A Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
Endless Thread13 Syys 2024

A Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

When the founder of the messaging and social media app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France, it exposed something: many of Telegram's millions of users believe the app is much more secure than it actually is.

Some of those people use the app for crime; others to communicate about sensitive political topics in war zones. Media outlets (including, we must admit, Endless Thread) have often described Telegram as an encrypted app, but that's not quite right. Telegram, and who knows who else, can access most of what's said and shared on the platform. There are crucial differences between apps like Telegram, and other services known for encryption, including WhatsApp and Signal, and many people using the apps don't understand the differences. Do we need to? Wired's Andy Greenberg, Natalia Krapiva at Access Now, and Matthew Green, a professor at Johns Hopkins, say absolutely.

This week, we look at the anarchist, googler, and billionaire moguls behind the tech that millions of people around the world use for basic communication. And we imagine what it looks like when an app actually protects your conversations from prying eyes? We also ask: why should you care, even if you think you have nothing to hide?

Show notes:

Credits: This episode was produced by Grace Tatter. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski. It was written and hosted by Ben Brock Johnson. It was edited by our managing producer, Samata Joshi.

Jaksot(436)

Hidden Levels Ep. 2: Stick It to 'Em

Hidden Levels Ep. 2: Stick It to 'Em

In this second episode of Hidden Levels, Amory traces the history of the humble-yet-genius joystick — from early 20th century aviation, to 1970s video game consoles like the Atari 2600, to the Nintend...

10 Loka 202541min

Hidden Levels Ep. 1: Mr. Boomshakalaka

Hidden Levels Ep. 1: Mr. Boomshakalaka

Welcome to our all-new collaborative series, "Hidden Levels," in which we team up with 99% Invisible to explore how the world of video games has impacted the world beyond. We’ll dive deep into how gam...

7 Loka 202537min

Announcing 'Hidden Levels': how the videogame world has changed the world beyond videogames

Announcing 'Hidden Levels': how the videogame world has changed the world beyond videogames

Have you ever jumped on something as you're moving through the real world, and heard that Mario bouncy sound in your head? Or maybe seen someone acting like an NPC when they're a real person? Maybe yo...

6 Loka 20255min

A fork (still) in the road

A fork (still) in the road

You've heard of the "Freshman 15"... how about the "DOGE 15"? This is how some federal employees have referred to the stress associated with the establishment of the Department of Government Efficienc...

3 Loka 202530min

Bridezillas and Quiz Traps

Bridezillas and Quiz Traps

Ben and Amory share stories about potential pettiness from Reddit. Ben shares a post from r/weddinshaming post about a bride who changed her wedding to a weekday in another state. Amory counters with ...

26 Syys 202527min

Losing Our Marbles

Losing Our Marbles

In 2020, Jenna Marbles — one of the most popular YouTube creators of all time —posted her last video. Five years later, her devoted fanbase still wonders: where is she, and is she okay? We investigate...

19 Syys 202537min

Message In A Laptop

Message In A Laptop

What is your relationship with the trash heap of digital history? Can you still connect your old hard drives? Still sifting through your old photos in the cloud? Do you ever low key snoop in the old e...

12 Syys 202524min

Encore: The Internet's Most Hated Bird

Encore: The Internet's Most Hated Bird

As summer fades away, we bring you an encore episode about you shoreline companions and occasional bullies — gulls. Gulls are not beloved creatures. Consult social media, where they are deemed relent...

5 Syys 202539min