Nate Bartram and Jonah Aragon have been advocating for privacy for a long time. Their sites, The New Oil and Privacy Guides, have a ton of fabulous resources for anyone interested in guarding their data and defending their digital rights. Ever wonder what it’s like being a privacy advocate in an increasingly privacy-hostile world? Today, I’ll take you behind the scenes of these sites and into the brains of two top-notch privacy warriors.

Interview Notes

• Privacy Guides: https://www.privacyguides.org/ 
• The New Oil: https://thenewoil.org/ 
• Critical Thinking 101: https://ghost.thenewoil.org/critical-thinking-101/
• This Week in Privacy podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-privacy/id1726826455 
• Privacy Advocate Toolbox: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/activism/ 
• Smartphone privacy guides: https://www.privacyguides.org/videos/2026/02/04/smartphone-security-course-lesson-1-beginners-2/ 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:18: Intro
• 0:02:11: Why did you get into privacy?
• 0:07:44: What’s the most enduring privacy myth?
• 0:14:13: Do you find people dislike the answer “it depends”?
• 0:16:50: How would you describe your target audience?
• 0:22:00: How do you evaluate privacy products?
• 0:27:59: What products have you unrecommended and why?
• 0:34:27: What are major privacy red flags?
• 0:43:09: What product do you use that you do not recommend to others?
• 0:48:05: How will you handle age checks or repeal of Section 230?
• 0:55:09: Who do you look to for privacy advice?
• 1:04:22: What’s next for you guys?
• 1:08:30: Wrap-up
• 1:10:46: Patron podcast preview
• 1:11:24: Looking ahead