We’re reaching the end of an era wherein billions of dollars of investor money was shovelled into tech startups to build large user-bases, and now those companies (now monoliths) are beginning to constrict their user-bases and squeeze for every single penny they can possibly extract. Fair or not.
Now more than ever, it’s important for us to step back and reconsider whether we want to be billboards for these companies anymore.
For anyone unfamiliar, some good resources to have when starting your degoogling journey are below:
Privacy Guides - A list of privacy-respecting services you can use.
Plexus - A crowdsourced information bank of service compatibility with degoogled devices.
This random PDF - A study from 2018 detailing data that Google tracks about its’ users.
It’s been a long time in the making, but I’ve finally degoogled and largely removed all proprietary software from my personal life. I know this topic is pretty well covered here and elsewhere so just to add to the list of others, here’s where I’m at these days:
- OS: Fedora Linux (w/ AMD Radeon GPU)
- Email: Thunderbird w/ hosted email over IMAP
- Calendar/Contacts: Radicale instance w/ DAVx⁵ on Android
- Storage: Syncthing
- Web: Firefox
- Search: Startpage and DuckDuckGo mostly, but still use Google and Bing on occasion
- IM: Signal
- Desktop productivity: LibreOffice when I need it (Collabora Office on Android)
- Notes: Vim, VS Code (Markor on Android); most of my “docs” are just plain text files written in markdown
- Passwords: KeepassXC/DX
- Code editor: Vim, VS Code
- GrapheneOS on mobile, with almost entirely FOSS apps
- Kindle e-book reader with management via Calibre
- Media managed by Kodi with a raspberry pi
- Proxmox hypervisor for Windows/Linux VMs and containers
Gaming under Linux has improved unbelievably these past few years, now that Steam is contributing with their Steam Deck platform. I used to have to dual-boot Windows to keep up with the latest titles, but I wiped it about a year ago and things have been great.
I still rely on Microsoft Excel and Adobe Photoshop for some tasks, but less so now than ever before. Unfortunately, my work will always be a Windows-dominated environment.
How has a self hosted imap been treating you?
I heard some pretty brutal stories, like big email providers just refusing emails from self hosted servers
I self-host my own mail server. I don’t send many emails, but they seem to be arriving correctly whenever I do at the moment, but it wasn’t always like this. I’ve properly setup SPF, DKIM and DMARC, which helps a lot, but my IP address was blacklisted on some servers from a previous owner I guess. I have a VPS from OVH. I had to manually fill out some forms to get Microsoft Outlook to accept emails from my server. Despite that, it has been working flawlessly. I have my own domain since 2017, and I’d say the age of the domain is also important.
Not OP, but I used to self host email. I gave up because both google and microsoft, the two big players in email, refused to deliver my mail to anywhere but spam/junk. I had DKIM, SPF and DMARC set up, with reverse DNS set up correctly. So I gave up. Now I use a privacy friendly email provider (paid)
I have to just be sure that you at least know about demicrosofted VS Code, VS Codium
Haha I do, and I’ve used VSCodium in the past. I don’t mind using the official release with telemetry disabled (and sandboxed as a flatpak), but may very well switch back if/when Microsoft does anything shady with the project.
How do you use syncthing for storage? Kinda confused.
Hah, that’s a fair question! We use syncthing in place of cloud storage.
We have several 1-way and 2-way shares configured across about 10 devices. Our camera rolls are synced to the home file server while we’re on the road, thus eliminating the need for Google Photos. It also keeps our shared KeePass database in sync between all clients, syncs wallpapers across desktops, etc. It’s excellent software and I really can’t say enough good things about the project.
It’s no replacement for actual backups, which I do perform monthly with copies stored off-site, but it can be a great solution for those wanting to move away from Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
Ahh okay thanks for the explanation. The way you use it seems alot easier and concise than what I thought you used it as, specially the central home server part. Have you experienced any corruptions or loss of data using your method? That’s the main concern I have with programs that sync, like syncthing.
We’ve been using it across many devices for several years now and haven’t had any data loss or corruption. It handles 2-way conflicts very well, creating duplicate files that allow you to compare and merge when necessary.
This has only happened with our KeePass database, which is shared across all of the devices, and even then it was only when two of us modified the db within just a few minutes of each other (rare).
Wow, surprising really, might just have to try it and set it up tomorrow! Thank you, hope it works out for me lol.
