FallenWalnutI had enough of big tech and their actions, so created this guide to make switching as easy as possible
I think a lot of these guides could use more in-depth companion guides to go along with it. Changing your email provider for one is not a simple thing and there are concerns like loss of functionality (Gmail is a good product run by a shit company) and also how to make the process less overwhelming. Some services will give you the option to migrate all your emails from Gmail but maybe you want to start fresh, etc. Then there’s going to all of your providers and updating your contact email. Again, not as simple as signing up for another service.
I have started on that with a small intro section for most sections (still adding). An example is email purchasewithpurpose.eu/category/email, but I understand that an even more in-depth guide is warranted.
Thanks for making these! The mix of thorough structured data and qualitative disclaimers is so useful.
I’ve been curious about Infomaniak because I haven’t seen much about it until recently. Is “Open Source” the main reason Tuta and Proton are on the infographic instead?
I tried to limit it to 3-4 per section, and the email category was already so full - no specific reason. That said, I’ve since learned that Tuta’s free tier is a bit limited, so I might actually switch to Infomaniak Mail instead.
I use Infomaniak for my email and cloud storage.
They’re great, but lately their Linux app has had problems.
When I reported it, they were really efficient and friendly.
Also their data centers are heating buildings where I live.
I would always recommand them as they offer really good prices too.
hansoloYou can always forward emails? All email providers (yes even the shit ones) offer this for free while you migrate from one email account to another
BlizzardNice guide! Lemmy is missing though 🐭. Also, what’s the point of moving from Twitter to BlueSky? They are no different. Mastodon is a great option.
I haven’t been too focused on Social Media given that it is less about features and more about community. But will look at adding a Reddit replacement.
Thanks for putting this together. Stuff like this is good for making it more approachable. I definitely have relatives that would benefit from this.
One note though, it would be good if the key included all of the icons and not just the three causes.
As the other commented pointed out, it would also be good to differentiate decentralized services, for example in the category with Mastodon and Bluesky.
Agreed, I’ll look to update the main guide infographic with all the causes. The website itself has these listed, though, if you prefer to share that.
Where are the password managers? When changing your accounts to another email provider, this is a really good time to also make sure all the accounts have a strong, unique password or phrase.
That is true; I am planning to do Password Managers next, but can see now why it would have made sense to include them sooner.
ArdensWell, a short guide to make your own unique passwords that are strong, and that you are able to memorize, would be enough there… Otherwise, Firefox has a build in password manager.
For frequently accessed sites that will work but what about a site that is only needed once a year? Password managers secure a lot more than passwords.
Oh, what do they secure more?
I have a system, I do change it sometimes, and it’s simple for me to remember, but makes strong passwords.
Security questions. For me to log into my income tax portal, I need to answer 1 of 5 questions. None of the answers to their questions are something that can be looked up in breach data - for example “Name your first love” my answer could be “the moon”
Medical information about my family such as current prescriptions and allergies.
My password manager also can create email aliases.
Basically, anything that needs to be kept secure, private, and accessible.
Here’s a simple question. Isn’t 2-factor login safer than what you describe there?
Why would you need aliases? Do you often login to places that is so insecure?
Well, seems like you have a hard time with security. Me, I manage with 2-factor and my password system, that makes me have unique passwords for every site or app I need… :-)
2FA isn’t an option for my income tax portal.
Aliases are used so I never share my actual email address. If any service I sign up with starts spamming, I know that email has been compromised (probably in a breach) or the service spams their users.
Security is very easy for me. Password managers are the norm among the privacy/security community.
And yet some of those managers has been breached and is continuously targeted, because they are a security risk in themselves.
Strange to have a tax portal with poor security.
They also have something they call a “2fa grid”. Its a picture they send out once a year to citizens with 12 groups of 3 letters. They ask me to enter the letters from three of the boxes.
Not an industry standard method for sure.
Correction: Ente is also self-hostable.
Sorry, I did include that on the website purchasewithpurpose.eu/…/49nBOpWnyCdLNGVJ71k6SJ/ - but forgot to update the guide.
James R KirkKDE is friendlier to Windows users than GNOME, but Mint is still a good option.
And KDE is predominately German.
𝔄 𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔠𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔢𝔰𝔢I think waterfox was sold to an ad agency.
System1, the same company with a controlling interesting in Startpage.
