Freedom Tech Weekend

Take control of your location data! In this Freedom Tech Weekend episode we compare Google Maps, Apple Maps and truly private options built on OpenStreetMap, then dive deep into Organic Maps—an open‑source, offline‑first navigation app that never phones home. You’ll learn how major mapping services monetize your movements, why Apple’s differential privacy still leaves breadcrumbs, and how community‑powered maps can deliver accurate turn‑by‑turn directions without sacrificing sovereignty. We also recap new AI‑privacy headlines (ChatGPT data‑retention orders, Meta AI leaks).

Ready to experiment? Grab Organic Maps this weekend, download your region, switch your SIM off and see how liberating true offline navigation can be. As always, any sats you send are re‑routed to the open‑source builders we feature. 🔒🗺️

Learn more about our fully‑encrypted large‑language‑model platform at https://trymaple.ai.

Worried about what OpenAI saves when you chat with ChatGPT? Data retention at ChatGPT and other services is more than you think. 🕵️‍♂️

In this Freedom Tech Weekend livestream, Marks digs into the court order forcing OpenAI to retain every user prompt—even “deleted” and “temporary” chats—and shows how that threatens freedom of thought. We break down the New York Times vs OpenAI lawsuit, what data ChatGPT actually stores (PII, screenshots, browsing activity & more), and why “zero-data-retention” enterprise promises aren’t enough.

Then we pivot to solutions you can deploy TODAY:

Whether you’re a journalist, developer or privacy-first power user, you’ll leave with a weekend action plan to migrate away from surveillance-heavy AI platforms and toward sovereign, encrypted technology you control.

▶️ Subscribe for weekly Freedom Tech deep-dives and let us know which proprietary tool you want to ditch next!

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Ready to own your conversations and ditch data-mining messengers? In this Freedom Tech Weekend episode we take a hands-on tour of the Signal app—the open-source, end-to-end-encrypted messenger trusted by activists, journalists, and privacy pros worldwide.

Fresh from the Oslo Freedom Forum, host Marks shares real-world lessons from AI workshops for human-rights defenders, then dives into:

If you want the same privacy philosophy for AI, try our open source project Maple AI — the world’s most private cloud LLM chat. Give it a spin at https://trymaple.ai 🌿

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Unlock the real power of the internet in this Freedom Tech Weekend episode!

Marks walks you through Tor—the Onion Router—showing how its volunteer-run network of encrypted relays lets anyone browse anonymously, punch through censorship, and take back digital sovereignty. We clear up misconceptions (no, it’s not just for criminals), dig into the U.S. Navy origins, and demo the Tor Browser step-by-step—from download to advanced security-level tweaks, bridges, and “new identity” circuits.

You’ll also see how Tor pairs perfectly with Maple AI, the end-to-end-encrypted chat assistant built on OpenSecret enclaves, and how projects like Start9 home servers and LTor (Lightning-powered incentives) are pushing privacy even further.

Whether you’re a journalist, developer, or weekend tinkerer, you’ll leave with a concrete plan to play with Tor this weekend and start decoupling from proprietary walled gardens.

🔗 Try Maple AI for free: https://trymaple.ai

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Need to send files to non-Apple devices? 🎉 In this bite-sized Freedom Tech Weekend episode, Marks streams from an airport layover to show how anyone—on iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, or macOS—can swap files instantly without AirDrop.

We compare two open-source, cross-platform tools:

LocalSend – a polished desktop & mobile app that uses local Wi-Fi to beam files peer-to-peer with no central server

Magic Wormhole – a CLI powerhouse that transfers anything from photos to entire folders by exchanging a simple one-time code

You’ll learn how AirDrop actually works and where LocalSend or Wormhole shine—especially offline situations with mixed company. Drop a comment if you’ve tried either tool and tell us what privacy-first tech you want next week!

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Get confidential AI for free: https://trymaple.ai

Welcome back to Freedom Tech Weekend! In this episode, Marks from Maple AI shows you how to take control of your inbox with privacy-first email tools you can try today. Learn the pros and cons of disposable emails versus long-lived email aliases, see live demos of Guerrilla Mail, Proton Mail, and SimpleLogin, and discover how aliases protect you from spam, data breaches, and unwanted tracking. We also cover why services sometimes block throw-away addresses and how to choose the right option for your threat model.

► Play along this weekend and test the tools yourself—then pair them with Maple AI’s end-to-end-encrypted chat for a fully sovereign workflow: https://trymaple.ai

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you never miss a Freedom Tech Weekend deep-dive into open-source, privacy-preserving tools.

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Get confidential AI for free: https://trymaple.ai

Ready to break free from closed-source password lockers? In Episode 5 of Freedom Tech Weekend, we dive straight into Bitwarden—the leading open-source password manager—and its self-hosted sibling Vaultwarden. 🚀

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Welcome to Freedom Tech Weekend! In this live session we put Kagi’s new Orion Browser through its paces and ask a simple question: can you finally ditch Chrome, Firefox or Brave without sacrificing speed?

You’ll hear:

Stick around to the end for a sneak preview of next week’s Bitwarden + Vaultwarden password-manager showdown and a quick demo of Maple AI — our fully encrypted AI chat that keeps client data off Big Tech servers. Try it free at https://trymaple.ai.

Freedom Tech Weekend is all about helping you migrate off proprietary, data-hungry services and onto sovereign, open-source tools you control. Hit Subscribe and ring that bell so you never miss a privacy upgrade!

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Welcome to Freedom Tech Weekend — your weekly dose of open-source tech you can run yourself.

In this episode, we explore Firefly III, a powerful, privacy-first alternative to tools like QuickBooks and YNAB. This open-source, self-hosted personal finance app gives you full control over your financial data with no monthly fees and no data harvesting.

We walk through setup, features like transaction importing, budgeting, piggy banks (goal tracking), API usage, and how Firefly III stacks up against proprietary platforms like Intuit's QuickBooks. If you’re tired of subscription bloat and privacy invasions, Firefly III might be the finance tool for you.

🔗 Firefly III: https://firefly-iii.org

We also demo Maple AI, a confidential AI assistant that helps answer questions privately with zero data logging.

🔗 Try it free at https://trymaple.ai

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Let’s migrate off closed systems — one tool at a time.

In this episode of Freedom Tech Weekend, we explore Goose, a powerful tool that uses Model Context Protocol (MCP) to coordinate with various AI tools and agents. Goose is an on-machine AI agent that automates engineering tasks, allowing you to integrate different tools and services to streamline your workflow.

We dive into the basics of Goose, its features, and its potential applications. We also discuss MCP, a protocol that enables AI agents to communicate with each other and with various tools, and how it can be used to create a more seamless and automated workflow.

During the stream, we attempt to use Goose to automate tasks such as transcription and blog post generation, and discuss the potential benefits and limitations of using such tools.

Whether you're a developer, a tech enthusiast, or simply interested in learning more about AI and automation, this stream is for you. Join us as we explore the possibilities of Goose and MCP, and learn how to use these tools to enhance your productivity and workflow.

This is a show that streams every Friday at 15:30 UTC or 10:30 Central (Bitcoin Park Time).

To chat about upcoming episodes and suggest tool ideas you want to see discussed:

Episodes are unofficially sponsored by the company I co-founded called OpenSecret. We make a sweet, freedom tech AI chat app called Maple AI.

Check out Maple AI - private, end-to-end encrypted AI Chat at https://trymaple.ai