Moving away from big tech

// Publicado em: 28 de março de 2023

Stop using services from big tech corporations (Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook etc).

I want to stop using big tech corps.
I want to stop using closed source.
I want to show people alternatives to the big corp slavery.
I want to find alternatives (even if proprietaries), as long as they are provided by ethical companies.

Characteristics I value:

• Open source
• Privacy protection
• Possibility to self-host
• Ad-free (or responsible ads)

Resources:

• https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy
• https://privacyguides.org/

2FA Authenticator

Moved away from Google Authenticator.

Using:

• RavioOTP is way better than Google Authenticator. It has better export/import functions, design and is open source. https://privacyguides.org

Cloud Storage

Moved away from Google Drive and Google Photos.

Minimalist, simple and detached. I am storing everything locally on my laptop and copying essential files to an external SSD drive. Looking for a place on the Internet to have a copy as well.

Locally, I use LibreOffice for documents/spreadsheets etc, DigiKam for photo management and VSCode for everything else.

Email and Calendar

Migrated from Gmail and Google Calendar to Protonmail with my own domain.

E-Reader

I lost my Kindle in a train trip.

Kindle locks you on the Amazon ecosystem, it charges you to not show ads and you don’t own the books – if you lose your Amazon account, you are lost.

Instead, I bought a Tolino, the German version of Tolino, if I’m not mistaken. Now I can buy/download books anywhere and drop there. No Amazon, no ads, no lock-in.

I’m using Calibre to organize my books on my laptop and transfer them to Tolino.

08.01.2024

Lost my Tolino on a train trip (again!). I’m using a spare Kindle, but the Calibre integration is still great!

Maps

Using a mix of Google Maps and OsmAnd.

I still trust Google Maps data more, specially when traveling, to find out about routes, public transportation, vegan restaurants etc. However, I try to use OsmAnd as much as possible.

08.01.2024

Using mostly Google Maps. The data quality – specially when traveling – is absurd.

Password manager

Moved away from 1Password to use KeePassXC.

What I did:

• Exported data from 1Password in CSV
• Imported data into KeePassXC (match the CSV columns when loading the CSV)
• Enable browser integration

I manually update a copy of my KeePass file on my iPhone and use KeePassium to access it.

RSS Feed

Moved away from Feedly.

Now I am using a self-hosted FreshRSS from ~vern and the NetNewsWire client.

08.01.2024

For the aggregator I’m using a hosted Miniflux instance from the PC do Manual project, which I’m the admin :)

Streaming services

Moving away from Netflix, Disney+, Spotify etc.

I use:

• Use Premiumize.me to download movies, albums etc
• Buy music with Bandcamp
• Watch movies on my computer using VLC
• Listen to music on my computer using Strawberry
• Listen to music on my iPhone using Decoupled – transfer music manually

08.01.2024

Since I’m back in Brazil, I can download torrents easily (without Premiumize) for movies etc.

I’m back on Spotify. I like music too much, it is damn hard to find some albums to download or even buy.

Translation

Moving away from Google Translate. I haven’t found anything compared to the instant camera translation, so I still use it every now and them.

Now I mostly use Libre Translate and Simply Translate.

Social Media

I quit Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

After a while, I recreated an account on Instagram. I don’t post, I don’t interact and I don’t use the app (only web version). A lot of the things/places I’m interested are available mostly (and sometimes only) through Instagram, unfortunately.

06.08.2024

Also back to LinkedIn for work purposes. How hard it is to move away from big techs, huh?!