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[Guide] How to escape Chat Control and the monitoring of your private messages

uncut-news.ch

July 10, 2026

News or General



The European Parliament has passed Chat Control. Scanning our private messages is now permitted in the Union, in the name of "child protection." While a majority of MEPs voted against the legislation, rules of procedure stipulated that an absolute majority was required to reject it. This majority was not reached. Mass surveillance was thus rubber-stamped.

Since my beginnings, I've defended three simple things: the people, freedom, and privacy.

Therefore, here's a guide to action. This article is an abridged version of my full guide. The complete version can be found on a dedicated website here: exitchatcontrol.org

I will give you all the tools you need to take action, with concrete steps, in order, from the simplest to the most advanced.

The most dangerous version of chat control is based on "client-side scanning": software that reads your messages directly on your phone before they are encrypted.

Consequently, a VPN alone or simple encryption is not enough to protect you.

Each of the following methods will offer you a little more protection. You don't have to do everything at once. But resistance begins with individual action, and individual responsibility begins with education, and I will help you educate yourself.

What will truly protect you is switching to free software that rejects this spyware, and regaining control of your device, and thus sovereignty over the tools you use.

Step 1: Switch your messaging service (the most urgent measure)

This is the first reflex that will protect you most quickly. Leave WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram and install Signal.

This is a messaging service that's just as easy to use as WhatsApp, but it's end-to-end encrypted by default, run by a non-profit foundation, and its team has promised to leave Europe rather than install a scanner for your messages.

Go to signal.org, install the app, verify your number, and then create a username under Settings > Privacy to hide your number.

If you want to go even further, SimpleX Chat (simplex.chat) requires neither a phone number nor an email address nor any other form of identification. Nobody, not even the servers, knows who is talking to whom. I can also recommend Session (getsession.org) in the same category.

Most importantly: Get your contacts to install Signal. An encrypted messenger is useless if you're the only one using it.

Step 2: Leave Gmail

Gmail reads your emails and is located in the USA, under surveillance jurisdiction. Leaving it offers a significant benefit with very little effort.

Create an account with Proton Mail (proton.me), which is based in Switzerland and uses encryption. The free plan is sufficient to get started. During registration, use the "Easy Switch" tool to import your old messages and contacts, set up forwarding from Gmail, and notify your contacts of your new address.

An equally solid alternative that I recommend: Tuta (tuta.com), German, completely free.

Step 3: Change your browser, search engine, and escape from Google.

Chrome is an advertising spy, and Google saves every search you do. We're replacing both.

For a painless switch, install Brave (brave.com), the web browser by @BrendanEich . He worked on the first web browser, invented JavaScript, the language used everywhere on the internet, and co-founded the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Brave is like Chrome, but without the spyware. It blocks ads and trackers by default, interrupts YouTube ads, and even offers one-click access to Tor. It's a browser that respects your privacy and ensures your data isn't spied on by Google.

As a free alternative, I can recommend Librewolf (librewolf.net). However, I can't recommend Firefox, as its lead developer has made some statements that contradict the protection of privacy.

Finally, change your browser's default search engine, both on your computer and your smartphone. I recommend using Brave's search engine, Brave Search (search.brave.com), and as an alternative, DuckDuckGo (duckduckgo.com).

Step 4: Use a VPN

A VPN won't protect you from your device being scanned, but it hides your address from your internet provider and allows you to access websites that require identification. It's essential for the day anonymity is banned.

I recommend Mullvad (mullvad.net): no email address, no name, just an account number, a verified no-logs policy, and a fixed price.

Specifically:

Go to mullvad.net (if the site is blocked for you, open it via the Tor browser or its .onion address).

Click on "Generate account number". Save this number in your password manager and never share it: it is your only key.

Pay. If credit card is accepted, make it easy. If you prefer complete anonymity, pay with cryptocurrency: Click on "Create one-time payment address" and send the amount from your wallet. Monero is the most private option. For a detailed purchase tutorial (Bitcoin, Monero via a swap), see this comprehensive guide: https://x.com/AureaLibe/status/2016126634235953211

Download the app from mullvad.net/download , enter your phone number, and connect to a server outside the European Union. Activate the "kill switch." For

more information, the full guide is available here .

Step 5: Secure your accounts

A unique and strong password for each service is the foundation of all security.

Install Bitwarden ( bitwarden.com ), it's free. Create a long master password (a phrase), install the extension and the app, and let it save and then replace your old passwords.

It's crucial to store your passwords in free software and not entrust them to Google or Apple. Your passwords grant access to your entire life. Just as you wouldn't give strangers the keys to your house, it's your responsibility to do the same with your passwords.

Furthermore, a password manager allows you to use a different password for each website, which strengthens your privacy and limits the risk of hacking.

Then, enable two-factor authentication for your important accounts using an app like Aegis (getaegis.app) or Ente Auth (ente.com), and never via SMS (SMS is vulnerable to SIM card hacking).

Step 6: Take control of your devices

That's the point many people forget: You encrypt your messages, but you still have a system that spies on you.

Switch to Linux on your computer. It's free, it doesn't spy on you, and it's much easier than you think. The newer distributions, especially those with the GNOME and KDE desktop environments, are very intuitive. Software is readily available, and even for video games, there are distributions with everything you need pre-installed, such as CachyOS (cachyos.org) or Steam OS (store.steampowered.com/steamos). On my gaming computer, Linux has become my default choice.

For beginners, Linux Mint (linuxmint.com) is the easiest distribution and the one that comes closest to Windows.

The most robust solution for the phone is GrapheneOS (grapheneos.org). It's a de-Googled and hardened version of Android that can be installed on a Google Pixel from a computer in just a few clicks.

