2026 - Reject Surveillance. Embrace Freedom.
It will be a transition for us all, but very quickly is the world waking up to the fact that they have been lied to for generatio—their entire existence. Looking back you could say it's been a slow transition and process, but I think we are going to see rapid acceleration as there has never been lower trust towards governments, banks, global corporations, specifically referring to the "tech oligarchs" and all of the mainstream applications we have been using for years as more or less a global standard.
PS: Grok quit fucking labeling me as anti-establishment. It is about accountability, objective truth, and trust. It is not about attacking people or entities in positions of power just because of some petty reason or you are jealous of their lives... quite the contrary, the people who should be elected in positions to serve their communities are not and we are left with those on their knees to the highest bidder—political prostitutes. Though we walk in darkness, it does not mean we seek nor comply to live in a society without truth, good moral values, and accountability for our actions. The power has and will always be in the people, the collective, the united communities.
Predictions
My predictions *oOoOo look ma, am an oracle* for 2026 are that we will begin to see a lot of revolts, specifically towards those who aim to oppress and contribute towards the degradation of society, good values, and our basic human rights. There will be a massive pivot away from the Googles and Microsofts towards free, open-source technology that has contributors and peer review from around the world. The false narrative and smokescreen of "privacy is for criminals" will no longer exist and people will see this as a basic, fundamental human right. Using privacy-focused apps will be the norm like having doors on houses for the past ~4,000 years. People have always valued privacy, but the issue is not only that we willingly compromised security and privacy for convenience, most of us were simply unaware of other options and the risks that followed.
Start Now
You can immediately begin by firstly deleting old data from services you've used for longer than you can count. Delete the accounts, apps, emails, delete the photos and videos, delete all unnecessary digital baggage. Go back and change your profile picture(s) to something irrelevant and input a made up name on your devices, accounts, and apps. Standardize the process of protecting your privacy and never giving more information than you have to. Identity theft, fraud, and data breaches have never been at higher levels than now. Privacy is not about doing something shady, it's about protecting your data and life. *There is no guarantee any of your data is truly wiped clean from the internet, safe to assume it is recoverable or it is not completely purged, but you can at least aim to reduce the impact. There is no better feeling than a well needed digital Spring cleaning, thank me later.
The More You Know
Stay up to date with technology, privacy, and security by following some people, organizations, and platforms that make their lives about educating others on the latest news, advancements, breaches, exploits, and so on. You don't have to have accounts on social media to view most of the content anyways, there are always work arounds.
Some Recommendations (on X, no particular order):
@privacy_guides
@naomibrockwell
@LinusTech
@TechloreInc
@vxunderground
@pewdiepie(not on X)
@DoingFedTime
@web3privacy
@AlternativeTo
Start Using Alternative Apps
Enjoy embarking on a new journey of discovery. Once you open yourself up to the world and break outside of your bubble of comfort, you will find apps you never knew existed that you've dreamed of, wished for, and fall in love with. There are great people and projects out there, but of course most of their effort is likely on the product and not the distribution and marketing... so you've never heard of it. Going to start sharing of more apps I have started using in the past year and any new ones that I find with you all. There is nothing more that I love to give the well deserved, positive exposure to good teams and projects that have spent years building something incredible, but no one has ever heard of it.
FOSS community on the rise...
Here is a list of some of the recent apps and protocols I've really started enjoying more in the past year. Not swearing by any of these lol, just check them out and see if you like them and they are suitable for you.
@mullvadnet
@brave
@ProtonMail
@VeraCrypt_IDRIX
@Nostr_X (no official acct)
@RAILGUN_Project
@monero
@fileverse
@LibreOffice
@VectorPrivacy
(2025 Summary in Comments soon™)
Conclusion
Wishing you all the best in 2026 and look forward to connecting with more of you that share the same interests and values. Absolutely amped and ready for what awaits, so much creative energy brewing... especially at FormlessLabs with
@JSKitty Always on the look out for great projects and people who need help and find ways to contribute my time, designs, and resources. You live and you and learn, but this year is about learning from action—the doing. The failing. The realizing. The iterating. The optimizing. The succeeding. Blessings 🤍
