Moving away from big tech

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.

Now I'm using uncloud's Nextcloud instance to sync files and documents across devices (Mac, iOS).

For documents, I keep everything in a folder and use open source applications to open/edit etc.

For photos, Nextcloud automatically syncs my iOS photo library. Every now and them I go through the synced photos and delete the ones I don't like (saving space!). Google Photos still has most of my pictures, I need to do a cleanup and download all of them before deleting the app.

Also, I recently set up a Cryptpad instance. Might start using that for documents, if needed.

Email and Calendar

Moving away from Gmail and using Protonmail with my own domain. I am migrating manually, so it will take some time to change all my accounts to my new email.

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.

Maps

Still using Google Maps.

I tried OsmAnd for a while but switched back to Google Maps for now. I believe this will be the hardest transition, since Google Maps is so good at public transport and quickly finding places and information about them.

Also, avoid MAPS.ME.

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 store the KeePassXC file on my Raspberry Pi and share it with a Samba share. I access the Samba share from my laptop and use the official KeePassXC client. Also, I access the share on my iPhone and access the file with KeePassium.

RSS Feed

Moved away from Feedly.

Now I am using a self-hosted FreshRSS aggregator and NetNewsWire client.

Streaming services

Moving away from Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify.

Using:

• Jellyfin as a media center, hosted on a local Raspberry Pi, storing files on an external hard drive mounted on the Raspberry Pi
• Premiumize.me to download movies, albums etc
• VLC on my iPhone to cast Jellyfin to a Chromecast
  • Getting rid of the iPhone and Chromecast soon 🤞
  • Infuse is also quite good
• Finamp as an audio client for Jellyfin on iOS
• sonixd as an audio client for Jellyfin on OSX

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 instance.

Social Media

I quit Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and Twitter.

Now I'm only on Mastodon, specifically the IndieWeb.Social instance. Come and say hello.

I still consume Twitter through Nitter's RSS feed. Nitter provides an RSS feed for any open profile, so I can just aggregate it on FreshRSS.