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There is tremendous power in controlling your own data. With ownership and management of apps and online services becoming more common, it’s understandable if you want to consider your options when it comes to where you store your private data and records of your daily activities.
Fortunately, not all services out there try to monetize your personal data, and many of the offerings are just as good (if not often better) as their commercial or ad-supported competitors.
Take a minute to think about what you want to leave behind. Big tech giants storing your data? Subscription services? Invasive ad tracking? Government surveillance? Your needs and risks are unique to you, but hopefully some of these recommendations will help you get to the right point.
Wallabag Stories you want to read later
If you want to read something later, like a news story, feature article, or anything else with a web address, save it to Walabagh. This read-later web archiving service may not have the same look as its main commercial competitor, Pocket, but Wallabag is a strong contender with article saving tools and features that are as good as what Pocket offers. You can save your necessary readings for later on the Wallabag server You can run for free On a network attached storage (NAS) server that you host somewhere in a closet at home, or Hosted in the cloud For a low cost subscription.
Why does this matter? Other later reading apps track usage in order to find trends and recommend (often sponsored) content to you. Some people want this, and that’s great! But some don’t.
The signal is the Encrypted messaging app to use
Signal is one of the most respected secure messaging apps for the simple reason that, by design, it knows nothing about you. Sometimes, Signal will make this point clear He occasionally posts search warrants he receivesKnowing that it cannot provide the authorities with data that it does not retain. Signal security has been called The “gold standard” of messaging apps By crypto experts. Signal is free to download and use but relies on donations as a non-profit.
Why should you care: Not only does it encrypt your private messages and calls from prying eyes and ears, Signal also obfuscates who you’re calling and communicating with when, which can also be incredibly revealing about a person’s life.
Nextcloud is a self-hosted Dropbox alternative
Nextcloud is a Dropbox alternative that features all the document editing and sharing features you’d expect from a file storage system. A big benefit of Nextcloud is that you can do this Host a server yourself for free at homewhere you can keep it private and under your control, or run the Nextcloud server for you Specialized hosting provider.
Nextcloud is designed with security in mind and provides you with end-to-end encrypted access to your files from your phone or other device. Or, if just having a self-hosted Dropbox-like alternative as backup storage for your more sensitive and personal files sounds like something you want, Nextcloud is a great place to start.
Why does this matter? Cloud storage is often secure and private in some ways, but the companies that manage it are subject to law enforcement and may also invisibly scan your files (for good reason, but still) that can get you He was suddenly and permanently banned From your online accounts. Hosting your own place doesn’t mean you’re free from police showing up at your home with a warrant, but at least you’ll be aware of it.
Never forget your passwords again with Bitwarden
Password managers are a great investment in your personal security; These apps securely store passwords, passkeys, credit cards, and other secrets, so you don’t have to remember them. Betwarden It is a popular, open source password manager that helps you quickly log in to your favorite sites, auto-fill your credit card details when you want to pay for something, and more. You can access Bitwarden’s password manager anywhere, including from your phone. Bitwarden is free for anyone to use, but low-cost for additional features.
Why does this matter? When it comes to the security of password managers, the more people check the source code for its reliability and integrity, the better. Although other password managers are also good, open source systems like Bitwarden are more auditable and open about their software development process.
Joplin and Notesnook keep your notes and scribbles encrypted
For those who want to leave Google Docs or Microsoft 365 behind, there are plenty of note-taking apps that keep all your notes, ideas, and scribbles in one place that you can access at any time. Joplin It’s a popular document and productivity app that keeps your files organized, encrypted, and in open formats (like Markdown) so you can take them with you anywhere else. Notisnok It’s another note-taking app that lets you export your notes for use with other apps, and it’s also end-to-end encrypted so no one can read your files. The same can’t be said for Google Docs!
For anyone looking for a downloadable, offline office suite that’s not made by Microsoft, LibreOffice It is the best Office alternative you will find out there. LibreOffice is special by design, free to use (although the macOS app in the Mac App Store is not), and works with all the common file and document formats you use regularly.
Why does this matter? Big companies like Google and Microsoft are increasingly standardizing their services, which today means exposing your notes, emails and files to their AI systems. This can certainly be useful, but if you prefer to have a simple app for syncing text across platforms, there are plenty of options that don’t do any kind of invasive analysis at all.
