this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2025
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I've updated the Digital Independence cheat sheet for leaving big tech (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
66 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I never imagined the original post would go so viral and be seen by +6M people. But I guess it shows thereโ€™s real momentum โ€” and the perfect time to finally escape big techโ€™s grip.

I went through hundreds of reposts of the image and took in feedback from community comments. Iโ€™ve replaced USA-centralized apps like Brave and Bluesky with more open alternatives, and added self-hosting indicators.

As many of you recommended, Iโ€™ve also created an online version with descriptions that we can constantly update and improve.

Drop a comment if you have suggestions for a better alternative, improved description, or a feature for the site. Let's break free together!

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[โ€“] [email protected] 31 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

As with all impromptu lists, this one is pretty flawed. For example, as much as I love it, lineageOS is not useful for "digital independence" in any meaningful sense, since it's just a more cleaned up version of android. Or PeerTube, which can't really be considered a realistic alternative to yt. It's fine in itself, but it's so small and so hard to scale that you might just be better off giving up the yt format altogether. And then there's Thunderbird. I love it but it's a CLIENT, you'll still need a mail provider.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

LineageOS is worse than that. You can't have it and also have local security as you cannot lock your phone bootloader with an unsigned image. You can't protect yourself from anyone with physical access to the phone.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So the moment you get lineage anyone with physical access can install bootloader things in your phone? Eg cerberus?

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Can install any software

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Not to mention the fact that a bunch of banking apps wonโ€™t work on LineageOS. You can try magisk as a workaround for some, but others just wonโ€™t.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

If you search about it you can lock your bootloader with LineageOS.

[โ€“] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (5 children)

LibreWolf is not an alternative to chrome, it's a fork of FF. It won't run Chrome extensions... which chrome users would likely expect to be able to run.

For a Chrome alternative, I use Vivaldi (which is based in the EU)
As a Firefox alternative, I use Waterfox

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What separates waterfox from firefox or librewolf?

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Different Dev teams

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

LibreWolf is listed as an alternative web browser; not an alternative way to run Chrome extensions.

Similarly, listing Mint as an alternative to Windows is about having an alternative computer OS. It is not about having an alternative way to run your Windows apps.

And Lemmy is an alternative 'ranked forum' (or whatever you want to call this). It is not an alternative way to read reddit threads.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Any browser is an alternative to any other browser, IMO. They all have the same purpose.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's a start, but the goal should be to have multiple options. Any monopoly can either be bought or abused and we should work towards making those as hard as possible.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

While Iโ€™d generally agree, I donโ€™t think fediverse platforms having a monopoly is as dangerous.

Social media requires a sort of monopoly to work well, I think federation is a good approach here.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Perhaps. It's still early to tell.

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago

Droidify is just a bloated wrapper for F-Droid

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

IMO Gmail -> Thunderbird is a bit flawed since you'd still need a service provider. It could be Thunderbird + Posteo / others (please no ProtonMail).

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What is wrong with Protonmail?

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

They support โœจnazisโœจ

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

They do?

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Let me give you a more precise info; The CEO is a Trump supporter & the Compsny doubled-down

Of course it didn't impact the product, but still why would Trump "Stand up for the little guys"

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

My answer was precise, yours just added fluff.

Trump is a Nazi and proton did express support. Therefore they support nazis. This isn't complex math.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)
  • Session
  • Signal
  • GPG2
  • VLC
  • Tuta
  • OpenKeychain
  • KeePassXC
  • NetGuard
  • Mullvad
  • Ironfox
  • BLE Radar
  • Transmission
  • Obfuscate
  • Monero/Haveno
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[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I donโ€™t think piracy is a proper alternative to paying for commercial content.

Free content is.

So it shouldnโ€™t be on this chart IMO. Itโ€™s a separate topic. Itโ€™s not a good look to lump piracy in with open/free software ideology.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Hello, very nice guide:)

I'd just like to bring to your attention, a very thorough comparison of messengers you might want to check๐Ÿ˜„

https://eylenburg.github.io/im_comparison.htm

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

OpenSUSE Linux from Nuremberg!

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Last time I used thunderbird was many years ago, like 10 years or so. Can you create a mail adress there? How does it compare to other providers like Tuta, Proton, Posteo and others?

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

It's an email client, not an email provider. It can be used to receive/send emails from almost any provider, not to create new ones.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, as Thunderbird is just a mail client, and not a provider, itโ€™s not really an โ€œalternativeโ€. It should list StartMail, Mailbox.org, Tutanota, etc. Since people are used to using web clients for emails, I donโ€™t think suggesting a desktop app that still requires an provider is necessary, just creates confusion.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, there are quite a few approximations in the list ;)

in the EU/Western Europe, as an e mail provider I would suggest in no order: maibox.org, proton, tuta and owning your own domain but that one last option (teh best one, imho) may already be too technical for most users.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, I saw that one pretty quick and wondered why they did that. Mailbox.org is a better option than just putting 'thunderbird'.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Where can I find the best Android alternative for my old-ass devices that don't support Lineage OS?

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

For most of those devices, it depends what your goals are, but many privacy minded folks consider them unsalvageable.

If you can root the device, you could install the latest compatible version of the Android Open Source Project, and then use your newfound root powers to disable components you don't want, to the extent that the older versions of Android support doing so.

Technically, that's all LineageOS is doing for you. So if you're willing to put the effort in, the device can be salvaged. For most of us, it makes more sense to get a newer device, researching what OS-es are supported.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Total noob here, can stremio be used to escape big tech legally?

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not really, but big tech breaks the laws all the time so why shouldn't you?

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's not a moral thing, I just don't have the luxury of evading the law like big tech

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

VPNs make it easy and affordable but yeah, if the juice isn't worth the squeeze for you that's understandable. There is a bit of setup/maintenance as well that can get sort of complicated.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Nice, but highlighting a particular Linux distro might not be great. I see the point in minimizing amount of choices, but many people may not like default Mint experience.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ok Zorin then

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Also controversial. Just leave Linux, and it would be useful to have a page outlining major newbie distros

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[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I agree. At least suggest both Mint and Ubuntu. I recently started using Linux just a couple of weeks ago. Started with Mint and I hated it! Then I moved on to Ubuntu and itโ€™s way better for my taste.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

For me it was Manjaro that helped me switch over, and now I'm on Fedora. Didn't like Mint either.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

It's debatable, there's no perfect answer. As a dev I am always on arch and never tried once mint. Every opinions I read the last 5 years says that mint is solid and very friendly to windows users. I can live with such a recommendation in a cheat sheet for unaware people.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Its a bit odd to suggest Nextcloud for Google Drive but then leave it off the replacement list for photos and Docs. Use the Memories App in Nextcloud ans add Collabora and you have those features in Nextcloud too. News app = Google Reader, RePod+AntennaPod = Google Podcasts, Nextcloud Talk instead of Google Meet and Zoom. (just add cloud hosted stun/tun server for performance video chat when hosting from home.)

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