Their identity stays theirs
No behavioral fingerprints. No shadow profiles. No third-party analytics watching how long they hover over a photo. What they see, they see. That is all.
The Story
MyCitadel
A fortress built by a father
This is not a startup. There is no venture capital, no board of directors, no growth-at-any-cost mandate. This is one person who decided the internet his children inherit should be better than the one we were given.
The Story
I am a father of four. Three daughters and a son. The oldest is old enough to use social media. The youngest is not yet. Every single day I watch the older ones navigate a world where the apps on their phones are designed to extract as much of their attention, identity, and behavior as possible — and sell it to the highest bidder.
I have spent my career in technology. I know what happens under the hood. I know how the tracking pixels work. I know how the recommendation algorithms are tuned. I know what a "shadow profile" is, and I know that even people who have never created a Facebook account have one — built from browsing data, phone contacts, and inference.
For years, I told myself I was overreacting. I told myself that "everyone uses these platforms" and that my concern was paranoia. Then I read a leaked document. Then another. Then I watched a regulator fine a company the size of a small country for what they had done to children. And I stopped telling myself anything.
I built the alternative because my kids deserve one.
Not a louder platform. Not a prettier one. A different one. One where the business model does not depend on knowing anything about you. One where a stranger cannot look up your daughter by name and find her school. One where the servers themselves cannot read what you wrote to the people you love.
For Our Children
A platform where a parent does not have to wonder what is being done with their kid's data — because nothing is being done with it at all.
Visibility is a choice
Nothing about your child is visible to strangers by default. Connections are mutual. Profiles are gated. Blocks are silent. Hidden means hidden — even from us.
Private by architecture
Messages are encrypted before they leave the device. Photos are encrypted at rest. Even if our servers were seized tomorrow, what would be found is unreadable.
Yours to leave
When they grow up and want out, deletion is real. Not soft-deleted, not archived, not "hidden." Destroyed — posts, comments, connections, and identity. Gone.
The internet did not have to become a surveillance machine. It became one because we let it. It does not have to stay this way — and this is my small attempt at making sure it does not.
What I Stand For
Privacy is not a feature.
It is the default. Anything less is a compromise dressed up as a setting, waiting to be quietly reversed by a policy update.
Security through mathematics.
Encryption is not a marketing bullet. It is the reason a stolen database is worthless. We do not trust promises. We trust proofs.
Transparency earns trust.
Our code is open source. Our threat model is documented. Our limits are published. If we ever betray these principles, the record will show it.
Slow is fine.
We would rather be correct than fast. Platforms that chase growth at any cost end up selling users to survive. That is not a trap we intend to walk into.
You can always leave.
No hostage data. No retention games. No soft delete. Deleting your account destroys everything, permanently, on the day you ask.
Communities over algorithms.
We do not manipulate your feed to maximize engagement. You see what your connections post, in order. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Road Ahead
Backend — Complete
Authentication, 2FA, profiles, uploads, posts, comments, reactions, connections, notifications, Web Push, and premium subscriptions.
Web Frontend — In Progress
Marketing pages, account flows, dashboard, profile editor, feed. Public launch preparation.
Android App
Native client for Android devices, sharing the same zero-knowledge API. Push notifications via FCM.
Bug Bounty Program
HackerOne launch with reputation and merchandise rewards for responsible disclosure. Security researchers as allies, not adversaries.
iOS App
Apple client for iOS devices. Requires Apple Developer Program enrollment.
Who Built This
Bearded Viking
Self-taught builder. Father of four. Privacy absolutist.
Building MyCitadel alone, one commit at a time, between school runs and bedtime stories. Not because it is easy — but because the platform that should exist does not yet, and I am not willing to wait for someone else to build it.
If any of this resonates with you — if you are a parent who has felt the same unease, a developer who sees the same rot, or just someone who thinks the internet can be better — reach out. This is a long road, and it is one worth walking together.
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Build It With Us.
A better internet is not a slogan. It is a choice, made one user at a time.
Enter the Citadel