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.