternatives that actually gave genuine advice instead of ads.
  Really ? Sounds like a very childish thing to be mad about.. Especially when you realize there are many websites and blogs that are written by experts
  I'm not trying to be funny, I'm saying what happened, and simply don't trust Techlore because or the lack of ethics...and going after the cash grab... What kind of Privacy minded individual drives a Tesla? Uses Apple hardware? Promotes proprietary solutions?
  genuine advice instead of ads
  Techlore literally said buy my course so you'll have an ad free experience... And PrivacyGuides covers surface level stuff...
- privacytools.io doesn't even list NordVPN as an ad anymore...
  Is there another trustworthy site which compares different platforms?
  
  There is, it's the exact one that user and the delusional founder of Privacy Tools have a hate boner for. Privacy Guides is non-profit with no ads or affiliate links.
  
  Instead of searching for a "trustworthy" source... whatever that means... Learn about which criteria you should look for when choosing a VPN.. learn who are the creators of such service and their experiences..
  And then you won't need to trust, you'll be able to evaluate
- Wait, I'm confused. Why would privacytools.io host this article?
  
  I'm not sure, maybe they thought it'll be more visible for the website followers..
I used to like his content and still like Surveillance Report but Henry always talks about how Apple is so private and a good option for an OS ecosystem. It's closed source, it looks like they (Apple) push "privacy" so they can have a monopoly on the data, and are anti consumer in many ways. Now his push for Synology has been growing.
Seems like he takes the easy way out with privacy. I understand life is busy (as he mentions a lot) but in order to make positive change you have to believe in and follow values that give power to open source tech and not the giants who steal your data, monetize you, and are in bed with the government
I was very surprised about the Synology video too. There was no critical word about anything in it.
Sure they offer a selfhosted sollution for things but their software is closed source for example.
That's pretty sad to see, Techlore is one of the main ways how I got into digital privacy and security, but ever since they removed GrapheneOS from the mobile OS recommendations section on their resources page, I don't feel like it's a trustworthy source anymore. Removing the most private and secure mobile OS from your OS recommendations, while claiming to give people privacy and security-focused recommendations is pretty hypocritical. Instead they recommend CalyxOS which rolls back default AOSP security features, LineageOS which doesn't even work with a locked bootloader and microG which requires root access. It just feels like a bad joke.
- Apparently the gos devs (or the main guy at least) are snooty and shitty to alot of people.I see a lot of criticism about that but never see any criticism of the project itself luckily, I'm really settled in now lol
  
  LineageOS for microG is a custom build which already includes the patch to enable signature spoofing. This still means that microG is running with root privileges. It btw also includes the F-Droid privileged extension, which is yet another app running with elevated privileges and adding unnecessary attack surface. Installing microG is the quick and easy workaround to get Google Play services, but it's more like a dirty hack that reduces security. GrapheneOS is currently the only ROM that properly integrates the official Google Play Services using the Android app sandbox. This also increases app compatibility, and it's the reason why most banking apps work without any issues on GrapheneOS, while they are broken on Lineage, Calyx and other ROMs that use microG.
Yes.
Enshittification can apply to content creators too it seems. Sad, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't see it coming.
I lost interest in them after they had their beef with GrapheneOS and stopped recommending them. I get it, they hate the old lead dev cause he was a jerk but how are you going to spread the word of privacy and not recommend the most superior OS in privacy and security? If you truly want to help people achieve the best results with their privacy and security then you should be unbiased with your recommendations. They are doing the privacy space and all the new people looking for advice a disservice because they hold a grudge. Now they're taking free trips to review products? Sounds like they're using their subscription count to spread their own agenda.
- I don't have any issues with people not recommending Graphene OS but they also suggested Google Android which is very bad for privacy.
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Privacy guides and intel techniques ebooks are my main 2. Techlore is just an extra info for me.
- Can you give me the link of these sources , I enjoy reading about privacy.
  
  https://inteltechniques.com/books.html
  https://inteltechniques.com/magazine.html
I think you have to be exceptionally strong to resist this sort of thing. You can justify sponsorship in a hundred ways - not least to yourself. But in every case, it changes everything. That, of course, is why companies spend money influencing the influencers.
Buyer beware, as always.
He's also kind of a Brave fanboy
They are good and bad. I think they have some good intentions but it gets lost sometimes in the form of bad advise. I do like that they have a Matrix Space and a Peertube instance.
Also I agree with them on Graphene OS. People need to realize that by just not using Google Android they are much more private. I think there is to many fans. They are almost as bad as Apple fans.
- My biggest problem with not using android is the last 3 phones I've had are pretty much as far as I'm aware unsupported by 3rd party ROMs in general. While yes it is my fault for getting phones that are more budget phones, it'd be nice to see support or ROMs focusing on lower end budget phones instead of mostly just the major flagship models. That, and US model sams*ng phones not being the devil to root, if even possible on any US model.
  
  Well depending on the device you can port Lineage OS. You need an unlocked bootloader and the GPL source code.
I really would like to start a YouTube channel to get free stuff but I dont want to put my face on YouTube.
Yeah man! same I loved his content but recently he has been taking side with colgomarates.

49 comments