The speaker, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, shares how his past experiences in hostile environments—like hunting terrorists in the Middle East—instilled a deep paranoia about data exploitation on personal devices. He recounts using highly secure “black phones” costing over $10,000, which were complex but essential for secure communications. As his podcast grew to include interviews with presidents, heads of state, and intelligence professionals, he realized the need to protect his team from tracking and exploitation. This led him to partner with former intelligence experts to create the Glacier app, a simplified version of these black phone technologies. The app’s key features include a burner number system that lets users generate disposable phone numbers, which can be easily deactivated if they are sold or abused, preventing spam calls and unwanted contact. It also offers secure DNS to block trackers and a US-based, no-data-collection VPN, contrasting with many VPN services owned by foreign entities with questionable motives. The speaker emphasizes that privacy is not paranoia but protection, and he encourages everyday users—who face spam from donations, political campaigns, or retail sign-ups—to use Glacier to regain control. The app is simple, with a one-tap connect, available on iOS, with Android launching soon. He concludes by reiterating that the Glacier app provides affordable, accessible protection for all.
As you guys know, once upon a time, I was a Navy SEAL, and then I contracted for CIA. And that was a whole other life. But in that life, one thing I learned is how important encryption and protecting your data is on your devices. And so let me give you an example. One time when I was contracting for CIA, we were in a very poor country at the Middle East. And in that country, we were hunting ISIS, Taliban, terrorist organizations, stuff like that. But it was a very permissive environment. And when we were there, we had to get these black phones super complicated, not easy to use, very not user friendly at all. And to be able to operate it, it was like an app inside of an app inside of an app. And then you get your secure communications. And we had that because there was like a spy game going on in this place. China was there, Russia was there, the Iranians were there, and everybody's kind of collecting on each other. That experience has just always made me extremely paranoid about what's being sucked out of my phone, what information are people getting. And then it kind of fell off a little bit as I kind of changed careers. Now you know I run a podcast called the Sean Ryan Show. And when that started, it was interviewing former colleagues of mine, people that I contracted with at CIA, people that I worked with in the SEAL teams, former Green Berets, former Dev Group guys, Delta guys, intelligence professionals. And then the show kind of developed and it got bigger. And we started meddling a little bit in politics and talking to members of the administration, current and former administrations, very powerful people. And then it went to vice presidents and presidents. And now it's all the way up to heads of state all over the world. Intelligence professionals in Austria, Vienna, the spy capital of the world, where we interviewed Ahmad Masoud, the leader of the Afghan resistance. We went to Taiwan and interviewed Baushikim, the vice president of Taiwan, where China is just constantly exploiting information on Dubai, where they hand you a free VPN card as you enter the country. What do you think that's for? And so through this journey, I've been really paranoid, worried about myself and my team, because we're in communication with all these people. And what we've noticed is once you get in touch with them, all their friends want to get in touch with you. And they all have access to you. And so I started looking for a black phone, meaning a phone that just cannot be tracked, can't be traced, can't be exploited. And I found them. And they're expensive. I'm not talking about the ones that are 500 bucks or $1,000. I'm talking $10,000 plus for one phone. But I needed them for my team to protect them as well as myself. So I partnered with some of the developers that developed one of those black phones. And these guys are all former Intel guys, NSA types, very good attack. I wanted something that could protect everybody, not just people that can afford a $10,000 plus phone. And so we turned it into an application. We call it the Glacier app. My favorite thing about the Glacier app is the burner number feature. This is like the real James Bond shit, MI6, CIA level stuff. And so what do we use it for? Well, as I just mentioned, different heads of state politicians that we don't want to talk to. I don't want those people to have my number. So with the Glacier app, you can pick a burner number with any area code you want in the country. You pick it, you give that burner number out. And if they take advantage of you or your phone or they start calling you or handing out your number or anything that pisses you off, you just deactivate the number. You burn it. Gone, relationship over. They have no way to contact you now. And then you just pick another one. Now, how does this apply for everyday people like you? I'll tell you how it applies. How many of you guys have donated to out of the generosity of your heart? You've donated to a nonprofit. And then what do they do? They exploit your number and they sell it. And then you get spam calls from them, nonstop begging for more money. Or maybe it's a political campaign. And that politician just continues to pander you for more money. And then they sell your number. And then the next politician is pandering you for money because you donated to the other one. Or it's a pizza joint or a hotel or you're trying to get a discount at a store. And then the next thing, you know, every single phone call that comes in is a spam call. Well, now you can give them a burner number. And when they do sell your number, deactivate it, burn it, throw it in the trash, pick a new number. They have no way to contact you again, either. That's my favorite