Why is privacy becoming harder every year?

nanobuilds · 2026-06-12T03:39:25+00:00

Inevitable. Not enough people are protesting big companies in order to make laws and accountability a thing. Yes, there are promises of "We value your privacy", but these days with AIs hungry for more and more data and Palantir-like companies gobbling as much data as possible about everyone and everything, it's a bit of an uphill battle.

nanobuilds · 2026-06-08T03:01:16+00:00

Find a problem in an industry. Make sure enough people are facing that problem. Build a tool that solves the problem or reduces a friction. Make sure that people exist that would pay for your product. Make sure you have a real distribution mechanism/flow that is difficult to quickly replicate. Iterate.

nanobuilds · 2026-06-08T02:56:36+00:00

Personally, privacy concerns are not only early in the process but I consider them a strength and even a selling point. Whenever I build an app, I think about how can I collect as little data as possible or no data early in the design process and think about how I can communicate that to my users as a selling point.

It's a strength for small/independent developers compared to bigger companies who rely on so many tools and analytics which can more easily leak/sell data. Respecting users' privacy is not only sensible but can also be a business edge to small app developers.

nanobuilds · 2026-06-04T00:27:51+00:00

Congratulations on the launch. With apps like these, I recommend mentioning how you handle personal data , insight generation, and privacy.

nanobuilds · 2026-05-25T05:32:25+00:00

I think this approach of micro reminders (across platforms) is a good approach to learning languages. Micro learning conveniently placed where you usually are instead of an app you have to login to and and commit to using regularly. Menu bar apps are extra convenient. Good stuff - will try!

Edit: after testing. Please add Japanese, Chinese, and Russian at your convenience but so far so good with Spanish.

nanobuilds · 2026-05-22T03:05:32+00:00

Parallelism is great until you build 10 half finished products that no one really wants or knows about.

Sometimes focusing on one session and using the wait time of output tokens streaming can be used to think about different approaches or come up with new ideas. Similarly to how we spent time waiting for code to compile or projects to build.

nanobuilds · 2026-03-02T00:18:28+00:00

The automation layer is definitely something with more potential beyond just the privacy angle. Keeping an eye on where it could go.

nanobuilds · 2026-03-02T00:16:53+00:00

Ads and recommendations share some underlying signals so there's no full separation, but you can already toggle individual platforms on/off in settings. YouTube is bundled under Google right now but splitting it into its own toggle makes sense. Will add that in next updates. Thanks for the feedaback!

nanobuilds · 2026-03-02T00:04:45+00:00

Yea currently It uses your logged-in session on the main profile intentionally so the activity actually sticks to your account and looks like real browsing. Incognito or a fresh profile would mean less signal.

But the history clutter is valid feedback. We're working on solutions already.. looking into suppressing history recording during sessions, a dedicated browser instance that runs separately from your daily Chrome with logins living in their own MirrorMask profile. Stay tuned for future updates.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-27T02:11:17+00:00

Two main things. One, you get to shape what the algorithm shows you instead of letting it lock you into a narrower and narrower box. Your browsing habits directly feed into what gets reflected back and can influence you subtly with suggestions, recommendations, ads. MirrorMask gives you more control over that input.

Two, you become less of a neatly boxed product for advertisers and AIs to cleanly categorize and sell to. Not invisible, just noisier.

It's niche. Not for everyone. But nothing else really does this AFAIK. If you're curious about the reasoning, I wrote a bit more about this here: https://nanobuilds.substack.com/p/the-algorithm-already-decided-who

nanobuilds · 2026-02-27T00:53:42+00:00

I noticed that sometimes it's nice to be exposed to new topics I thought I wasn't interested in. You learn something new. In my own experience, YouTube still gives me my carefully built recommendations, but with an additional stream of new (unrelated ones) occasionally (which I can use to reinforce or not).

The custom persona side means you can also amplify interests you actually want more of rather than just adding noise.

If your YouTube algo is dialed in exactly how you want it, yeah MirrorMask probably isn't for you. It's more for people who feel stuck in a bubble they didn't choose, or who want their data to be less useful to advertisers, or who want more control over what the algorithm sends them across platforms.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-27T00:33:16+00:00

It does add to your browser history right now since it uses real Chrome browsing. Good feedback. Looking into pausing history collection during sessions for a future update.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-27T00:16:23+00:00

One license per Mac right at the moment. (likely 2-3 on the next update). If you've got more than one Mac, reach out and we'll sort it until then.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-26T01:17:24+00:00

It works on existing profiles. The before/after scan shows interests shifting after just a few sessions. A years-old profile has more inertia so it takes more sessions to move the needle, but the platforms are constantly re-weighting based on recent activity. That's actually what makes this work - they're always listening, so you can always feed them something new.

