Hakeem Anwar: Shielding Ourselves From Digital Tracking
Most smartphones have become surveillance weapons in the current landscape, but there are other options
Welcome to part two of a three part interview with Hakeem Anwar, founder and president of Above Phone. Regular phones have become surveillance devices for centralized powers, and the need for private, secure technology is more urgent than ever. This conversation explores the hidden risks of modern smartphones, the rise of geofencing surveillance, and tools which offer a powerful alternative. From algorithmic manipulation to hardware-level protection, it's time to reclaim control over our digital lives.
Above Phone delivers the privacy everyone deserves, and right now you can save up to $200 on select models here: abovephone.com/drtrozzi
In addition to Above Phone, Hakeem Anwar runs an educational platform offering free guides, resources and a community to help users reclaim digital sovereignty: Take Back Our Tech
The Hidden Price of Convenience
Every time a user opens a popular app, I.E. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, they are entering a system designed not just to serve content, but to study the user. Algorithms learn preferences, track behavior, and issue select content to increase screen time. This is not just a privacy issue—it’s a form of behavioral manipulation, especially potent in children who are being shaped by autoplay loops and hyper-targeted content.
What appears as convenience is in fact an aggressive system of psychological conditioning and data extraction. The more we rely on these platforms, the more we submit our thoughts and preferences to centralized databases.
Geofencing and the Weaponization of Location Data
Location tracking is an underappreciated threat in today’s digital landscape. On standard devices, simply having apps like Google Maps installed can leave users vulnerable. Law enforcement agencies have used tools like Google’s Sensorvault to enable “geofence warrants”—identifying all devices in a specific area at a given time, then tracking those devices to their owners. This means confidential and private gatherings can easily become compromised if phones are not left at home, or properly insulated from signals.
Citizens are regularly being monitored through data they don’t even know they are emitting. A concern about privacy isn't paranoia—it’s a real and necessary form of resistance to those who want to control everything
A Cloaking Device for the Modern Age
Unlike major tech giants, Above Phone doesn’t harvest user data. Instead, it provides the smartphone experience while stripping away the invasive features. Users can watch and download YouTube videos without triggering algorithmic tracking, navigate offline using open-source GPS apps, and interact online without being feeding into a centralized digital identity.
Above Phone uses GrapheneOS: a secure, open-source operating system. It has hardware-based encryption, allowing it to defend against spyware and remote attacks that would compromise other devices. Additionally, if physical tampering is detected, the system can roll back to a recent and secure previous state. The goal of this technology is to retain the important functionality of a typical smartphone, while protecting the user from security issues.
Improving Our Tools to Maintain Freedom
Whether it’s a “vaccine” mandate or a geofence warrant, the underlying issue is the same: central control over individuals through opaque technology. In the digital war for freedom, privacy is the first line of defense. Luckily, we are no longer forced to choose between a high-tech life or a private one… It’s now possible to have both.
Stop doing apps as every one of them is a spying tool. I use a de-googlized phone but for only calls and texting. Never sign into anything using facebook, google, apple or microsoft as your sign in credentials.
Create your own accounts signing in with you own user name and password. I switched to Linux 8 years ago on my laptop and desktop. At least that cuts down on the spying.
Never use any of the mainstream search engines like google and bing. Maybe Brave is a better option. And A/i is now beginning to track users. Another giant pitfall if you value privacy.
I went to the above phone website and the site gets shut down on me. I think Apple is preventing my access