Ente is an encrypted vault for your photos
If you want to leave Apple Photos, Flickr, Google Photos, YouTube, etc., Ente.io It describes itself as a privacy-focused photo storage app, and is simply designed to securely back up all your photos and videos to the cloud. Ente scrambles your data with a password that only you know, protecting your memories from everyone else, and backing up your data in multiple locations around the world for safekeeping. Plus, Ente offers all the photo management and sharing features you need from a Photos app. Ente is free for basic accounts and affordable for more storage options.
Why does this matter? Like notes and documents, images are a big target for AI systems. Automatically tagging your friends may seem useful, but it requires approval. You must opt ​​in before the machine learning model scans every face you take a photo of. This alone is a good reason to look at a freelance service that gives you more options.
Home Assistant is the central hub for all the smart devices in your home
For anyone interested in a smart home, this one is for you. Home Assistant is simply the hub that connects all your smart home devices and lets you control them all from one place. This open source smart home server can integrate with thousands of smart home vendors’ devices, from voice assistants to light bulbs, robot vacuums, and more, allowing you to start, stop, or otherwise control your devices from your browser (or phone app). You can also automate your smart home devices just like you would an Apple Home or Google Home.
Home Assistant is local by design It can be self-hosted on a variety of devicesfrom a home server in a closet to any other always-on device, such as a desktop computer. For those who want to access Home Assistant from outside your homeYou can set up remote access through its cloud subscription service.
Why does this matter? Not all smart home vendors can keep the lights on, and a sudden closure or bankruptcy could result in customers being unable to continue accessing their lights. Projects like Home Assistant could step in When smart home technology endssaving customers from having to pay costly replacement costs.
Open Scanner is a very simple application for scanning documents
Scanning documents doesn’t have to be a complicated or complex process. Open the scanner It is a very simple point-and-click document scanning app for iPhone, etc The code is published online. That’s it. Sometimes that’s the real beauty of breaking away from profit-driven companies that bloat their apps with junk and features that no one really needs. Open Scanner can pick up receipts, notes, textbooks, or anything else you can point your phone at. For Android users, OSS document scanner It is a simple, open source, and free document scanning application.
Why does this matter? Unless you really need a professional scanner, your phone is more than good enough and probably better than a lot of the cheap scanners out there. Skip the need for any special printer equipment and use something simple and free.
RSS is an amazing web technology that allows you to subscribe to information feeds from your favorite sites, blogs, news sources, and more. Most news sites offer RSS feeds (TechCrunch does this!) that deliver headlines to RSS-compatible applications, known as RSS readers. There are plenty of RSS readers to choose from. For more than a decade, Fresh RSS It has been one of the most feature-packed RSS readers due to its overall simplicity. You can self-host an instance, or deploy a private server to Dedicated cloud host. Once you subscribe to your favorite feeds, the end result will be like having your own self-updating digital newspaper.
Why does this matter? You’ll be surprised how different the news is when you see it this way. Also, setting up your RSS overrides the kind of sponsored posts and tracking you see on hosted services, just like read-later ones.
Own your own live broadcast with Owncast
For those who stream their own shows, gameplay, or anything in between, forsaken It is a self-hosted streaming platform for setting up and hosting live broadcasts. Owncast is very popular, because it’s free, fairly easy to use, and works with your existing live streaming equipment. You may not have thought about live streaming before, but this is a good way to wade into unfamiliar but friendly waters.
Why does this matter? Sure, sites like Twitch are hugely popular, but you may not want to completely rely on a giant company’s tools for every step of the creative process (in this case, Amazon). Owncast and other open streaming apps are a great way to hedge your bets while potentially opening up a new audience.
Stirling PDF is a one-stop shop for PDF editing
Working with and editing PDF documents has never been easier. For those who don’t want to rely on Adobe software or upload their files to flat-looking file conversion sites, Sterling PDF It is the Swiss army knife of PDF documents. Convert, edit, merge, split, sign, and more, without having to hand over your personal or sensitive files to a giant cloud company. Stirling PDF also allows you to self-host if you prefer to handle documents with a certain sensitivity.
Why does this matter? Honestly, any time there’s a realistic alternative to Adobe, take it.
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First published November 24, 2024. Updated November 29, 2024.
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