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Most “Private” Apps Still Leak More Than You Think

Encryption Is Not the Same as Privacy

Most people assume that if a service advertises encryption, their privacy is handled. In reality, encryption usually protects only a small part of the picture.

Before a message is ever sent, a surprising amount of information is already exposed. IP addresses, device fingerprints, timestamps, routing metadata, and account identifiers are often collected by default. This happens the moment a user lands on a website or installs an app, long before they understand what is being logged or where that data lives.

How This Became the Default

This is not always malicious. In many cases, it is simply how modern software stacks evolved.

Analytics are added early. Logs grow over time. Infrastructure decisions are made for speed and convenience. Jurisdiction is treated as an afterthought. Once a product scales, reversing those decisions becomes nearly impossible.

The result is a system where users may have encrypted messages, but their surrounding metadata remains exposed.

Why PanamaSea Studios Exists

That gap between “encrypted” and “private” is what led us to start PanamaSea Studios.

We are building a small set of tools designed around a different starting point. Instead of asking how much data we can safely store, we ask how little data a system actually needs to function. Instead of assuming trust in company policies, we design systems where access is technically limited by default. Instead of choosing infrastructure purely for cost or convenience, we choose jurisdictions and providers that align with stronger data protection norms.

ShieldChats: Private Communication by Design

One of the tools we are building is ShieldChats, a secure messaging platform designed to minimize unnecessary data exposure alongside strong encryption.

Messages are encrypted end to end, but more importantly, the surrounding system is designed to avoid collecting real world identifiers in the first place. There are no phone numbers, no email addresses, and no silent social graphs. Users exist as cryptographic entities rather than profiles tied to personal identity.

The goal is not just secure messages, but a system that cannot quietly observe users before they even create an account.

Connectivity Is Part of Privacy

Alongside this, we are also providing an eSIM solution.

Connectivity is often an overlooked part of the privacy conversation, yet how users connect to the internet can reveal just as much as what they send. Our approach focuses on giving users a safer alternative way to stay connected without locking everything to a single long term carrier identity.

The same principles apply here. We aim to be intentional about what data exists, how it is handled, and who has access to it, so users are not exposed before they even know they are being observed.

Building With Constraints on Purpose

We are not trying to retrofit privacy onto existing systems. We are placing constraints early, even when that makes growth slower and development harder.
Our belief is simple. Users should be able to communicate and stay connected without being profiled by default, and with systems designed to limit data exposure regardless of individual trust.

That is the foundation PanamaSea Studios is being built on.

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