Why OurSecretPhrase exists.
Built to keep my mom safe when I'm not around.
The problem
AI voice cloning and deepfakes turned something we all relied on — recognizing the people we trust by how they sound or look — into something that can be faked in seconds, from a few seconds of audio scraped off the internet. Older family members get targeted hardest, precisely because a familiar voice is one of the last things anyone teaches you to doubt.
The story behind it
What changed for my mom
After my dad died, my mom started dealing with a lot more people on her own — gardeners, caretakers, people she never used to manage herself. Any of those calls or visits could, in theory, be someone else entirely.
A phrase that didn't scale
Our family had a secret phrase for years, but it only worked between people who already knew each other well — there was no easy way to extend it to her wider circle. That's why I built this: so the people around her who aren't as close can still have a safe conversation with her.
What it's like today
My mom doesn't check the app every time someone calls — most days she doesn't need to. But when something feels slightly off, a quick look is enough to put her mind at ease. Having something simple and concrete to fall back on matters more than understanding how the technology works.
Who's behind this
More than 20 years as a product leader in tech, SVP of Product at Teads and at FreeWheel (Comcast), Chief Product Officer at StickyADS.tv, and co-founder of Purl, a revolutionary ad platform. I go back to the first wave of the commercial internet itself, at Symantec and BEA Systems in the 90s, and more recently co-founded Ownlee, building blockchain-based rights management for creators. Today I'm Chief Product Officer at Pubstack. OurSecretPhrase is built with that same rigor, just pointed at something personal.
LinkedIn profile →What I believe
- Security should be usable by anyone, not just technical people — if it takes a learning curve, most people won't use it when it actually matters.
- We shouldn't be able to see your secret, even if we wanted to. Zero-knowledge isn't a slogan here, it's the actual architecture.
- No ads, no data selling, no dark patterns. A tool built to protect your family shouldn't also be exploiting your data.
Try it yourself — it takes about a minute.