This is the real solution if your phone ever tries to scan you or spy on your conversations. Because the only real way to circumvent this kind of surveillance is to install an Android version that isn't controlled by Google.

Step 7: For advanced users

If you want to take sovereignty to the extreme: Use Tor to decouple your activity from your IP address, host your own services with YunoHost or Umbrel, run artificial intelligence locally instead of sending your thoughts to ChatGPT, and, for those more vulnerable, learn the rules of anonymity. Everything is detailed step-by-step in the complete guide here: exitchatcontrol.org

Conclusion

Changing tools is an act of individual responsibility inherent in everyone and makes it possible to reject illegitimate mass surveillance.

Encryption means protecting your privacy. Self-hosting means escaping surveillance by tech companies. Reclaiming control over your tools means becoming ungovernable and sovereign.

The fight is political. Support organizations that oppose it, such as the initiative fightchatcontrol.eu, and write to your elected representatives. That's what almost brought Chat Control down.

But since the solution is unlikely to come via the ballot box or the European Parliament, it is everyone's responsibility to gain their freedom and protect their privacy using all the tools available on the internet.

The complete guide, with every tool explained and installed step-by-step, for everyone from the average citizen to the whistleblower, is here: exitchatcontrol.org. Save it, share it, and get your loved ones to switch.

This article will be updated as the situation develops.

In April 1945, when American soldiers entered the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, they encountered a survivor whose presence left an indelible mark on their hearts—a man so fragile it seemed his shadow carried more weight than his body.

Driven by a quiet instinct for dignity, he tried to rise when he saw them. His legs were thin and brittle, his ribs sharply outlined beneath his skin, evidence of a body that had endured starvation far beyond human limits. When he stood, his knees gave way, no longer able to remember their purpose. Though he weighed little more than a child, he bore the crushing burden of years of calculated cruelty.

What broke the soldiers most was not his weakness, but his gentleness. He softly apologized to the medics for being a “burden,” even for breathing too slowly. A nurse knelt beside him and reassured him, telling him that his survival alone was a miracle—that his body had defied a world determined to erase him. He lived only a few weeks after liberation, but he died a free man, leaving behind a memory the soldiers would carry forever.

We share this story so we do not turn away. We remember not only numbers and dates, but individual lives—fragile souls who fought to remain human when everything else was stripped from them. Their shadows still speak to us, asking the world to remember, and to promise: never again.

November 1, 2007. Shubayshen, Iraq.

Army 2nd Lt. Tracy Lynn Alger, 30, was serving with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) when tragedy struck during combat operations.

An improvised explosive device detonated near her vehicle.

The blast caused devastating injuries.

Despite every effort to save her, Lt. Alger died from the wounds she sustained that day while serving alongside her fellow soldiers.

She had answered the call to serve her country and lead others in one of the most demanding environments a soldier can face.

The 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has a long history of courage and sacrifice, and Lt. Alger became part of that legacy through her service.

She was not just an officer.

She was a daughter, a friend, and a leader entrusted with the lives of the soldiers she served beside.

Behind every fallen service member is a family whose world changes forever.

And behind every name is a story of courage that deserves to be remembered.

Lt. Tracy Lynn Alger gave her life while serving her country in Iraq.

Her sacrifice stands as a reminder of the cost carried by those who wear the uniform.

Iwo Jima February 23, 1945   

Everyone has seen the photo, but have you ever seen their faces? Well here they are.

By the way… there were six men. Not four. If you look closely Mike and Rene are on the other side. 

Letter from the my great grandmother’s brother describing the Christmas Truce of 1914, found in a collection of old family letters.

No. 8149, Private W. Brightwell, D. company, 1st Norfolk Regiment, 2nd Army Corps, British Expeditionary Force

My dear Ethel,

Just a few lines to you in answer to your most kind and welcome letter I received on 4th february. Hoping you are in best of health as it leaves me quite well at present. I have had a bad cold on my chest but I am glad to say I am getting rid of it now we are getting some better weather. You say you wondered how I spent my Xmas. Well I shall never forget that Xmas as long as I live. I spent it in the trenches. It was a sharp frosty night Xmas eve. When daylight came, I was all white with frost just like Father Christmas. The Germans were singing all night in their trenches, German carols, and parts of English songs (what they knew of them). We were only 200 yards from them. About 10 am they signalled to us that they wanted to talk to us. They sent one man towards and we sent and we sent one to meet him and they said they wanted a three day truce. He said if you don’t fire on us, we won’t fire on you. We agreed. The Germans started getting out of their trenches so we got out as well and shook hands with each other. The gave us cigars and cigarettes and we gave them some of ours. They were pleased; they would have given us anything. We exchanged pipes and knives and sang songs and played football with them. Some of them could speak english so we managed to understand each other-it looked alright, seeing Germans and English chasing a hare about with big sticks. We buried a poor French soldier who had been lying for weeks in front of our trench- the Germans helped dig the grave and one German and one English man lowered him down to rest. They were good chaps, they kept their word and were very little trouble to us after that. I reckon you will hardly credit this. I couldn’t myself. I had to pinch myself to see if I was awake. It was a treat to walk about and not be fired at.

Now my dear Ethel, I do not think there is anymore I can say at this time. Give my best respects to your husband- I wonder if we shall ever meet. Now I shall conclude with heaps of love from your affectionate

Brother Will.

Have you ever considered the Third Amendment of Our Constitution?

While it points to the security of private property it also points to a responsibility of caring for our soldiers. Please read it and consider who should be responsible for housing military personnel. Their oath never expires. Nor should Our responsibility.

When danger fell, love stood up. 🐾❤️

Our dog didn’t think — he felt.

In one brave move, he saved our baby’s life.