Marty_Man_X

This can be as “simple” as your phones being in close proximity to each other for an extended period, and sharing device advertising IDs/other device data via WiFi, Bluetooth. Might be more to it, but it’s a likely factor.

Devices do this regularly btw, smartphones also scrape for WiFi networks to better geolocate etc.

In this case, I think the creator just avoids Telegram, for good reason:

It’s not E2EE encrypted by default.

The list is not named appropriately “US etc” but it’s not a bad list either

UPDATE: https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/03/19/private-european-alternatives/

*most are made in Germany

VARTA does have batteries produced outside of Germany, usually more niche types though. It’s always labeled on the front if actually made in DE, if not explicitly stated, it’s usually China.

Edit: I still rate them, if the type of battery I need happens to be made in DE I always get the Varta variant

When it comes to music streaming, it’s a little simplistic to state only their COO, also important to note how much each service pays out to the artists (many of whom are European). Tidal is originally Norwegian but due to financial difficulties now has majority ownership by Block Inc. its true, but it also has one of the highest per stream payouts to artists.

Qobuz does too, and that’s a French company.

Ofc music streaming in general is never going to compensate artists as much as buying a CD/Vinyl/Tape or going to a concert.

WiFi 6 works fine on OpenWRT, you can check if your specific hardware would be supported here: https://openwrt.org/toh/views/toh_available_16128_ax-wifi

EDIT: although, for OpenWRT I’d recommend a router with openwrt with a separate WiFi AP (Zyxel makes good ones) as opposed to bundling them all in one.

Scheduled to arrived by 2030, but the EU is developing one and it's sounding pretty sweet: https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space/iris2-secure-connectivity_en

Yes but it also reopens everything exactly as you left it, meaning you can update and not loose anything mission critical; ymmv ofc but in my personal experience MacOS has the best update experience from mainstream OS

Fair point and good call out!

I always assume that we have the sense to double check any recommends.

On a related note, I believe that due to the nature of FOSS and it being “borderless” that those alternatives should also be relevant.

All kidding aside from the other comments, Telegram is not secure or private. It's not E2EE by default and getting it enabled is per-chat and convoluted. Frankly, I wouldn't even trust it with cat pics I send to the bros let alone private messages... not to be fear mongering but do yourself a favor and get off Telegram.

Signal, despite some criticism that it's "Not private enough etc.", strikes a balance between usability, privacy and security. It's also miles better than Telegram on all fronts.

A big issue we have in the privacy community is that it's easy to have an "all or nothing mindset". Even small steps in the right direction can be hugely beneficial. So, Signal is great. Use Signal.

I get the desire to post "simple" answers like this. And while some of the recommends do make sense... I believe the lists should be better researched. A few other comments also pointed out some of the issues already.

I've noticed with a lot of these lists that worse/unreasonable/less private/less secure/not even European or FOSS are being recommended as alternatives and I think they do more harm than good for people that might need genuine help making this process more simple. They also tend to miss a lot of excellent alternatives.

For what it's worth, these lists oversimplify and can't take into account individual needs, so own research is always necessary IMO.

For me, it's paramount that the software we use is secure and privacy respecting / transparent. A great resource for good recommendations is: privacyguides.org .

FREENOW is also pretty good, links with actual taxis too, especially in Germany.