I think there are a few key requirements: 1. End-to-end encryption, like Signal. Without this, there's nothing to prevent the new platform from turning into a

I think there are a few key requirements: 1. End-to-end encryption, like Signal. Without this, there's nothing to prevent the new platform from turning into another Facebook. (Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.) But with E2E, the platform can't analyze the posts that you write or read, so they can't build a creepy tracking profile for you like some East German secret policeman. And because modern E2E protocols also include integrity protection (eg HMAC), the platform also cannot inject new posts into your feed. 2. This one is going to be unpopular, at least at first. But users need to pay. Because the platform needs to work for the users. Not the advertisers. Not the government. Not anybody else. On the bright side, they wouldn't have to pay very much. Even Facebook makes only maybe $100 per user/year, and they spend a ton on "R&D", and they still make a healthy profit. Their cost of goods sold is a lot lower. 3. Ideally the service should be run by a public benefit corporation, with the public benefit for its users clearly defined in its charter. That way, the company doesn't get to maximize revenue at the expense of users. 4. Some sort of decentralization or federation would be good. So if users are unhappy with one provider, they can easily switch to another one. Like with email. Tired of Gmail? No problem, just switch to Fastmail or Microsoft or whatever. > Is it worth building something that isn't advertising driven to fill this niche? Is it possible for such a best to gain traction in the current environment? I sure hope so. I've spent the past year or so building a prototype. Link is in my profile if you're interested.