Why I don’t like privacy guides, Jonah Aragon, and Techlore

Here are a list of my reasons:

Community Siphoning (Opinion):

My personal view is that the shift from PrivacyTools.io to Privacy Guides felt less like a natural progression and more akin to a redirection of its user base. This observation, based on the movement of all active contributors in Reddit communities in 2021, seemed to signal a strategic rather than a community-led decision. This opinion is validated by the fact the original privacytools.io subreddit is still held in ransom by privacy guides members, despite the projects being unrelated now. Privacy guides refuses to give the subreddit back to the original owner, has closed down its current subreddit, and is redirecting all members to their personal forums.

Idea Appropriation (Opinion):

In my opinion, Privacy Guides appears to have replicated the core concept of PrivacyTools.io without introducing significantly new ideas. This approach might be seen as lacking originality, which in my view, detracts from its advocacy for privacy. I've observed that other websites like privacytests.org, or my own, tend to offer more timely and comprehensive analysis.

Another example I’ve found is Jonah Aragon blatantly copying Eric Murphy’s browser tier list thumbnail. Take a look below.

Jonah Aragon copying another privacy creator’s thumbnail very blatantly, including a tier drop and everything…

I asked Jonah if he would make a video explaining this, and he blocked me on his Youtube channel. Guess he doesn’t like me exposing him?

Jonah Aragon hide my Youtube account because I pointed out he copied Eric Murphy’s thumbnail design (and idea).

Lack of Innovation (Observation):

Privacy Guides, despite its rebranding, doesn't seem to have introduced novel or exciting elements. This is an observation that contrasts with their claim of championing privacy. Additionally, the monetization methods adopted by PrivacyTools.io post-transition are a point of difference but raise questions about indirect monetization strategies in Privacy Guides.

Project Monetization and Personal Gain (Concern):

I have concerns about potential conflicts of interest, particularly regarding Jonah Aragon's dual roles. His management of Privacy Guides and involvement in a monetized YouTube channel and Techlore (which also involves monetization) raises questions, in my view, about the possibility of user redirection for personal or financial gain especially when Privacy guides is marketed as a non-profit.

Management and Operational Concerns (Allegation Reference):

There have been allegations regarding mismanagement of funds within Privacy Guides, including unauthorized cryptocurrency withdrawals and accepting payments from companies they publicly oppose. These allegations, if true, could reflect negatively on their commitment to privacy principles.

Community and Founder Displacement (Opinion):

The transition's execution, from my perspective, seemed more like a takeover than a smooth transition. The sidelining of PrivacyTools.io's original founder and the domain redirection appeared to lack consideration for the community and the founder's original vision. Source

Allegations of Misconduct (Third-Party Allegation):

It has been alleged by Daniel Micay that members of Techlore, and by extension Jonah Aragon, have engaged in harassment and misinformation about his operating system. If these allegations are accurate, they would, in my opinion, conflict with the expected ethical standards of the privacy community. I’ve found examples of such claiming anyone that takes over the project would be a “sockpuppet”. Source

Techlore's Involvement (Third-Party Allegation):

The involvement of Techlore in alleged actions that include harassment and misinformation, as highlighted in a particular YouTube video, adds to these concerns. This involvement, if substantiated, would seem contrary to the goals of ethical advocacy in the privacy space. Source.

However, Techlore has not only been alleged to harass Micay, but he’s also done so to me plenty of times, and I’ve made videos exposing him.

Techlore has also been harassing me privately for years, despite him claiming I’m Just a troll. I will provide proof of his community doing so below, as well as some leaked DMs of him encouraging harassment privately behind the scenes.

He’s insinuated I have a non-transparent relationship with vpns like Torguard, encouraged others to make competing channels to lower my viewership, and much more I’m not aware of.

As of today, before Techlore’s discord server closes (he decided to close his community probly because its a unmoderated toxic wastepile), I will post some goodies from his server of members harassing me for nearly 7 years at this point.

Funny thing is, most of these accounts are “deleted” which proves they were only created to troll me.

August 2022 Techlore Server

September 2023 Techlore Discord Server

Techlore 2019 Discord Server (proof they have been harassing me for atleast 5 years lol)

Techlore encouraging one of my friends to turn agaisnt me and make a competing Youtube channel, he also mentions how some of his supporters want to “expose” me, but he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty because most of the information is false and would get him sued.

Henry messaging one of my friends insinuating some unclear relationship with TorGuard. At the time, his followers were making fake images and actively telling people I worked for TorGuard—so he was leaning into this theory. (Despite the fact VPNs retweet me all the time, and I’ve always been clear that VPNs pay me in affiliate relationships—and they also pay him too).

Techlore’s former mods (Gabby) telling people I worked for TorGuard in 2019. Notice this is roughly the same time period (of a year or so) Techlore was pming people insinuating I worked for TorGuard.

Why did Techlore stop?

Simple.

I messaged him and told him if he kept spreading slander and misinformation, I would use my $500 an hour lawyer and sue his ass.

After that, he learned his lesson and stopped discussing me at all (although his followers would continue for years after).

Toxicity (Observations):

Privacy guides managers are unable to properly manage the toxicity from their communities from leaking out. As proof, I will put some of the “mature” responses since making this professional post.

Privacy guides members spamming my website with comments like this

Another PG member or community member mad at this post

An angry Techlore fan (Aka Henry Fisher) posing as Techlore trying to instigate a fight with me… LOL!

But Tom, Privacy Guides is not responsible for their members creating random accounts and trolling you…. Right?

WRONG.
When the leaders of a community, like Privacy Guides or Techlore, engage in negative behavior towards other communities and fail to moderate similar actions by their members, it sets a harmful precedent. People who talk trash in their community, and are not discouraged or punish, think that behavior is morally righteous, and they leak out and decide to spam websites like mine with 12 year old comments.

For the point of this article, I’ve published all comments below.

This lack of positive leadership and moderation fosters a toxic environment, not only undermining the community's own integrity and purpose but also potentially causing harm beyond its boundaries.

Conclusion

In summary, my perspective on Privacy Guides is influenced by both their management of the transition from PrivacyTools.io and the serious allegations of unethical behavior. Their actions appear, in my view, to challenge the principles of community-driven development, transparent operation, and ethical advocacy in the privacy domain.