How I try to avoid all Big Tech Products

Currently waiting for my Shiftphone to arrive. Then I will install ShiftOS L or /e/OS on the device which are Google free operating systems with alternative app stores such as F-Droid or IzzyOnDroid. I plan to create a guide for how to #deGoogle your Smartphone then, with all the struggles that may arise.

I currently use DuckDuckGo. This is not the perfect solution maybe, since DDG uses some Big Tech Search Indexes (e.g. Bing), but it's definitely better for privacy than using Google Search or Bing directly. Once Ecosia has moved to its own Search Index, I will try out their service again. Good Search is also on my list. Its ad-free approach really resonates with me, I'd be willing to subscribe to its service for a few bugs a month.

I switched to Organic Maps a while ago. I'm really happy with the app. One just has to keep in mind to download maps in advance before traveling. (Which I forgot a couple of times already.) But once downloading is done the experience is even nicer than on Google Maps.

Some downsides:

• Opening Hours information for businesses does not seem to be as accurate as on Google Maps
• Traffic information is not available.
• Recently Organic Map was forked to CoMaps by some contributors because of governance concerns. I will probably check out CoMaps as well in the near future.

I got completely rid of WhatsApp. That keeps out of the loop of some group chats, but it works great without it. A lot of people in my bubble have moved to Signal or run both apps.

I try to use Wero for private transactions and on this website for potential donations. But honestly not a lot of people use it yet. I still have my PayPal account, because I'm yet to switch a few recurring payments to a new payment system.

I don't buy from Amazon anymore nor do I have a Prime subscription. I did not get around to delete the account yet though, because someone uses a FireTV through my account.

My Laptop still works well, Windows 11 does not support its hardware though. Great opportunity to switch to Ubuntu. Will do it soon.

My M365 Copilot (is that what it's called now?) subscription ended with 2025. I switched to LibreOffice and didn't have any issues apart from minor font-related glitches.

I try to not use (Gen)AI at all, because I think its built on theft. But sometimes I shamefully try it to get a quick start on a task. I'm usually not super impressed with the results in general, but in terms of quality LeChat does not lag behind in quality compared to ChatGPT. In that sense I'm happy to have abandoned ChatGPT.

My Gmail account is still active because of legacy reasons and since I'm still using Android, it will take a while before I can delete the account completely. I have a Mailbox account for about five year, which has been used for newly created online accounts since then. Happy with the result.

I still use LastPass as my Password Manager. I set up a server for Bitwarden with Cloudron. I did not get around to configure it properly yet.

I moved away from Twitter in 2022. The bubbles I'm interested in have mostly migrated to Mastodon or Bluesky anway. Only Chess content creators are still mainly on X. Luckily, at least Lichess is on Mastodon.

I currently use CryptPad and I'm very happy with the product at the moment.

I moved to away from Spotify and I'm happy with the alternative Deezer. I'm not missing any bands yet. On the contrary, some bands have removed their content from Spotify but still have active accounts on Deezer (e.g. Deerhoof). Deezer is lagging behind only on Podcasts and Audiobooks. But I don't mind,since I didn't use Spotify for neither.

I use Firefox for private use and I'm happy with it. It lags behind on latest Web APIs, but on almost all websites everything works fine.

I still have to use Chrome (I feel like) because as a web developer I want to keep up-to-date with latest developments. I could use other Chromium based browsers like Vivaldi, but for development purposes I want to see the website how the majority of visitors will see what I develop.

Some content I want to watch is nowhere to be found but on YouTube. That's why I still use the platform. My advice would be to NOT use the native app but the web app instead, with a good Ad/Privacy Plugin like UBlock Origin. This will save you time spent on watching spammy ads.

LinkedIn is still on my TODO list. Most of the times I log in, I regret it, because of so much AI slop or AI shills. But sometimes I find useful information on there. My plan is to delete the account this year.

I happily switched to Codeberg for my personal projects such as this one. On some work related projects I have to stick with Github for now unfortunately.

My Samsung mobile device will be switched for a Shiftphone soon. It's already ordered but will take a few more weeks until it's delivered.

I currently use OVH whenever I need to host web applications. Hetzner seems to be another great choice because of their commitment to green energy sources.