No problem! Just a couple of tips…
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It will create a default share upon installation; you can just delete this and create a new share for whatever/wherever you actually want it to be
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Don’t try to nest your shares (e.g. don’t create a share in a subfolder of another share). I think Syncthing prevents this now, but in the past it would let you do it and it caused issues due to recursion.
Try to think about a logical structure of your shares that will make the most sense for your use case. If you’re only syncing one folder, this won’t be an issue, but if you have lots of clients with various shares, you’ll need to consider how those folders are structured on the devices so that they don’t overlap.
If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a msg or post to one of the selfhosted communities. Good luck!
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So um…how do I show the lemmyverse that this is a really important post without the shiny meaningless gold coin?
idk. Try writing a poem?
Yes. But remember to share!
I can write poetry, so I asked a new friend:
In the realm of tech's changing tide, Where billions flowed like an endless ride, Investor money, a torrent's stream, Built startups bright with a lofty dream. But now, the era draws to a close, As monoliths emerge, the story goes. They tighten their grip, a vice-like hold, Squeezing pennies from users, bold and cold. Fair or not, the question arises, Do we still want to wear their disguises? Are we mere billboards, a canvas for their name, Or can we reclaim our autonomy, break free from the game? In this pivotal moment, we must pause, Reconsider, question, and find our cause. To degoogling, a path unfolds, Where privacy and freedom firmly hold. Privacy Guides, a beacon of light, Leading us to services that respect our right. No longer pawns in their data-collecting scheme, We seek alternatives that make our souls gleam. Plexus, a treasure trove of shared knowledge, Mapping compatibility beyond the edge. A community united, hand in hand, Building a future where we take a stand. And in that random PDF, a study's gaze, Unveiling the truth in Google's data maze. Awareness dawns, eyes open wide, As we uncover the layers they've tried to hide. So let us step back, reassess our role, As users, as consumers, with a collective goal. To break free from the clutches that bind, Embrace a future where our privacy we find. For the era of user exploitation wanes, And in its place, a new dawn remains. Where we reclaim our voices, make choices anew, And shape a world where fairness rings true.
Upvote i guess ❤️🍓
Interact, share. Be positive.
🪙🪙
100% degoogled. Everything is selfhosted, except for Telegram. Even at job :)
I used to rely almost exclusively on Google for almost anything online. Fortunately, I’m much less dependent on Google and their services now. I’m even self-hosting some of my own services nowadays!
- Search engine: Ecosia and DuckDuckGo
- E-mail: Protonmail
- File storage: Nextcloud (selfhosted)
- Online Office Suite: Nextcloud Office (selfhosted)
- Maps: OpenStreetMaps
- 2FA App: Aegis
- Translator: DeepL
- Notes and Tasks: Obsidian.md
- Calendar: An actual wall calendar :)
Every single one of these apps/services used to be provided by google, so I think it’s safe to say I’ve come a long way!
Of course, things could be better. I still use Google Contacts for synchronizing my, hum, contacts. I also use YouTube quite a bit, but as a paying customer my experience with it is just fine. I also use gboard on my phone — for bilingual speakers there’s just no good alternative, imho. And, finally, I download/update most of my phone apps through Google Play.
How do you host nextcloud? At home or on a vps?
Did you have any self hosting experience before doing that?
Do you know Logseq? It’s an OpenSource/FOSS alternative to obsidian
How do you host nextcloud? At home or on a vps?
On a VPS. Later down the road I intend to build my own home server, but that will take some time and money. A VPS is not ideal, but that’s leagues above trusting Google and the likes, and so far it has been working well enough for me.
Did you have any self hosting experience before doing that?
None at all.
Do you know Logseq? It’s an OpenSource/FOSS alternative to obsidian
I did try it, and it’s a cool project, but not as good as Obsidian, imho.
Thanks for the reply. How did you learn about self hosting nextcloud? May I ask what’s the pricetag for a vps for nextcloud? Are you using a preconfigured is from nextcloud?
How did you learn about self hosting nextcloud?
I used this guide: https://github.com/nextcloud/all-in-one/blob/main/reverse-proxy.md
I also had the help of a webdev friend of mine, that taught me the basics of how to setup and use Docker.
May I ask what’s the pricetag for a vps for nextcloud?
I hired my VPS for around $200 a year (after comverting from Brazilian Reais to American Dollars). It gives me a VPS with 2 vcores, 2GB RAM and 40 GB SSD. There are many VPS providers that can offer you somthing with similar specs and and prices, like Hostinger, AWS and the likes. (Depending on where you live, you may actually find much better prices)
I moved off a while ago at this point… I still have to use some of it because of work being on G-Suites but otherwise my personal stuff has moved.