feature. Along with that, we have secure DNS. Now, what's secure DNS? Well, very simply put, secure DNS keeps your phone from being exploited while you're browsing the internet. How many times have you been talking about a product next to your phone, something you want to buy? Maybe it's a new device. Maybe it's a new car. Maybe it's a new camera. Whatever it is. And then all of a sudden, every social media app you open, every web browser you open, it's all these ads about the exact thing you were just talking about like five minutes ago. Well, these are the kind of things that secure DNS help fix. So here's an example. Today, it's about 4 p.m. and my phone has already blocked over 1,300 web trackers. And I don't even have any social media apps on my phone, but I'll bet you do. So yours would even be more than mine. And we have a US-based VPN who collects no data off your phone. All of your data stays localized right on your device. So you never have to worry about us exploiting it. Now, if you look at VPN companies, I researched this shit out of this when we were developing this. And most of the VPN companies, actually, I feel pretty comfortable saying all of the VPN companies that are advertised on podcasts, they're owned by Chinese companies. They're owned by Pakistani companies. They're owned by Israeli companies. And I'm pretty sure we've all figured out by now that those companies and those nations do not have our best interest. So what do you think they're doing with all that information that they're sucking out of your phone? I don't know, but I'll bet you can come up with some stuff. And so we developed the Glacier app. It's the simplest app on the market. Just a couple of buttons, your phone's protected, couple of buttons. You got yourself a burner number or five or more. It's easy. You open the app, you hit connect, done. You're protected. You can get the Glacier app at the app store. You can get it at theglacierapp.com. It's available for iOS right now. Android's coming soon. If you have an Android and you want the Glacier app, we have a link below here. You can sign up for the newsletter and we will inform you when it's ready. It'll be out soon. Once again, ladies and gents, theglacierapp.com or just go on the app store and look up the Glacier app. Remember, privacy isn't paranoia. It's protected.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The speaker’s background as a Navy SEAL and CIA contractor taught him the critical importance of encryption and data protection, especially in high-risk environments.
He highlights the need for “black phones” (secure, untraceable devices) costing over $10,000, which he used to protect himself and his team while interviewing global figures.
To make this technology accessible, he partnered with former intelligence and NSA experts to develop the Glacier app, a user-friendly mobile application.
The app’s standout feature is a burner number system, allowing users to create disposable numbers with any area code, which can be deactivated if misused or sold.
Glacier also includes secure DNS to block web trackers (e.g., over 1,300 blocked in a day) and a US-based VPN that collects no user data, unlike many competitors owned by foreign companies.
The app is currently available for iOS, with Android coming soon, and is marketed as a simple, one-tap privacy solution for everyday users.
Summary:
The speaker, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, shares how his past experiences in hostile environments—like hunting terrorists in the Middle East—instilled a deep paranoia about data exploitation on personal devices. He recounts using highly secure “black phones” costing over $10,000, which were complex but essential for secure communications. As his podcast grew to include interviews with presidents, heads of state, and intelligence professionals, he realized the need to protect his team from tracking and exploitation.
This led him to partner with former intelligence experts to create the Glacier app, a simplified version of these black phone technologies. The app’s key features include a burner number system that lets users generate disposable phone numbers, which can be easily deactivated if they are sold or abused, preventing spam calls and unwanted contact. It also offers secure DNS to block trackers and a US-based, no-data-collection VPN, contrasting with many VPN services owned by foreign entities with questionable motives.
The speaker emphasizes that privacy is not paranoia but protection, and he encourages everyday users—who face spam from donations, political campaigns, or retail sign-ups—to use Glacier to regain control. The app is simple, with a one-tap connect, available on iOS, with Android launching soon. He concludes by reiterating that the Glacier app provides affordable, accessible protection for all.
FAQs
The Glacier app is an application developed by former intelligence and military professionals that provides phone protection features like burner numbers, secure DNS, and a US-based VPN, aiming to make privacy tools accessible to everyone.
The burner number feature lets you create a disposable phone number with any area code. You can give it out, and if unwanted calls or data selling occur, you can deactivate or 'burn' it and pick a new one, severing contact.
Secure DNS prevents your phone from being exploited while browsing by blocking web trackers. For example, it can stop ads related to products you've discussed, as it blocks over 1,300 trackers daily in the speaker's case.
The Glacier app uses a US-based VPN that collects no data from your phone, keeping your information localized. Many other VPNs advertised on podcasts are owned by foreign companies that may not have users' best interests.
It protects users by giving them burner numbers to avoid spam calls from nonprofits or campaigns that sell data, and by blocking trackers and securing browsing, so personal information isn't exploited.
You can get the Glacier app from the app store or at theglacierapp.com. It's currently available for iOS, and Android support is coming soon; you can sign up for a newsletter for updates.
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