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.

    • @ExtremeDullardOP
      14•6 months ago

      Oh I didn’t know that. Privacy-wise, Discord is… suboptimal to say the least.

        • @ExtremeDullardOP
          5•6 months ago

          I read their reasoning and it sort of makes sense: what they’re saying is essentially “We do Discord because that’s where the people we want to reach - the folks who don’t know anything about privacy - hang out.”

          Well, I get that. But it’s kind of like Al Gore saying his flying around the world and spewing megatons of CO2 doesn’t matter because he’s doing that to promote environmental causes. I don’t like people who exempt themselves from the rules they preach, whatever their reason. People who walk the talk are usually more convincing.

          But yeah, they do have a point I guess…

            • @ExtremeDullardOP
              -3•6 months ago

              Techlore isn’t about preaching rules or activism

              What is it about then?

              It’s TOTALLY about preaching rules and activism: they advocate for privacy and purport to educate people on how to achieve better privacy.

        • @sub_ubi@lemmy.ml
          2•6 months ago

          Ah I wasn’t aware of that. They were one of the few large channels at the time, so when they shut it down I quit using Matrix altogether.

  • @sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.todayEnglish
    18•6 months ago

    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

      • 乇ㄥ乇¢ㄒ尺ㄖ
        3•6 months ago

        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…

          • 乇ㄥ乇¢ㄒ尺ㄖ
            1•6 months ago

            Defending ? so showing that Techlore is doing the same thing ( actually way more worse ) means I’m defending PT ?

            I’m not going into who’s more corrupt than the other, but I can provide a different source, if you think this one is problematic

            But yanno why I’m not focusing on Privacy Tools that much…A - because this post is about Techlore. B - Because the project is dead, so what’s the point?

            his shit website

            Using this language means nothing to me, and doesn’t effect me in anyway shape or form… I have no gain in the matter… they can both be down tomorrow, and I wouldn’t care

          • @jeffhykin@lemm.ee
            1•6 months ago

            I don’t see anywhere in his comment(s) where he says something postive about privacy guides.

      • 乇ㄥ乇¢ㄒ尺ㄖ
        -2•6 months ago

        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

        • @Zozano@lemy.lolEnglish
          0•6 months ago

          I think I got confused by this Lemmy post claiming it was taken over, not “attempted”. If it was taken over, then why would they shoot themselves in the foot?

          This is all really insane. But there are people here saying that privacyguides are reputable.

          Privacytools seems shadier though, even if they’re claiming to be victims.

          This is all too much drama.

          • 乇ㄥ乇¢ㄒ尺ㄖ
            2•6 months ago

            I think I got confused by this Lemmy post claiming it was taken over, not “attempted”. If it was taken over, then why would they shoot themselves in the foot?

            They stole their funds, git repos, subreddit… they might as well declare it’s the end of the website even though they still hold ownership to some extent … That’s my understanding of it at least

            Privacytools seems shadier though, even if they’re claiming to be victims

            I agree

            This is all really insane. But there are people here saying that privacyguides are reputable

            It is indeed insane, at least PrivacyGuides doesn’t push for shitty products and insult his followers for not supporting him, however toxicity towards other projects ( especially GrapheneOS ) is completely allowed on their channels…

            I’m not saying we should cancel them and never speak about them again, but if you’re a fan of PG you should hold them accountable, because they can do better

            As for Techlore, 😮‍💨…I don’t think there’s hope for Henry… he went too far, he earned the title of a “privacy scammer” for me… and the sad part is that he knows it, he knows he’s in it for a quick buck not to spread the message

            • @Zozano@lemy.lolEnglish
              0•6 months ago

              Thanks for the detailed breakdown, I think I get the broad strokes now.

              It’s difficult to parse when your brain defaults to “one of these parties are unfairly maligned” - when the truth is they’re both shitty.

              It’s a shame. Some years ago I got a lot of value from both websites, but haven’t really followed digital privacy trends lately. It’s such a time sink to gauge the value of everything by yourself.

              • 乇ㄥ乇¢ㄒ尺ㄖ
                1•6 months ago

                It’s difficult to parse when your brain defaults to “one of these parties are unfairly maligned” - when the truth is they’re both shitty.

                Oh, glad someone said it… this is a common theme on the Internet 😭… It’s okey

                It’s a shame. Some years ago I got a lot of value from both websites, but haven’t really followed digital privacy trends lately.

                when you’re a beginner you tend to accept advice from anyone in the field, this makes sense because you don’t know which advice to trust, but once you understand the principle, you look back and just know instantly who gave you bad advice vs good advice…

                If someone tells me to use a degoogled phone and later I see they’re using an IPhone, it’s not great look… ( for them )… It’s disappointing ( just an example )

                It’s such a time sink to gauge the value of everything by yourself.

                Whatelse you can do ? Not much… accept keep on learning, I enjoy these kind of stuff, and the more I learn the more I realize the tools we use aren’t perfect and they have many flaws… in technology I learned to be careful before adopting new technologies and not just jump on the hottest thing, I have to resist the Tech enthusiast within me if I wanna satisfy the privacy advocate ( the opposition within me )

                • @Zozano@lemy.lolEnglish
                  2•6 months ago

                  I used to watch Techlore too, but the final nail in the coffin for me was saying he was using stock Android

  • JeenaEnglish
    12•6 months ago

    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.

  • @unrushed233@lemmings.world
    12•6 months ago

    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.

      • @Facebones@reddthat.com
        2•6 months ago

        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

      • @unrushed233@lemmings.world
        0•6 months ago

        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.

  • @umbrella@lemmy.ml
    8•6 months ago

    that has been the case for a long time. there was a time there he was recommending google services, saying apple services are private, etc.

  • @Dominion0236@lemmy.one
    7•6 months ago

    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.

    • Possibly linuxEnglish
      8•6 months ago

      I don’t have any issues with people not recommending Graphene OS but they also suggested Google Android which is very bad for privacy.

  • tisktiskEnglish
    7•6 months ago

    Enshittification can apply to content creators too it seems. Sad, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see it coming.

  • @user@lemmy.one
    3•6 months ago

    Privacy guides and intel techniques ebooks are my main 2. Techlore is just an extra info for me.

  • DigitalDilemmaEnglish
    3•6 months ago

    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.

  • Possibly linuxEnglish
    2•6 months ago

    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.

    • Dizzy Devil DuckyEnglish
      2•6 months ago

      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.

      • Possibly linuxEnglish
        0•6 months ago

        Well depending on the device you can port Lineage OS. You need an unlocked bootloader and the GPL source code.

        • Dizzy Devil DuckyEnglish
          2•6 months ago

          Tried unlocking the bootloader on my current Samsung after it arrived in the mail. The best I got was it not unlocking after leaving it for a few hours. No screen changes or prompts appearing on screen. Nothing.

          • Possibly linuxEnglish
            2•6 months ago

            Samsung is famous for being bad from a software perspective. They also make a lot of money from bundling software so it isn’t in there interest to let you get out of the ecosystem.