I first discovered Waze back in 2014 when traveling to a tech event in Colorado. I flew into Denver and had a 120-mile journey to my destination. It seemed like a simple trip, most of my time would be spent on a single interstate, and the resort was only a few short miles from the exit. About an hour into the trip, Waze suddenly told me to get off the highway at the upcoming exit. I knew I had just over an hour left on this highway, but needing a pit stop, I followed the directions.

I don't know about you, but I have more bills, invoices, bank statements, and healthcare documents than I know what to do with. Finding a specific detail, understanding a complicated term, or comparing this month's charges with last month's can take up more time than I'd like, not to mention the frustration involved. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can make this much easier, but I'm not particularly comfortable with the idea of handing my financial, medical, or other sensitive information over to big tech companies just to get a few questions answered. I have enough concerns about how much data these companies collect without voluntarily giving them more.