- Email: Hey & ProtonMail
- Storage: Dropbox
- Notes: SimpleNotes & Obsidian.md
- Chat: Telegram & Matrix/Element
- 2FA: ProtonPass (as of yesterday, Authy before that)
- Passwords: 1Password
- Other: Apple stuff mostly
How is the proton pass 2FA? I saw they have that it haven’t gotten around to switching from Authy yet.
Any particular reason for switching away from authy?
i’m not a cybersecurity expert so i can’t say anything about how well they secure your data. however, authy is closed source and a walled garden. you can’t easily export your data. if authy pulls a reddit tomorrow and decides to start charging, you’re screwed.
building your 2fa life in a different service like aegis will save you so much headache in the future, and you can feel good about supporting open source.
Outside of work I’ve degoogled with the exception of google calendar (shared family google calendar so that would need to bring everyone along with me!) and unfortunately the google Wi-Fi/nests.
I would like to swap out the google Wi-Fi but it just seems like such a lot of money to waste and they are working at the moment for the mesh Wi-Fi. I’ve just made sure to disable and opt out to as many of the google analytic tracking as possible.
Basically degoogled except YouTube because content creators are on that platform. Also occasionally needs to use Google search because DDG sometimes doesn’t work.
Just switched from Google photos to photoprism. It’s pretty awesome! It only took 8 hours to index and label my 17500~ photos (not including the week and a half Google Takeout took). That was the big one for me. Not I am slowly working through all my other google/centralized services and seeing if there are self hosted or decentralized alternatives.
Ooh, I’ll have to look into photoprism. Thank you!
Crying because I’m sitting on 30k+ photos and videos on Google Photos and staring down the monumental task of backing them up piecemeal.
I’ve been wanting to switch to PhotoPrism for a while. Is face/object detection any good, compared to Google Photos? Do you need powerful specs, or can a low-spec machine handle it?
I’ve been running my own Nextcloud instance since 2020, which, combined with ProtonMail, has replaced basically everything I was using Google/Microsoft for
Didn’t realize you could host your own, that’s good to know
The only thing I still hold onto my account for is YouTube. I pay for mailbox.org which covers email, calendar and cloud stuff. Their website could be better but the service is quality and their privacy policy is tight. When I was on android I used a bunch of custom roms with microg. My favourite ended up being calyxos but they all had a little jank here or there. I dearly miss NewPipe for android as a replacement for the official youtube app.
I download YouTube videos to my Plex server via yt-dlp for viewing at home. For online viewing I use piped, and on my phone LibreTube. No need to stick to Google for YouTube.
Basically outside of Youtube I don’t use any Google service. Started by migrating to Kagi search, and while it requires a subscription, its a price I am willing to pay for a search engine that actually work good.
Everything else I use a mix of FOSS and subscription services.
I have started to degoogle bits and pieces. I self-host the majority of the services I need and really enjoyed the journey so far since I learned so much. I am approaching the stage in my life where I have less time to spend on personal hobbies so I fear this path may not be sustainable. In my opinions here are the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Full control of my data
- Pick the ideal tool from the open source community
- Learning experience
- Engagement with community
Cons:
- Technical knowledge needed to setup and maintain self-hosted tools
- Self-hosted tools have security risks (best to put everything behind VPN)
- Disparate tools don’t connect together (requires additional automation configuration)
- Additional costs for services including and not limited to: domain name, email, backup storage, self-host server hardware, VPN, and donations to devs
- Higher personal downtime due to lacking features, server and service maintenance
- Time sink to learn, research, general devops of tools, maintenance of server
Key services to name a few:
- File storage - Nextcloud
- File sync - Syncthing
- Office- Nextcloud + Collabora
- Email - Mailfence
- Photos - Photoprism
So far there are more negatives than positives, but the positives still outweigh negatives. I do have to say degoogling is getting easier than before.
Proton’s services, Cryptomator, Invideous, GrapheneOS, a handful of apps from f-droid.
Also, quick plug - !privacyguides@lemmy.one is the official Privacy Guides community on Lemmy!
I’m still in the Google android stuff just because of convenience but I have ditched Chrome and Google search. Eventually I would like to do more.
Working on it
Had to give them some money for a Pixel 7, at least it was half off plus a trade-in on the old phone Installed GrapheneOS a couple of days ago
