Anything you can play with VLC is able to cast. If you use a client like NewPipe for YouTube, you can set it up to play videos externally with VLC
This is absolutely correct. The process to fully make this sort of transition is arduous and must be fought in small battles. When I decided I wanted to pursue this protest, I bought a NAS, and completely separate phone from my daily driver to prepare my alternatives. Over time, the convenience of using self-hosted/FOSS vs Google became imperceptible, and soon I was ready to make the full leap to my new phone. That was an incredible moment. I believe that if we share our experiences and knowledge along this journey, we'll instill confidence into others and inspire them to join us
The biggest factor that decided which one for me all fell down to the mobile experience. I take all my photos on my phone, and I want a solution that will auto upload and allow me to browse them like Google Photos. Immich does a fantastic job with this. I haven't found a better solution than it yet
Privacy was the reason it started, but I was also constantly bothered by the growing annual profits they earned from people basically giving away access to their information and livelihoods for free. I realized how valuable our information is, and the only way to break this deepening centralization and control of it, was to take it all back. Self-hosting and supporting FOSS are my methods to regain control in this war. It has become a sort of holy war for me at this point. Lol