4 ms·
Not sure if you do it for privacy, ethical or practical reasons, but here's my journey: I removed my life from Big Tech (FB, TW, Gmail, YT, G Drive, MS, and oth
by zorrolovsky 5y ago
Not sure if you do it for privacy, ethical or practical reasons, but here's my journey: I removed my life from Big Tech (FB, TW, Gmail, YT, G Drive, MS, and other anti-user/spyware/malware companies). It was surprisingly easy to do and refreshing spiritually.
First, philosophy: this article resonated so much with me that I made the brave step of deleting my big tech accounts and switching to Linux: https://medium.com/hackernoon/leaving-apple-and-google-my-eelo-odyssey-introduction-d22741f990d7 https://medium.com/hackernoon/leaving-apple-and-google-my-ee...
Then, execution. This site will help you to find user-friendly alternatives to your spyware apps/OSs/services: https://www.privacytools.io/ https://www.privacytools.io/
I am now with a setup that maximizes privacy and giving money to ethical companies:
Phone OS: LineageOS and /e/
Desktop/Laptop: Debian and Linux Mint
Browser Mobile: Bromite
Browser Desktop: LibreWolf (firefox fork oriented to privacy)
Maps and GPS mobile: OsmAnd
Mobile app store: F-Droid, Aurora Store
Search Engine: DuckduckGo, SearX
Email: Posteo (1€/month)
VPN: Mullvad (5€/month)
Online drive: NextCloud-based service ie /e/ foundation
Once I researched the above and checked the companies/projects are trustworthy, I started using them with surprisingly low bumps in the road.
For mobile OS I went radical and didn't even install microG (a package to enable G services so some apps work well). I still can use my favorite apps, including banking (although if you root your phone you might have issues)
- ericfrazier 5y agoGood for you for voting with your wallet and being conscious of which causes your money supports.
- rattray 5y agoI was confused what /e/ was; it's https://e.foundation/ https://e.foundation/
- FireInsight 5y agoThe active maintainers of privacytools.io 'recently' split up into a new more community-focused site due to inactivity of the founder. https://privacyguides.org/ https://privacyguides.org/ Read more here: - https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivacyGuides/comments/pnhn4a/rprivacyguides_privacyguidesorg_what_you_need_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivacyGuides/comments/pnhn4a/rpriv... - https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivacyGuides/comments/pnh9n8/what_happened_to_privacytools/ https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivacyGuides/comments/pnh9n8/what_...
- zorrolovsky 5y agoThanks for the update! I was not aware of the situation and just joined the new community. I like the way they start the new page by suggesting users to create a threat model. My threat model is almost zero (I don't do anything interesting that deserves surveillance) so to me, it's a matter of principle. I rather pay 1€/month rather than having Google scannning my personal emails. I rather donate to Linux Mint rather than having Microsoft monetize my desktop experience with crapware and ads.