How to Hide Your Digital Communications from Big BrotherJ.P. Hicks It couldnt come at a better time as governments increasingly demand access to private communications. In fact, an FBI whistleblower recently revealed that all digital communications are being recorded and stored by the U.S. government. Since most emails, instant messaging, and all voice calls (land line, cell or Internet) run through central service providers that database all user activity, the government has easy access to this information upon request, secret subpoenas or even backdoors to these servicesto view private communications in real time. The Associated Presswas recently violated by the Department of Justice who, with a secret subpoena, forced service providers to hand over phone records of APs reporters and central offices. Large central service providers make this nefarious goal possible. But as the government cracks down on Web privacy, a new decentralized communication protocol called Bitmessage has emerged to offer an easy way for people to send and receive encrypted messages. What is Bitmessage? Bitmessage is apeer-to-peer encrypted messaging protocol that allows people to communicate anonymously. Bitmessages official description is as follows: Based loosely on Bitcoins open-source protocol, Bitmessage utilizes the computer power of decentralized users to process the messages making them essentially impossible to track. Addresses are made up of 36 random characters as opposed to a name and other personal information that email services require. Example Bitmessage address:BM2nTX1KchxgnmHvy9ntCN9r7sgKTraxczzyE In their white paper, the Bitmessage developers emphasize that privacy was their main motivation for creating it: Though it may sound complicated, Bitmessage makes it easy for anyone to communicate anonymously. Once the program is downloaded on your computer, you just need to set Your Identities, Passphrase, and Addresses in your Bitmessage folder which is much like a Bitcoin wallet. Then it works similarly to email where you choose from one of your From addresses to compose a message to Send to another address. The messages encryption is then processed by the peer-to-peer network of servers and delivered to the recipients wallet (Bitmessage folder) on their personal computer. The stream or proof of work takes roughly four minutes to process the message to the recipient. Bitmessage also offers a broadcast feature for mass announcements. So if you run an organization, website or blog with a newsletter, you can send anonymous broadcasts to subscribers. Meanwhile, subscribers can sign up without giving out their email address or anything that links them to the information. Just as Bitcoin has the potential to displace centralized currencies, Bitmessage may be the future of free and private communication. As the government increases its Big Brother spying on average citizens, Bitmessage proves that freedom will always find a way. Watch the video below for more information about Bitmessage: Get started with Bitmessage here. Another great resource for how to get started with Bitmessage: J.P. Hicks is an entrepreneur, info-activist, pro blogger, editor of BlogTips.com and author of Secrets to Making Money with a Free Blog. Follow @ Twitter, or like on Facebook. 