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Hakim Anwar, CEO and founder of Above Phone, joins Clayton to discuss pervasive surveillance and how to protect personal privacy in 2025–2026. The conversation covers why traditional devices and services—especially iPhones, Samsung/Android phones, and their app ecosystems—are highly surveilled, the role of Amazon Web Services in monitoring traffic, and how messaging apps on these devices are tracked. They frame the problem as a loss of personal privacy and a move toward centralized infrastructure that can be controlled or cut off by large tech platforms.
Hakim explains the origin of Above Phone. He started as a software engineer, was already aware of surveillance concerns, and became involved in freedom-based social networks. He pivoted toward open-source technology (Linux, degoogled phones, open-source software) and, five years ago, helped establish Above Phone to create usable privacy-centric devices that are actually functional for daily life. The goal is to be more usable and more private than big tech.
The product philosophy emphasizes usable privacy. Above Phone builds on open-source operating systems like GrapheneOS, modeling them off Android but severing ties with Google and other big tech. Hakim notes that typical Samsung/Google Android devices have “god mode” access by Google (and to some extent Samsung), and emphasizes that Above Phone devices are designed to have zero connections to big tech by default, while still enabling users to run necessary apps. Users can choose to install Google services if needed, but in a limited, privacy-conscious way—these services act like normal apps on the device rather than the centralized, all-encompassing control found on stock devices. The phones can be used with existing cell service, and data transfer from iPhone or Android is supported, with live, in-person setup assistance.
Setup and operation details:
- You can switch to the Above Phone by moving your number with the SIM card (five-minute process), or use the Above Phone in parallel while migrating.
- The Above Phone supports both physical SIMs and eSIMs; the data SIM service is eSIM-based.
- A private, in-person support team helps with data transfer and setup.
- The device can run a sandboxed second profile for Google services, isolating them from personal data. This sandbox can hold essential apps (e.g., WhatsApp) while the primary profile remains private. If needed, Google services can be used in a fully isolated manner, or work apps can be run entirely without Google involvement. Open-source equivalents are provided for many common apps (navigation, messaging, etc.).
Privacy mechanics and surveillance:
- Hakim explains that big tech devices continually “phone home,” with independent studies showing frequent data transmission to Google and Apple. Enhanced visual search on iPhone, enabled by default, scans photos for landmarks and can link to private indexes, illustrating how centralized platforms can harvest data even without explicit user consent.
- Above Phone disconnects from Google’s update stream and ships with zero Google services by default; updates come from open-source developers, not from Google/Apple. Users can still opt to install Google services, but these are constrained and do not have the same “god mode” permissions as on stock devices.
- The device supports a private, end-to-end encrypted messaging protocol based on XMPP (Jabber), which is decentralized and can run on a self-hosted or community-driven network. WhatsApp, he notes, is still built on XMPP.
The Above Book Linux laptop is highlighted as a privacy-oriented alternative to mainstream Windows/Mac ecosystems. Linux is presented as cooperative, transparent, and less profit-driven. The Above Book ships with an easy-to-use Linux variant designed to avoid terminal use, includes a privacy-focused web browser (Ungoogled Chromium), and offers open-source software replacements (office apps, photo editing, etc.) that store data locally. The laptop supports local AI with Mike Adams’ Brighteon AI integration via LM Studio, enabling private, offline AI capabilities on the device. The company positions Linux and Above Book as enabling local work, with offline AI and offline maps via OpenStreetMap-like tooling.
Hakim closes with a forward-looking stance on digital ID and the “surveillance grid” being advanced through regulatory acts into 2027–2030. He frames the investment in Above Phone and Above Book as a preparation for a world where privacy must be actively preserved, and encourages viewers to explore abovephone.com/redacted and abovephone.com for more information and products.
David and Clayton engage on skepticism, marketing, and the broader implications of privacy-centric technologies, reinforcing the idea that the goal is practical privacy and education rather than ideology.