Description: "Telemetry, bloatware and accounts-for-everything have become the default. A look at how we got here, how to check for yourself, and four small Windows apps that ask for nothing."
Last week I opened a calculator.
Not a banking app or a social network. A calculator, a program whose whole job is turning 7 × 8 into 56. And before it let me do that, it wanted me to sign in, accept a privacy policy and "improve my experience".
I'd like you to remember that feeling of wait, why? for the rest of this post.
How we got here
Nobody woke up and decided software should spy on people. It happened gradually, one reasonable-sounding decision at a time.
1. "We just want to understand how people use it."
Usage analytics sounds harmless. Then it becomes session recording, then device fingerprinting, then a profile attached to a persistent ID. The feature that began as "which button do people click?" ends as "everything you do, forever."
2. The business model changed.
When software was a thing you bought, the customer was you. When it's free, or a subscription that needs "engagement", the customer is whoever pays for the data or the attention. Your behaviour becomes the inventory.
3. Bloatware is the same story.
Preinstalled trials, "recommended" apps, background updaters that exist to keep a vendor's service in front of you. Each one has its own startup entry, its own process, its own network calls. None of them were your idea.
4. Accounts became the default.
Something that could work offline with a file now needs a login, because a login is a relationship, and a relationship is a funnel.
The result is software that's heavier than it needs to be, slower than it should be, and constantly talking to servers you never chose.
What it costs you
- Performance. Every background updater and telemetry thread takes RAM, CPU and disk, all to report on a tool that was supposed to just do its job.
- Attack surface. Every network connection is something that can break, be intercepted, or be misconfigured. Software that never phones home can't leak what it never sent.
- Dependence. If the app needs a server to work, it stops working when the company changes direction or shuts down.
- Trust. The worst cost. You can no longer assume that a tool is working for you.
Don't take my word for it, check
I could write a paragraph about how private my apps are, but that's just a claim. Here is how to check any app, mine included. It takes about five minutes.
1. Block it at the firewall.
Create an outbound block rule for the .exe in Windows Defender Firewall. If the app still does everything it claims to, it didn't need the network.
2. Watch it work.
Open Resource Monitor (resmon), go to the Network tab, and use the app normally. Look at "Processes with Network Activity" and "TCP Connections". An offline tool should show nothing.
3. Look at what it starts with Windows.
Task Manager → Startup apps. A tool you opened on purpose shouldn't have registered itself to launch at boot.
4. Look for accounts.
If you can't use it without signing in and it isn't a service by nature, ask why.
If an app of mine fails any of these, I want to hear about it.
The Akhouri Systems apps
I built these with one rule: the software does the job and nothing else.
No telemetry. No analytics. No account. No bundled extras. No "sign in to continue." (yeah in my APIC Web tool sign up is needed but just because I want to track my users count that's it but rest all desktop apps have no sign-up or any extra stuff)
ATLOCK v5, security suite
File and folder locking, a password vault, recovery shares, and public-key encrypt and sign, built on Argon2id and AES-256-GCM. It has a --selftest with 41 checks and a --fuzz mode so you can see it hold up.
An honest note: ATLOCK does have a few network features, and I'd rather tell you than let you find them. Each one is something you switch on. The vault can check a password against Have I Been Pwned, and only the first 5 characters of a hash ever leave your machine (k-anonymity), never the password. There's an optional VirusTotal lookup that uses your own API key, and an optional Telegram alert that uses your own bot token. Nothing runs on its own. There is no analytics code in it.
ANOTE v1, notes
Notes that stay on your machine. (password protection, multi-tab, coding mode, meme canvas mode, built in 15+ different language translation support)
APIC v1,
(a image editing tool with compress, convert, advanced edit, resize feature all packed in 1 single image editing desktop suite)
ACALCU v3, calculator
A calculator. It calculates.(each button is customizable, 29 pre-built themes available, also you can create your own, add images in each button, add gifs in each button, add random text in each button making it one of the most customizable calculator you've ever seen)
Downloads
All are zipped Windows .exe files.
| App | Download |
|---|---|
| ATLOCK v5 | ATLOCK_v5.zip |
| ANOTE v1 | ANOTE.zip |
| APIC v1 | APIC.zip |
| ACALCU v3 | ACALCU.zip |
They're unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen may warn you. That's a fair thing to be careful about with any unknown .exe. So, its all up to you but from my side I've checked all 4 apps are safe. no worries but still its your PC, you spend money to bought it so I've no rights to convince you.
What I'd love to argue about
- Is telemetry ever acceptable? Crash reports that you opt into seem different from silent usage tracking. Where do you draw the line?
- Would you pay for software that promises to do less? The "we collect nothing" model has no obvious revenue. Is that a bug or a feature?
- What's the most absurd data request you've seen from a simple app? I'd like to read your examples.
- What's your fastest "is this app spying on me?" test? I gave mine above. Tell me what I missed.
- Does "no telemetry" mean anything without a source audit? What would you need to see before believing it?
Also if you want to follow me in on GitHub then please do so: 👇https://github.com/Akhouri-Anmol-Kumar
Tell me what you find. If I missed a connection, I'd rather hear it from you than from someone else.
