There is immense power in being in control of your own data. As ownership and governance of apps and online services becomes more consolidated, it makes sense that you will want to consider your options for where your personal data and records of your daily activities are stored.
Fortunately, not all services out there seek to monetize personal data, and many are just as good (and often better) than their commercial or ad-supported rivals. (I can't say it's better.)
Take a moment and think about what you want to leave behind. Is it a large technology company storing your data? Is it a subscription service? Intrusive ad tracking? Government surveillance? Everyone's needs and risks are different, but we hope some of the recommendations here will help you resolve your issue.
Make notes of stories you want to read later
If you want to read news articles, features, or anything else with a web address, save it to Wallabag to read later. Read more The web archiving service may not resemble its main commercial rival, Pocket, but Wallabag is a strong contender with article storage tools and features comparable to those offered by Pocket. It's my opponent. Save must-read documents on Wallabag servers for later reading. Wallabag servers can run for free on a network-attached storage (NAS) server hosted somewhere in your closet at home or in the cloud with a low-cost subscription.
Articles from The Guardian stored in Wallabag, a Pocket alternative. Image credit: TechCrunch (screenshot)
Why is this important? Other read-later apps track usage to find trends and recommend (often sponsored) content. Some people want this, and that's cool! But some people don't.
Signal is an encrypted messaging app that uses
Signal is one of the most respected secure messaging apps for the simple reason that, by design, it knows nothing about you. Signal may assert this point by disclosing search warrants it receives from time to time, knowing that it cannot provide authorities with data it does not store. Signal's security has been called the “gold standard” for messaging apps by encryption experts. Signal is free to download and use, but as a nonprofit organization we rely on donations.
Why you should care: Signal doesn't just encrypt your private messages and calls from prying eyes and ears, it also scrambles and critically scrambles who you contact and when you communicate. Masu. This can also be incredibly revealing about an individual's life.
Nextcloud is a self-hosted Dropbox alternative
Nextcloud is a Dropbox alternative with all the document editing and sharing features you'd expect from a file storage system. The big advantage of Nextcloud is that you can host your own server at home for free. You can keep your server private and under your control, or you can hire a professional hosting provider to run your Nextcloud server for you.
Nextcloud is built with security in mind, providing end-to-end encrypted access to your files from your phone and other devices. Or, if you simply want a self-hosted Dropbox-like alternative for storage backup of your most sensitive personal files, Nextcloud is a great place to start.
Screenshot of Nextcloud, a self-hosted Dropbox alternative. Image credit: NextCloud
Why is this important? While cloud storage is often secure and private in some sense, the companies that operate it are under the scrutiny of law enforcement and (with good reason) It may scan your files invisibly, resulting in a sudden and permanent ban from your online account. Hosting yourself doesn't mean the police won't show up at your house with a warrant, but at least you'll know that.
Never forget your passwords again with Bitwarden
A password manager is a great investment in your personal security. These apps safely store your passwords, passkeys, credit cards, and other secrets so you don't have to remember them. Bitwarden is a popular open-source password manager that helps you quickly log in to your favorite sites and autofill credit card details when making payments. Bitwarden Password Manager can be accessed from anywhere, including your mobile phone. Bitwarden is free for anyone to use, but additional features are available at a low cost.
Why is this important? When it comes to password manager security, the more eyes you have on your source code to ensure authenticity and integrity, the better. And while other password managers are good, open source systems like Bitwarden are more easily auditable and open about the software development process.
Joplin and Notesnook encrypt and store your notes and doodles
For those who don't want to use Google Docs or Microsoft 365, there are plenty of note-taking apps that keep all your notes, thoughts, and doodles in one place and accessible at any time. Joplin is a popular document and productivity app that organizes, encrypts, and keeps your files in open formats (like Markdown) to take with you wherever you go. Notesnook is another note-taking app that lets you export your notes to use in other apps and is end-to-end encrypted so no one can read your files. The same cannot be said for Google Docs.
Joplin is a note-taking app that lets you sync your notes across devices. Image credit: Joplin
Why is this important? Large companies like Google and Microsoft are increasingly integrating their services, and today that means exposing notes, emails, and files to their AI systems. This is certainly useful, but if you want a simple cross-platform text sync app, there are plenty of options that don't do any invasive analysis at all.
Ente is an encrypted storage for your photos
If you want to keep your Apple Photos, Flickr, Google Photos, YouTube, etc., Ente.io is a privacy-focused photo storage app designed to safely back up all your photos and videos to the cloud. We are advertising. Ente scrambles your data with a password only you know, protects your memories from others, and backs up your data to multiple locations around the world for safekeeping. Additionally, Ente provides all the photo management and sharing features you'd want in a photo app. Ente is free for a basic account and offers more storage options at an affordable price.
Why is this important? Just like notes and documents, images are also a big target for AI systems. Automatic tagging of friends may seem convenient, but it requires consent. You must opt in before the machine learning model scans every face you've ever photographed. That alone is reason enough to consider an independent service with a little more choice.
Open Scanner is a very simple document scanning app
Scanning documents doesn't have to be a complicated or involved process. Open Scanner is a very simple point-and-click document scanning app for iPhone and Android. that's it. Sometimes that's the real beauty of moving away from profit-driven companies that bloat their apps with AI junk and features no one needs. Open Scanner can snap receipts, notes, textbooks, and anything else you can point your phone at.
Why is this important? Unless you really need a professional scanner, your phone will do a good job, and probably better than many cheap scanners out there. Don't require printer brand hardware equipment, use something simple and free.
RSS is a great web technology that allows you to subscribe to information feeds from your favorite sites, blogs, news sources, and more. Most news sites offer an RSS feed (TechCrunch also does) that delivers headlines to RSS-compatible apps known as RSS readers. There are many RSS readers. FreshRSS has been one of the most feature-packed RSS readers for over a decade due to its overall simplicity. You can self-host your instances or deploy private servers on dedicated cloud hosts. When you subscribe to your favorite feeds, it's finally like having your own auto-updating digital newspaper.
FreshRSS lets you collect all your news headlines in one place. Image credit: TechCrunch (screenshot)
Why is this important? You'd be surprised how different the news feels when you watch it this way. Also, with your own RSS settings, you can skip the kinds of sponsored posts and tracking you'd find on hosted services, as well as what you'll read later.
Own your live stream with Owncast
Owncast is a self-hosted streaming system for setting up and hosting live streams for those who want to broadcast their own shows, gameplay, or anything in between. Owncast is very popular because it's free, very easy to use, and works with your existing live streaming equipment. You may have never thought about live streaming before, but this is a good way to dip your toe into unfamiliar but friendly waters.
Why is this important? Sites like Twitch are certainly popular, but you may not want to rely completely on the tools of a giant company (in this case Amazon) at every step of the creative process. Owncast and other open streaming apps are a great way to avoid risk while reaching new audiences.
Stirling PDF is your one-stop PDF editing shop
Processing and editing PDF documents has never been easier. For those who don't want to splurge on Adobe software or upload files to sketchy file conversion websites, Stirling PDF is a Swiss Army knife for PDF documents. Convert, edit, combine, split, sign, and more without handing over your personal and sensitive files to cloud giants. You can also self-host Stirling PDF if you want to handle your documents with certain sensitivities.
StirlingPDF is a self-hosted PDF editor. Image credit: TechCrunch (screenshot)
Why is this important?Frankly, if you have a viable alternative to Adobe, go for it.