Privacy isn't free; it costs exactly $50 million a year. 💸 We investigate the unique financial and ideological structure of Signal, the non-profit messenger that refuses to monetize your data, and the massive price it pays to keep your secrets safe from AI surveillance.

1. The Price of Integrity: We break down the math. Unlike WhatsApp or Telegram, Signal has no ad model, no trackers, and no VC funding. Running a global encrypted network costs $14 million in infrastructure alone, plus millions more in registration fees to verify phone numbers without storing them. We discuss how President Meredith Whittaker is navigating this "capitalist paradox" by relying on donations to fight the surveillance economy.

2. The AI Threat: Why is encryption suddenly under attack? We expose the "Chat Control" legislation in the EU and new AI surveillance tools that want to scan every message on your device before it's encrypted. Signal has drawn a line in the sand, threatening to leave the UK and EU markets entirely rather than build a government backdoor.

3. The Telegram Trap: We contrast Signal with its biggest rival. While Telegram markets itself as "secure," it defaults to cloud storage (readable by the company) and lacks end-to-end encryption for most chats. We explain why experts consider Signal the only "gold standard" for true privacy in an era where metadata is weaponized.