SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 18, 2017 – Purism, maker of security-focused computing devices, is partnering with Nextcloud for a series of products and services. Nextcloud, author of a popular open-source self hosted, privacy-focused file sync and share solution, is looking to expand and become a default on Purism’s mobile and desktop computing products.

Purism, fresh off of successfully meeting their crowdfunding goal of $1.5 million to build and deliver the Librem 5, adds another partner in Nextcloud, fresh off the announcement of new end-to-end encryption upgrades in Nextcloud 13. This partnership adds to Purism’s roster of open-source partners that will aim to make the Librem 5 the most comprehensive free open-source smartphone to ever hit the market.

“Having Nextcloud applications built into the Librem 5, as well as default within PureOS, will help people have a convenient, ethical encrypted file storage service alongside other easy-to-use defaults” says Todd Weaver, Founder and CEO of Purism.

“Partnering with Purism gets our software directly into the hands of customers, making their lives easier with security and privacy protection built-in” says Jos Poortvliet, Co-founder and Head of Marketing at Nextcloud.

Purism plans to include Nextcloud in the Librem 5 phone, as well as within PureOS for its Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops. Additionally, Purism will be discussing with Nextcloud about a future Purism NAS that runs completely free software including Nextcloud and services.

“Nextcloud follows our strict beliefs in digital rights for people, and this partnership is a clear win for users by merging convenience and ethics together into simple products” adds Weaver.

About Nextcloud

Nextcloud offers the industry-leading fully open source solution for on-premise data handling and communication with an uncompromising focus on security and privacy and unprecedented scalability. Nextcloud brings together universal access to data with next-generation secure communication and collaboration capabilities under direct control of IT and integrated with existing compliant infrastructure. Nextcloud’s open, modular architecture, emphasis on security and advanced federation capabilities enable modern enterprises to leverage their existing assets within and across the borders of their organization.

About Purism

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As we have begun this process, we are altering our previous method of outreach and communication to focus, quite simply, on these aspects: “more,” “better” and “engagement.” We have heard many of your calls for us to communicate more often and better.  We consider important, especially for the free and open source community, to have engagement and a back and forth dialogue between you and us. From here on, this blog will be updated more often with all of us chipping in at times. Our FAQ’s have been updated to address many of the common questions that we get asked and it will continue to be updated as more questions come in to us. With our new communication team, we have also recently changed our approach on social media as well, aiming for more engaging conversations with you and moving away from the previous “privacy news fire hose” approach where we were sharing too many Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt (FUD) articles that overall impaired our credibility. All in all, we’d like to bring some fun back to our social media process and to talk WITH you instead of AT you.

Recently our staff at Purism has grown. We have more, dedicated people in key positions to assist you and provide you with timely answers. Our community forums have undergone a significant improvement moving away from the barren wasteland of spam and unanswered posts to one with zero spam and a much improved response time. We have already begun the process of setting up a viewable shipping queue overview, so that you can see where you are in the ordering process. Finally, we have set up a new email, feedback(at)wp.puri.sm, along with increasing the number of people that the support(at)wp.puri.sm emails go to in another effort to improve communication. No longer will your emails, posts, and questions go unanswered.

The truth is this: we realize that we have made mistakes in our past communications and we are now trying our best to correct many of them with our new team dedicated to this. Certain things on our part have not been addressed, explained correctly – or explained at all – and this has led to several miscommunications between us and you. We realize that we will have to regain some of your trust and respect and we hope that these changes are met with your approval.

So, the FAQ’s have been updated. “Who cares,” you say? We do.

Question? Comment? Send an email to feedback(at)wp.puri.sm

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Todd spoke with Leo about the hardware found inside our 13 and 15 inch Librem laptops, and how they are as freedom-respecting as currently technologically possible in a modern machine, with less possibility of including a backdoor. Todd spoke about recent Intel processors’ “Management Engine”, breaking down the issue of having a potential backdoor in Intel chips commonly found in modern computers, then proceeded to explain how Purism circumvents this privacy and security issue (see also our related article to learn more about how Purism avoids the Intel AMT remote access backdoor).