Not anymore, it is mentioned on their profile. They are now owned by the founder again.
https://purchasewithpurpose.eu/software/5RBGtGMEiI5J7DDaaMrfuZ/
Degoogle Your Life@FallenWalnut @zakobjoa
That's correct. I love me some Waterfox...my browser of choice. Though I really like Vivaldi too
That's correct. I love me some Waterfox...my browser of choice. Though I really like Vivaldi too
I have one suggestion: Can you replace the Union flag beneath the Ubuntu logo with Union Jack flag for accuracy sake?
It is technically supposed to represent Europe, but maybe I’ll replace it simply with UKs flag. Thanks for flagging.
egrets
Clocks [They/Them]Bazzite is the go-to OS for Linux gaming for most new systems now. Even tech brands are promoting it.
Never heard of PopOS as a gaming distro.
Sorry I really could have researched that category better. You aren’t the first one to point it out. Will look to update.
cRazi_manJust wanna say thanks for updating it, my 2c is also to add Spotify in the music section as the starting point to move away from
2c
Personally, I agree and have in the past put it in the left column. Right now I have settled for having a disclaimer against its name and might make that more prominent in the overview pages as well. purchasewithpurpose.eu/…/D5JUoM1dZysf7JJgTAWXy/
Original reddit post, because I didn’t trust this guy to be telling the truth
A more recent one on lemmy.word as well :) I’ve been at this for a long time and as you can see, it has come a long way since that first version.
lemmy.world/post/28524939
Alas Poor ErinaceusI see Qobuz on there. IMHO, Bandcamp should be your first stop when buying music. If it’s not on bandcamp, Qobuz seems to have just about everything else, more or less, that someone might want. I’ve complained about them in the past for making me download my purchases one track at a time, which can be pretty annoying if you’re buying a super-duper-deluxe version of an album, but, I am pleased to say, they no longer do this; you can download the complete albums you’ve purchased in a zip file. But only once. Stuff can disappear for annoying rights reasons, and I think they even say, once you buy your music download it immediately, because it may not be there on a subsequent visit.
I’m not so sure. Last time I looked for an album it was cheaper on Qobuz than Bandcamp - also Qobuz had a Hi-Res version. Bandcamp I think takes 15% + payment handling which seems a lot for being a shopfront. I went to record label to get it in the end as I thought that was probably the best way of getting the money to the artist.
Startpage is a glaring omission. And a better pick than Qwant since Qwant isn’t available in all countries because apparently they “can’t serve relevant ads”.
Also, Deezer is 41% owned by an American private equity firm … so there’s that. Tidal is like 90% owned by an American services company.
Great guide! Very useful for people discovering a world outside of the GAFAM’s.
I’ve done everything, but leaving Whatsapp is the most difficult one. I use Threema and Signal with my close friends, but I can’t get rid of Whatsapp because of many groups I have to follow but I’m not close enough to people to ask them to switch.
I’d love it if these two chat services proposed a separate app which would be interoperable with Whatsapp.
Yes Meta would still get some of my data, but less than if I had Whatsapp directly.
Also getting Whatsapp business and setting an automatic answer asking people to contact me through mail, sms or other chats is useful.
Leaving youtube is also difficult as Peertube is lacking non tech content like basketball…
Thanks! Social media is by far the hardest and will be the last hurdle to tackle. Right now, I am focusing more on getting people to move tools. Btw, if you didn’t already see, the website is even more helpful than the guide itself - in case you ever want to get others to make the switch.
purchasewithpurpose.io
What stumped me is that YouTube music and apple music are the starting point, and not Spotify.
Also isn’t using your own Mailserver with your own domain on any webhoster plus Thunderbird a viable alternative? I’ve been doing this for like 20 years. That’s the beauty of email imo
The website has the space to cover these topics far better.
Spotify has a big red disclaimer against it to educate people on why not to use it - https://purchasewithpurpose.io/software/D5JUoM1dZysf7JJgTAWXy/
Email category tries to explain how you can use email clients fit into the picture and lists Thunderbird - https://purchasewithpurpose.io/category/email
gwl [he/him]leaving big tech
Firefox is big tech
… weeeell… It’s big tech in some ways, but not really…
Gotta love promoting Electron slop like Element right next to stuff claiming sustainability
GloomyLibreWolf browser
Agreed! It is an excellent choice and is part of the recommended list on the website.
https://purchasewithpurpose.io/category/browser/
DigitI stopped looking at it after initial glance, seeing the top line, the browsers.
Vivaldi?
Really.
No.
katy ✨what’s wrong with vivaldi? they’re european. they have zero ai in their browser. and they’re one of the few browser with a build in ad/tracker blocker that supports adblock filters.
onlookerThat’s not a justification to make it closed source. Brave is open source and based on chromium.