Hey everyone,

I’m micr0, the person behind Altbot, the open-source bot that helps generate alt-text for images, videos, and audio on the Fediverse. Right now, Altbot uses Google Gemini to generate the alt-text, but that means your data goes through Google’s servers and could be used for training their machine learning models.

To fix this and ensure total privacy, I’m looking to move Altbot to a local model that will run completely on my own hardware. This way, your data won’t be saved, shared, or used anywhere else—it’ll stay private and only temporarily be on my hardware.

It’s a big goal, but one that’s been on my mind since the very beginning. I’ve been talking about this shift for a while, and it’s time to make it happen. Plus, if I reach the goal, Altbot will be running on 48% renewable energy, which means less environmental impact and more sustainability.

To make this happen, I need to raise $1,800–$2,000 USD to buy server-grade hardware—things like GPUs for model processing, a solid motherboard, power supply, storage, and cooling. With this setup, I’ll be able to run Altbot privately, efficiently, and sustainably.

I’ve also posted a breakdown of the planned server specs and spending as a reply to this post if you’re curious about the details!

If this sounds like something you want to support, any help would be appreciated! Every little bit gets me closer to the goal. You can donate here: Ko-fi Link.

Thanks so much for supporting Altbot and helping make the Fediverse a better place!