An Unpopular Opinion
Anomie's core thesis is simple but unpopular: commercial phones and computers cannot be secured reliably, at scale or over time.
Apple, Google, Samsung, and the rest of the industry spend heavily to deny this. Many technologists and app developers don't want to believe it. Uber, TikTok, and others must convince you that your data is safe with them. AT&T and Verizon pretend it's not true.
And most consumers don't want to believe it. For now, many people find things good enough and have few alternatives. Despite frequent news of hacks and high-profile breaches, most haven't experienced an attack.
There are many people, however, that are truly at risk if their communications are compromised. These are the people we serve. We believe everyone has a right to privacy and that security improves daily life for all. As a bootstrapped startup, however, we lack the marketing budget to compete with Big Tech. Nor are we interested in using fear to persuade skeptics.
Though we focus on a specific market, we believe everyone should have the choice to communicate privately and control their identity and credentials. These rights shouldn't be controlled by Big Tech seeking lock-in, nor by overbearing governments. That is one of the reasons for our unusual path. Making our entire product open-source engenders trust and confidence. But it also enables those we can't reach, who truly need our product, to potentially build it for themselves.
It's not the easy path to fame and riches, but it's our mission. And we believe the values at the heart of our products may not be so unpopular after all.