Cortex Times

In an era where personal data is both a currency and a vulnerability, Cloaked is emerging as a trailblazer in consumer privacy, leveraging artificial intelligence to safeguard users’ digital identities. Founded in 2020 by brothers Arjun and Abhijay Bhatnagar¹, the startup has quickly gained traction, recently surpassing 100,000 paying customers² and securing an additional $11 million in funding². With a mission to empower individuals to control their personal information, Cloaked’s innovative approach combines AI-driven tools with user-centric design, setting a new standard for privacy solutions in a world rife with data breaches and AI-powered scams³,⁴.

A New Paradigm for Privacy

Cloaked’s core offering is its ability to generate virtual identities—unique email addresses, phone numbers, and soon, payment methods—that act as a buffer between users and the digital world¹. Unlike traditional password managers, Cloaked goes beyond storing credentials, creating disposable identifiers for every online interaction, from e-commerce to dating apps¹. This ensures that a user’s real information remains shielded from data brokers, hackers, and even unethical corporations. “We really want to rebuild people’s relationship with not just their data, but technology as a whole,” Abhijay Bhatnagar told TechCrunch in 2022⁵.

The platform’s latest innovation, announced on July 22, 2025, is Call Guard, an AI-powered caller screening feature that tackles the rising tide of spam and scam calls². Using advanced AI to analyze caller intent, Call Guard engages unknown callers with an AI bot, filtering out fraud attempts while providing real-time transcripts for users to monitor or take over the call². “We’re training our AI to tackle bad AI agents,” said CEO Arjun Bhatnagar², addressing the growing challenge of malicious AI-driven robocalls⁴. This feature builds on Cloaked’s existing phone infrastructure, which allows users to mask their real numbers with virtual ones, adding a layer of protection against scams like SIM swapping².

Beyond Calls: A Holistic Privacy Ecosystem

Cloaked’s ambitions extend far beyond call screening. The startup is developing an outbound call feature, where AI bots can handle tasks like booking appointments or navigating customer support lines². Additionally, Cloaked is rolling out an eSIM product² and a dark web monitoring tool that scans for leaked personal data—such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and passports—across data brokers, breach sites, and platforms like Discord and Telegram². The tool categorizes leaks as active or historical, empowering users to take swift action². A data deletion program further allows users to request the removal of their information from over 120 data brokers², reinforcing Cloaked’s commitment to minimizing digital footprints. The company has removed over 170 million data records from the web².

Cloaked’s zero-knowledge architecture ensures that user data is stored in personalized, encrypted databases, accessible only to the individual¹. This approach, coupled with features like two-factor authentication and a browser extension for seamless autofill¹, balances robust security with usability. The company also offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance, providing peace of mind in the event of a breach⁶.

The AI Security Landscape

Cloaked’s focus on AI-driven privacy comes at a critical time. Recent vulnerabilities in AI systems have exposed risks of unauthorized data access without user interaction³. By automatically masking personal information before it reaches AI applications, Cloaked mitigates such threats, ensuring that even zero-click attacks cannot compromise user data³. The company’s approach also aligns with growing regulatory scrutiny. With data privacy laws tightening globally⁴, Cloaked’s ability to limit data exposure and facilitate data removal positions it as a forward-thinking solution for compliance-conscious consumers. “It’s not about adding more barriers, but about quietly locking the right doors before trouble even starts,” the company stated in a recent blog post⁵.

Traction and Future Vision

Since its inception, Cloaked has protected over two million data points⁵ and built a community of 100,000 paying users, with strong month-over-month growth². The startup’s $29 million Series A in 2022, led by Lux Capital and Human Capital, was bolstered by an additional $11 million in 2025², signaling investor confidence in its vision. While Cloaked plans to close a formal funding round by year-end², it’s already eyeing new features like a VPN and AI Defense tools to further enhance its offerings⁶.

Cloaked’s user-friendly interface and comprehensive privacy tools have earned praise from users and critics alike. “An elegant merging of email privacy protection and password management,” noted PCMag’s Neil Rubenking⁷, while a Product Hunt reviewer called it an “awesome, all-in-one privacy tool”⁸.

The Road Ahead

As AI continues to permeate daily life, the risks of data exploitation grow³,⁴. Cloaked’s blend of virtual identities, AI-driven call screening, and proactive data monitoring offers a compelling antidote. By empowering users to control their digital presence without sacrificing convenience, the startup is not just protecting data—it’s redefining how we interact with technology. With plans to expand its feature set and challenge the data collection practices of corporations and governments, Cloaked is poised to lead the charge for consumer privacy in the AI era.

For those looking to take control of their digital footprint, Cloaked’s platform is available at join.cloaked.app⁵. As Arjun Bhatnagar puts it, “We believe by putting consumers in the driver’s seat, we can force organizations to rethink how they gather and use our data”². In a world where privacy is increasingly elusive, Cloaked’s mission feels more urgent than ever.

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