lage-chat-control/article-presse.md

# [Guide] How to escape Chat Control and the surveillance of your messages

**The free complete guide is here 👉 https://exitchatcontrol.org. Share it widely, and above all, help your close ones migrate: privacy is a collective fight.**

On 9 July 2026, the European Parliament let Chat Control through. In practice, the scanning of our private messages is now authorised in the Union, in the name of "child protection". A majority of MEPs voted against the text, but because of a procedural rule, an absolute majority was needed to reject it. That majority was not reached. Mass surveillance slipped through the window.

Since the beginning, I have defended three simple things: the people, freedom, and privacy. So here, as last time, is a guide to act. Not a dissertation: concrete steps, in order, from the simplest to the most advanced. Each one protects you a little more. You do not have to do everything at once. Start with step 1 today, the rest will follow.

One important clarification before we start, because you are often lied to about this. The most dangerous version of Chat Control relies on "client-side scanning": software that reads your messages directly on your phone, before they are encrypted. Signal puts it well: it is "like malware on your device". Consequence: a VPN alone, or simple encryption, is not enough to protect yourself. What really protects you is switching to free/open-source software that refuses this snooper, and taking back control of your device. That is the whole point of what follows.

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## Step 1: Switch messenger (the most urgent move)

This is the first reflex, the one that protects you fastest. Quit WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram.

**Install Signal.** It is as simple as WhatsApp, but end-to-end encrypted by default, run by a non-profit foundation, and its team has pledged to leave Europe rather than install a scanner. Go to **signal.org**, install the app, confirm your number, then in Settings > Privacy, create a username to hide your number.

If you want to go further, **SimpleX Chat** (at simplex.chat) asks for no phone number, no email, no identifier at all: no one, not even the servers, knows who is talking to whom. It is the most discreet option today.

The most important thing: get your contacts to install Signal too. An encrypted messenger is useless if you are the only one on it.

## Step 2: Quit Gmail

Gmail reads your emails and lives in the United States, under a surveillance jurisdiction. Quitting it is a huge gain for very little effort.

**Create an account on Proton Mail** (proton.me), based in Switzerland and encrypted. The free tier is enough to start. When signing up, use the "Easy Switch" tool to import your old messages and contacts, set up forwarding from Gmail, and tell your contacts your new address.

An equally solid alternative: **Tuta** (tuta.com), German, fully open-source, which also encrypts the subject of your emails.

## Step 3: Switch browser and search engine

Chrome is an advertising tracker, and Google records every search you make. We replace both.

For a painless switch, install **Brave** (brave.com): it looks like Chrome, but it blocks ads and trackers by default, cuts YouTube ads, and even integrates one-click Tor access (menu > "New private window with Tor"). If you prefer 100% free software, choose **Firefox** and add the **uBlock Origin** extension.

Finally, change your default search engine to **DuckDuckGo** or **Brave Search**, which do not profile you.

## Step 4: Get a VPN, bought anonymously

A VPN does not protect you from on-device scanning, but it hides your address from your ISP and gives you back access to sites that require ID. It is essential the day anonymity gets locked down.

I recommend **Mullvad** (mullvad.net): no email, no name, just an account number, an audited no-logs policy, and a flat price. In practice:

1. Go to mullvad.net (if the site is blocked where you are, open it through the Tor Browser or its .onion address).
2. Click "Generate account number". **Save this number** in your password manager and never share it: it is your only key.
3. Pay. If your bank card works, keep it simple. If you want full anonymity, pay in cryptocurrency: click "Create a one-time payment address", and send the amount from your wallet. Monero is the most private, Bitcoin the simplest. The detailed buying tutorial (Bitcoin, Monero via a swap) is in the complete guide.
4. Download the app from mullvad.net/download, enter your number, and connect to a server outside the European Union. Enable the "kill switch".

## Step 5: Secure your accounts

One unique strong password per service is the foundation of all security.

**Install Bitwarden** (bitwarden.com), free and open-source. Create a long master password (a passphrase), install the extension and the app, and let it save and then replace your old passwords.

Then, **turn on two-factor authentication** on your important accounts, with an app like **Aegis** or **Ente Auth**, never via SMS (SMS is vulnerable to SIM-swap attacks).

## Step 6: Take back control of your devices

This is the step many people forget: we encrypt our messages but keep a system that spies on us.

On desktop, **switch to Linux**. It is free, it does not spy on you, and it is easier than people think. To choose your version, answer the **distrochooser.de** quiz, and test it without installing anything at **distrosea.com**. Linux Mint is the closest to Windows for beginners.

On phone, the most solid solution is **GrapheneOS** (grapheneos.org), a de-Googled Android that installs on a Pixel in a few clicks from a computer. It is the real counter if one day the system itself wants to scan you.

## Step 7: Going further (advanced)

If you want to push sovereignty to the end: use **Tor** to decouple your activity from your IP address, self-host your own services with **YunoHost** or **Umbrel**, run an **AI locally** (with LM Studio or Jan) instead of sending your thoughts to ChatGPT, and for the most exposed, learn the rules of anonymity. Everything is detailed, step by step, in the complete guide.

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## To conclude

Switching tools is not hiding. It is a civic, legal, peaceful act: refusing illegitimate mass surveillance. To encrypt is to vote with your usage. To self-host is to disobey. To reclaim your tools is to become ungovernable.

The fight is also political: support the organisations that oppose Chat Control and write to your elected representatives — that is what nearly brought the text down. But it is mainly won in the choices we make every day.

**The complete guide, with each tool explained and installed step by step, from citizen to whistleblower, is here 👉 https://exitchatcontrol.org. Bookmark it, share it, help your close ones migrate.**

*This article will be updated as the situation evolves. If my account is deleted, you will find it again on my personal site.*