I’m as paranoid as the next person but what’s the purpose of this article?

If you don’t like closed source software and don’t trust the developer(s), then don’t use the software. Why waste time writing an article that all it does is critize the developer’s decision?

If you care so much about the software you run in your computer, then do what I do: open a disassembler and reverse engineer the code, inspect every single HTTP(S) call, every network packet, every system call, and then maybe you will feel at ease.

I write these things because transparency is kind of the point of the platform. Most people don't have the time or the interest to open up a disassemble every time they want to try a new tool, they just want to know if it fits the FOSS ethos they moved to Linux for.

Pointing out that a "privacy" tool has a closed-source brain isn't an attack on the dev, it's just a heads-up for people who care about that sort of thing.