Flock Safety scans 20 billion license plates a month across 49 states. The FBI runs warrantless searches on millions of Americans. Companies you pay are selling your data and raising your prices. FourthWall is a free community resource that helps you fight back — with real tools, real knowledge, and real alternatives.
Instead of getting warrants, government agencies buy your data. The NSA purchases your browsing history from commercial brokers. Fog Data Science sells "patterns of life" tracking on 250 million mobile devices to police for under $10,000 a year. ICE spent more on surveillance contracts in September 2025 alone than in the previous 13 years combined.
Flock Safety's new "Nova" platform supplements license plate data with information from data breaches and commercial sources to track individuals — no warrant needed. Their cameras operate in over 5,000 communities, and they've been caught tracking protesters, targeting ethnic minorities, and surveilling women seeking reproductive healthcare.
Adobe hiked its Photography Plan by 50% overnight. Google killed unlimited storage and started charging institutions. Evernote gutted its free plan to 50 notes after years of users building their lives around it. The average American underestimates their subscription spending by nearly $30/month — the real number is over $91.
It's not just prices. Dropbox now sends your files to OpenAI by default. LinkedIn scraped user data for AI training before even updating its terms. X/Twitter's new terms claim rights to your "inputs, prompts, and outputs" with no opt-out. You're paying more to be the product.
In 2024, Google killed Chromecast, Google Podcasts, its VPN service, and Jamboard — deleting all user data including posts, uploads, and comments. Google Stadia users lost every game they purchased. Nest Secure devices were bricked. Evernote gutted its free plan to 50 notes on a single device after years of users building their lives around it.
Google Cloud has suspended customer accounts with no explanation, asking users to verify their identity through a portal they're locked out of. Plex now requires cloud authentication to watch your own local media — if their servers go down, you can't access your own files. Your digital life is one corporate decision away from disappearing.
And they're winning.
Santa Cruz terminated their Flock Safety contract after discovering data was accessed by out-of-state agencies. Mountain View ended theirs after an audit found unauthorized federal access. Oakland's council voted down Flock expansion. Communities are drawing lines.
The Fifth Circuit ruled geofence warrants are unconstitutional "modern-day general warrants." Michigan's Supreme Court ruled police can't conduct unlimited searches of your phone. The Supreme Court is hearing Chatrie v. United States in 2026 — the biggest digital privacy case since Carpenter.
Signal has 70 million monthly active users. Proton hit 100 million accounts. Right-to-repair laws are active in six states, with bills introduced in all 50. Europe is building an entire open-source government infrastructure stack to cut ties with U.S. Big Tech.
Open-source home automation now runs in over 2 million homes. Self-hosted photo management projects are among the fastest-growing on GitHub. Over 1,000 new self-hosted tools launched in 2025 alone. The self-hosting market is projected to reach $85 billion by 2034.
Practical help, not paranoia. We meet you where you are.
Lock down your phone, laptop, and browser in one session. We'll make sure you're using strong, unique passwords — whether that's a dedicated app or something already built into your device. We'll enable two-factor authentication on your critical accounts, tighten your privacy settings, and reduce the data you're leaking. Every recommendation is based on your setup, your comfort level, and what you'll actually stick with.
Drop-in ClinicGroup sessions covering digital self-defense. Learn how Flock cameras and data brokers work in your community, what data your phone is leaking right now, and the concrete steps to shut it down. We cover encrypted messaging, private email, VPNs, and browser hardening — tailored to what makes sense for the group. No technical background required.
Group / FreeReplace cloud photo storage, file sync, password managers, and more with open-source software you control on affordable hardware. We'll help you pick the right setup for your needs, install everything, and teach you to maintain it. Break even in 3-6 months vs. what you're paying in subscriptions.
1-on-1Connect with neighbors who value digital independence. Share knowledge, split costs on hardware, and build a local support network. When YouTube flags self-hosting tutorials as "harmful content" — which they've done to creators with 500K+ view guides — we make sure the knowledge stays alive locally.
OngoingAll workshops are free and open to everyone. No experience needed.
Bring your phone. Leave with your passwords organized and secured — using whatever solution makes sense for you, whether it's something built into your device or a dedicated app. We'll set up 2FA on your email and banking, review your app permissions, and tighten your privacy settings. We cover both Android and iPhone. This is the single most impactful thing you can do for your digital security.
A look at the surveillance infrastructure around you. We'll map the Flock Safety cameras in our area, explain how license plate data flows from a camera on your street to a federal database, how data brokers like Fog Data Science sell your location history to law enforcement, and what the 4th Amendment was supposed to protect you from. We'll also cover what the courts are doing about it — and what you can do.
Live demo of an affordable mini PC replacing cloud photo storage, file sync, password management, and more with open-source alternatives. We'll show you the real costs, the real setup process, and the real tradeoffs. The average household spends $91+/month on digital subscriptions — much of that can be replaced with a box the size of a paperback.
In 2024, National Public Data leaked 2.9 billion records — full names, SSNs, addresses, phone numbers — then went bankrupt with less than $75,000 in assets. Learn how to check if your data was exposed, how to use California's DELETE Act to force brokers to remove your information, and how states like Montana are starting to require warrants for data purchases.
Dates and locations announced as they're scheduled. Sign up below to get notified.
Self-hosting isn't for everyone — but for those ready to take the next step, a small, affordable computer can replace services you're renting and put you back in control.
Automatic photo backup with AI-powered face recognition, map view, and sharing — all running locally. Open-source alternatives have exploded in quality, with some projects hitting 95,000+ GitHub stars. Your family photos never leave your home.
File sync, calendar, contacts, and document editing on your terms. Governments across Europe are adopting self-hosted productivity suites to cut ties with U.S. Big Tech. If it's secure enough for Germany and France, it's secure enough for your family.
Everyone should be using a password manager — the right one depends on you. Sometimes the best option is already built into your phone. For those who want more control, self-hosted options keep your credentials on your own hardware. We'll help you figure out what makes sense for your situation.
Local-only security cameras with AI object detection. No subscriptions, no cloud uploads, no sharing footage with police through corporate partnerships. Open-source home automation now runs in over 2 million homes and integrates with thousands of devices.
Scan, OCR, tag, and search all your documents. Tax records, medical papers, receipts — organized and searchable on your own server. No scanning app selling your documents to data brokers.
Cloud AI services are getting more expensive and more invasive — your prompts become their training data. Self-hosted AI models run entirely on your hardware with no data leaving your network. As open-source models get more powerful, local AI is becoming a real alternative to handing your questions, documents, and ideas to corporations.
You don't have to do everything — and most people don't. Even step one makes a real difference.
Get your passwords under control — even using what's built into your phone is a huge step. Turn on 2FA. Review your privacy settings. This alone puts you ahead of 90% of people and takes about an hour. Come to a device hardening clinic or schedule a 1-on-1.
Encrypted messaging instead of SMS. Private email instead of Gmail. A privacy-focused browser instead of Chrome. These are simple swaps that cost nothing and don't require any technical skill. Not everyone needs to go further than this — and that's fine.
For those who want to go further, a mini PC or single-board computer can replace cloud services you're paying for. Beginner-friendly platforms make the setup simpler than you'd expect. We'll walk you through it — but only if this step makes sense for you.
Add file sync and collaboration tools. Set up local-only security cameras. Run AI models on your own hardware instead of feeding your data to cloud services. Automate your home. At this point, you're paying almost nothing and you own everything.
Whether you want to attend a workshop, get 1-on-1 help, or host a session — start here. No spam, no sales pitch.