A Tough Decision

2025-07-21T19:00:03+08:00

During the 204 days since being deeply hurt by the extensive censorship and surveillance of unencrypted communications, I have never escaped the overwhelming sense of agony and struggle.

Despite the widespread promotion of XMPP, Matrix, Delta Chat, Telegram, SimpleX, and other end-to-end encrypted libre software communication tools among my friends, my communication with several important friends of mine still relies heavily on unencrypted SMS/MMS and unencrypted emails. Although no proprietary malware or spyware is involved, the problem of surveillance and censorship has not become any less severe.

Many times, I face a choice between privacy and friendship, and it is truly a tough one. I am a strong advocate for security and privacy; however, I also deeply value friendship. I really want to get rid of those bloody SMS/MMS, but I find it hard to let go of the mates who stay connected with me via them.

Yet, as my desire grows for an environment with stronger security, privacy, and perhaps anonymity in the future, I must make this difficult decision. As of today, I will no longer accept carrier SMS/MMS, and I will remove my telephone numbers from my personal website.

I won’t cut things off entirely straight away — for now, my telephone numbers will be maintained under a new identity and will remain available for at least one more year. By continuing to stay in contact, you accept this new identity. However, this will not be a long-term compromise, and I may change my mind at any time. For the sake of our security and privacy, you are encouraged to use XMPP, Matrix, SimpleX, or at the very least, Telegram.