Hakeem Anwar is a software engineer with over 20 years in tech, and the founder and CEO of Above Phone, a conscious technology company building open source phones, laptops, and software services that free people from reliance on Big Tech. After years of building web and mobile apps for large corporations, he walked away from corporate life during Covid. He also runs Take Back Our Tech, a weekly show covering the biggest stories in tech - always with solutions. Hakeem has done extensive research into the global digital ID rollout, co-authoring the "Life Under Digital ID" report, which maps how 90% of countries already have operational digital ID or will within three years. In this conversation, we discuss global standards enabling biometric interoperability across borders, why "voluntary" always becomes mandatory, and Hakeem demonstrates the Above Phone on screen, making the case for why the window to migrate to open protocols is closing faster than most people realize.→ Please like, comment, share & follow — to help me beat the suppressing algo's. Thank you!– SPONSORS –→ Access liquidity without selling your Bitcoin with Ledn — learn more at https://ledn.io/Efrat    → Get your TREZOR wallet & accessories, with a 5% discount, using my code at checkout (get my discount code from the episode - yep, you’ll have to watch it): https://affil.trezor.io/SHUn→ Have you tried mining bitcoin? Stack sats directly to your wallet while saving on taxes with Abundant Mines: https://AbundantMines.com/Efrat - Claim your free month of hosting via this link– AFFILIATES –→ Enjoy $50 off any Above Phone purchase using the code EFRAT: https://abovephone.com/ → Check out BTC Prague: http://btcprg.me/EFRAT (code EFRAT = 10% off)→ Join me in these upcoming events & use code EFRAT for discounted tickets: https://www.efrat.blog/p/upcoming-events→ Get 10% off on Augmented NAC to detox Spike protein, with the code YCXKQDK2 via this link: https://store.augmentednac.com/?via=efrat (Note, this is not medical advice, please consult your MD)→ Join me at Europe’s largest bitcoin conference - BTC Prague, June 11-13, 2026. Code EFRAT for 10% off: http://btcprg.me/EFRAT→ Be good to your eyes & health, and get the Daylight tablet - a healthier, more human-friendly computer, zero blue light & flicker. Use code EFRAT for $25 off: https://bit.ly/Efrat_daylight → Get a second citizenship and a plan B to relocate to another country with Expat Money, leave your details for a follow up: https://expatmoney.com/efrat→ Watch “New Totalitarian Order” conference with Prof. Mattias Desmet & Efrat - code EFRAT for 10% off: https://efenigson.gumroad.com/l/desmet_efrat– LINKS –Hakeem on X: https://x.com/takebackourtech Hakeem’s Substack: https://tbot.substack.com/ Take Back Our Tech’s Website: https://takebackourtech.org/ Digital ID report: https://abovephone.com/digital Efrat’s X: https://twitter.com/efenigsonEfrat’s Channels: https://linktr.ee/efenigsonWatch on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/yourethevoiceSupport Efrat’s work: ⁠https://bit.ly/zap_efrat– CHAPTERS – 00:00 - Coming Up...01:23 - Introduction to Hakeem Anwar07:23 - "Life Under Digital ID" Report: 90% of Countries Already In16:24 - Global Standards Making It Interoperable19:36 - Ad-Break: Ledn & Trezor21:16 - Biometric Tracking, Digital Opt-Out & the 2027 Window30:48 - Above Phone: What It Is and Why It Matters37:15 - Private Messaging: Signal, XMPP & the Funding Problem40:34 - Ad-Break: Abundant Mines41:56 - Decentralized Protocols & the Open Internet47:55 - Above Phone Mission & Features58:50 - GrapheneOS x Motorola & Age Verification Laws1:08:16 - Nostr: Self-Sovereign Identity as Antidote to State Digital ID1:17:09 - Where to Follow Hakeem