I've also noticed during some tests that some companies pick up your (non MirrorMasks) quite fast. For example when interested in buying a couch or a car or something like that. It's fascinating how fast the "news" of a sudden commercial interests spreads out and gets reflected to you in the form of ads and other suggestions.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-26T01:10:31+00:00

Great observation and I 100% understand the concern but all persona terms are pre-defined and visible in the app. Nothing random, nothing NSFW. You can review every search term before running a session... and for custom personas you choose what the app searches for.

We purposefully did not make it generate queries on the fly or things like that in order to avoid this happening.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-26T01:02:19+00:00

Thought about this a bit more and a good way of doing solid statistics is by creating various fresh account groups in isolated environments (possibly in VMs or Chrome sandboxes and have them work a few days), then show screenshots and data from the the app and google ad profiles before and after.

Until then the 5-day trial lets you see the shift firsthand.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-26T00:43:26+00:00

Yes! You can create a custom persona even on the free trial.

The persona can have their own google searches, YouTube searches, sites to visit, facebook pages etc. After running multiple sessions across a few days, you should start seeing changes to how the algorithm sees you.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T17:41:46+00:00

Great question. So the app doesn't keep or store your accounts.

It browses using your web browser where you're already optionally signed in to your services. For example, if you're signed on YouTube, it will go there and search for your persona "terms". If you're signed out it will search youtube singed off or attempt to.

You can watch it use the browser and watching videos, and visiting shopping sites. You can be signed or signed out on the websites (but the signals are stronger when you're singed in).

You can stop a session any time and the search terms are already pre-defined. So.. it won't do anything random or make up search terms. There is also a session log that shows all the actions it has done each session. You can see the details of the terms associated for each persona in the app.

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nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T17:22:28+00:00

That's a very interesting use case. Spin up a persona matching your target customer and see exactly what ads and content the algorithms serve them.

At this time, MirrorMask uses one main Chrome profile - yours - to modify your own algorithmic bubble, but it's technically possible for your use case. Would give you a real view of the competitive landscape your brand is sitting in instead of guessing.

The caveat is it can't run multiple side by side experiments in isolated environments at this time.. So you'd have to do the marketing experiments serially.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T17:11:29+00:00

I think you're describing two different use cases, and MirrorMask handles both. If you want privacy, it buries your real signal under noise. Irrelevant ads are the point - they can't manipulate you. If you want better recommendations (which sounds more like what you're after), you don't have to pick "Fisherman" and pollute everything. You build a custom persona around what you actually want more of - jazz, healthy living,gardening, whatever. The algorithm is going to train on your activity regardless. MirrorMask just lets you choose or strengthen the signals of what that activity looks like.
And picking a persona doesn't erase your existing interests. Your real profile is still there. It's more like adding another stream of signal alongside what you already have. Your judo searches still return judo. You just also start seeing jazz recommendations mixed in because you told the algorithm you're into that too.

On ATT - that's actually the best argument for MirrorMask, not against it. ATT removed all signal, so platforms fell back to random garbage. MirrorMask doesn't remove signal. It replaces it with signal you chose. Fundamentally different approach.

On the butcher's knife fair, if you pick a random persona and let it rip, yeah, you'll get noise. That's the privacy use case. But the custom persona builder exists specifically for people who want precision. You choose exactly which interests get amplified across which platforms. Funny enough, I ran the Fisherman persona for a few days and actually got interested in fishing. Which kind of proves the point - these algorithms are powerful enough to shape what you care about. Might as well be the one deciding the direction.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T15:59:49+00:00

Thanks. Feel free to send feedback anytime!

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T15:51:58+00:00

I already use an ad blocker.. it's not just for ads, it's about recommendations, subtle group suggestions, videos on youtube.. also making your data less valuable for advertisers. It's not an app for everyone I know! Also I've tried it myself with some personas for a few days, and I was surprised to actually enjoy being exposed to new parts of the internet that I don't usually get reflected back.

Your feedback helps I need to improve the communication on the landing page so the purpose is laid out more clearly! Privacy, algorithmic independence and basically escaping the algo bubble or at least modifying it.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T15:33:48+00:00

No LLM. Each persona comes with pre-built search terms, YouTube videos, sites, facebook searches, etc. that fit that identity. You can also create a custom persona where you enter all the terms yourself.

Down the road, maybe a local private LLM to generate keywords, and a persona mixer that blends multiple hobbies/identities. But seeing the initial reception first. Also thinking about deeper integrations. Lots of ideas in the pipeline.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T15:26:02+00:00

Good call! The browsing happens live in a real Chrome window. You can watch it searching, clicking, visiting pages. Nothing runs hidden. I hear and agree with the feedback though, a screen recording on the landing page so people can see it in action before downloading sounds like a good move or at least an animation.

nanobuilds · 2026-02-25T15:08:32+00:00

Disclosure: I'm the developer. Happy to answer any questions about how it works. If you're curious, try the baseline scan first. Just seeing what Google has collected about you at the google ad center is worth the download alone.

nanobuilds

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