Purism hopes to work with Intel to strip out parts of the ME that many computer professionals feel is a privacy invasion, and began a petition that quickly garnered over 1000 signatures.

Weaver explained the goals of our operating system, PureOS, which is to provide an OS that is entirely respectful of your personal freedom, privacy and security.

Additional discussion was had on how we manufacture our own motherboards, how we source hardware (see our business model), the fact that we do not participate in the “surveillance capitalism” commonly found with larger companies, and our future goal of manufacturing a privacy-centric and “no-carrier” phone, providing a set of fully encrypted communication tools.

You can buy these laptops directly from our store. Questions or comments? Let us know at feedback@puri.sm

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Stored on our devices are our private thoughts, likes, pictures, videos, documents and browsing history; collectively our “Digital Life.” In many ways, our computers have in fact become an extension of our own brains. More and more people are beginning to question and inquire further into what companies—that create the applications and operating systems that we use every day—are doing with this data accumulated through their use. Are these companies using our data to market to us, build profiles on us, or otherwise monitor what we do? And more importantly, are our devices secure?

Have you ever really given that much thought?

High end devices such as products from Lenovo, Apple’s Macs, Microsoft’s Surface line and even lower end devices such as Google’s Chromebooks all ship with operating systems that—to one degree or another—are monitoring what you do on your computer. There is much debate as to why, how much, and what precisely are they monitoring with this data, but for some of us, any data monitoring is too much.

Enter Purism.

Purism was created with a belief system designed to combine the most privacy respecting software wrapped in beautiful and well-made hardware.  Simply put: we want you to have the same form and function that you are used to, albeit in a much more private and secure manner. We believe that you and your data are important and that your data should remain yours, and yours alone. Purism does no monitoring or data collection. None. Can you say the same for your current device and operating system?

The Librem line of laptops and 2-in-1 devices come pre-installed with a complete and fully functional office suite. Additional applications are available to provide alternatives to the creative applications from Adobe and other companies. Our web browser, PureBrowser, is built upon the familiar Firefox but with the best privacy respecting add-ons pre-installed. These add-ons block and prevent many forms of malware, ads, and other forms of trackers. Our industry-first Hardware Kill Switches physically cut the electrical power to the web camera, microphone, and Wi-Fi, giving you assurance that no one is watching, listening or hacking you and your computer. These are physical switches, not a piece of software.

It’s become commonplace these days to have to open an account in order to download or use applications. In many ways, gone are the days of application use anonymity… Except when using Purism’s Linux based line of Librem devices. We do not require you to log in or create an account to use any of the thousands of applications available through our store. If you see something that you like, download it and give it a try. They are all free, without having to give up your usage data.

When considering your next hardware purchase, if you have the knowledge and ability to perform background task and Internet connection analysis, we encourage you to take a look at the processes and connections that Windows, OSX or Chrome OS are running on your current device, behind the scenes; these are simply not there with PureOS. Purism has no interest in serving you ads or monitoring what you do. Our business is to combine the best privacy-respecting software into great-looking hardware that will last you for years to come.

We’ve glossed over the minutiae that many computing professionals are already aware of but we hope that this piece provoked some thoughts in your mind about the current state of computing. Got questions or suggestions for us? Send us your thoughts at feedback(at)wp.puri.sm

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CEO Todd Weaver will be on the Twit network on Saturday August 6th, 2016 for an appearance with Leo Laporte on The New Screen Savers.  Todd will be discussing with Leo, among other things, the Purism line of products, the importance of free/open source software, what sets the Librem line apart from other free and non-free offerings from other companies, our web browser, our operating system and Purism’s Philosophy.  Join him here live at 3pm PT.

ICYMI: https://twit.tv/shows/new-screen-savers/episodes/65?autostart=false  Interview starts at 52:15

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