Seeking cofounder(s) for a privacy friendly social network

1 point

7 years ago

In their pursuit of growth at all costs, Facebook has failed in its mission to connect the world, and instead has led to increased isolation, addiction, vanity, surveillance, tribalism, and more.

A true "pivot" to privacy would've addressed more fundamental issues, including:

  1. The collection and permanent storage of vast amounts of user data (e.g. locations you’ve logged in from, every profile you've visited, etc.) for the purposes of data mining. 
  2. Tracking people around the internet, including content they’re reading (e.g. health issues, etc.) without consent. 
  3. Newsfeed algorithms that encourage addiction, FOMO, and outrage by promoting viral content. 
  4. Tying user data across owned properties without user consent.

Facebook is likely structurally unable to addresses these issues in a meaningful way, due to technical, business and cultural constraints.

I believe people should have a healthier option and I’m looking for cofounders to take on the ambitious challenge of building a mainstream social network that doesn’t track you. Think: a mobile-first social network that collects minimal metadata, encrypts as much as possible, and is designed to encourage good behavior (e.g. chronological feed, feed updated every 4h, etc.)

This idea won’t be easy to execute, but if it works, it could be massively good for the world.

I have a deep understanding of privacy (having worked at a leading privacy-oriented company) and growth. Would welcome smart, scrappy folks (ideally with skills in product, design, or engineering) to reach out if interested in working on this. Remote is totally fine.

Please email privacychef@protonmail.com.

Thank you!