What are your favorite privacy-focused alternatives to standard apps?
What are your favorite privacy-focused alternatives to standard apps?
Especially for those of us with no coding background, who can't just build/edit an app.
For example, I like using Gadgetbridge to replace my fitness tracker app: https://gadgetbridge.org/
It's not nearly as full-featured as a regular fitness app, but it literally can't connect to the internet so there's no way anyone can get my health info.
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It may be surprising and it may not be a viable solution for many here but, as much as I can, I try to use... analog tools.
Analog tools have zero tracking, zero spying, zero code. They're also reliable, sturdy, long lasting, don't need daily charging, update, upgrade or subscription fees. They work great. There is no one to tell me what I'm allowed to do and to not do with my analog tool or how I must do it.
- Fitness tracking: pen and paper. Next to date of the day I write down in a pocket notebook all the exercises I do, the time I walk (and the approx distance). It's limited and there is no fancy graphs, sure, but I don't need more — and it works: I do exercises and walk daily, more than when I was still wasting too much of my time looking for the perfect device and apps ;)
- Agenda: paper agenda. I don't need sync and certainly not reminders or Notifications. I open my agenda every single day and look at the page to know what's up, so paper is more than adequate.
- To-do: lists in my notebook.
- reading: I quit reading ebooks because of privacy and long-term ownership concerns and now mostly read printed books. If you're curious to know more about my motivations to switch back to print, I wrote a couple posts on my blog (check the link in my profile).
- I draft all my writings longhand, using a (fountain) pen and paper... or a good old typewriter. I have yet to find a better/simpler/distraction-free/and less bugged way to write my first drafts, no matter how fast I can type on a computer.
- I take all my notes by hand, personal, research notes using an analog Zettelkasten. Yep I tried (many) apps, nope I don't want to use them (no hate, just my preference). I'm much more efficient (and happy) using a stack of A6/4x6 sheets of paper even though there is no Search button ;)
- I sketch by hand, using a fountain pen plus a small cheap set of watercolor I can carry everywhere.
- As for computer, beside the Mac and iPhone I still use (for business purpose and because it takes time to change habits, I have been an Apple user since the 80s) my personal computer runs GNU/Linux Mint (and another runs Debian). I would not want to go back to a Mac, and certainly not to a spyware-riddled Windows PC.
- Web: Firefox. I have always used it and I was already using it when it was not yet called Firefox — I started browsing the Web using Mosaic.
- Mail client: Thunderbird.
- YouTube: mpv (+ yt-dlp), or Freetube (this one has a a nice gui if you don't like the cli)
- Word processing + Spreadsheet: LibreOffice (unlike MS Office, LO has no tracking and no AI crap... and no subscription)
- Illustration: Inkscape, over Illustrator/Affinity Designer
- Photo edit: Gimp, over Photoshop but, here, I can tell I dearly miss the simplicity/ease of use of Apple Photos app and I will often use it on the Mac. Disclaimer: I'm no pro photographer.
- Managing images: Digikam, over Lightroom. Digikam is such a good app (for managing files, less so for editing them but it's still nice to use) and it is so under-hyped, I've always wondered why.
- social media. I have an account here and on reddit, that is all. To be exact, I have accounts on many platforms, I just logged out of them a few years ago — tired of the constant hate and anxiety they promoted and of people seemingly loving to feed upon said hate and anxiety — and never logged back in since then. Don't miss any.
- Edit: Seach I (happily) pay for the Kagi search engine. It works great, without any tracking or ads and with some really cool features.
I started browsing the Web using Mosaic.
Some people don't realize this was the starting point for Netscape that later became Firefox. They wanted to create a browser that would be faster and better than Mosaic. A Mosaic-killer, if you will. So they named it Mozilla.
So they named it Mozilla.
I had no idea about that.
I do remember how much I liked their various logos, be it those of Netscape and how madly I loved the old Mozilla t-rex logo — I still wear their old t-shirt from time to time, just because of that stupid but gorgeous head ;)
No subscriptions? Sounds to me like you're deep into a subscription to big paper, old man.
No subscriptions? Sounds to me like you’re deep into a subscription to big paper, old man.
Well, I sure do purchase paper (and ink) but, unlike with stuff I would subscribe to, even if I would stop buying any more paper today I would keep a full and unlimited access to the one I already purchased, for as long as I fancy, at no extra-cost (1). Try that with a subscription, my young fellow ;)
1: the same with purchased films, series, music, licenses, books, and so on... Stuff I see no valid reason to keep subscribing to (I used to subscribe to many services), and enough good reasons to not keep subscribing to them.
I have been drawing with pencil since the 1980s and I have tried and tried and tried to get used to digital, but nothing compares to physical pencil and paper for me.
Yep, as well as for writing I must say. I'm no stranger to high-tech but I have yet to find a digital writing tool tool that makes me consider retiring my fountain pens.
Agreed. I’ve been working with computer tech since I was a kid. I wrote by first program on an Apple in like 1985 or so. But some things don’t have to be teched-up, and although lots of people use it, I personally could never get used to how it feels.
Photo edit: Gimp, over Photoshop but, here, I can tell I dearly miss the simplicity/ease
I strongly recommend to switch to Darktable.
You need 2-3 youtube tutorials for your start, because at first it is not intuitive at all. But then it is so much faster, easier and your results will be better.
(there are things that gimp can do and darktable can not, but these are deep expert features that you, the occasional non-pro, don't use anyway)
I strongly recommend to switch to Darktable. You need 2-3 youtube tutorials for your start, because at first it is not intuitive at all. But then it is so much faster, easier and your results will be better.
Thx for the suggestion.
I tried it, already (as well as its fork, Ansel). It's too complex and definitely not intuitive, like you mentioned, and it's also too powerful for my humble needs. Really I'm more than happy with something as simple as Apple Photos and would use its Libre equivalent if I could find it ;)
I thought the same for several years. Tried it. Dumped it. Then I finally :) did the tutorials. Now it is all easy.