First of all a huge thanks to this community and Lemmy, without this shithead Trump I would have never known about Lemmy. 😅 It is so nice to enjoy a complete ad-free service, after years of being on Reddit.
I wanted to share my journey how i finally got rid and replaced a lot of things by European alternatives or FOSS Apps. I have to say I was amazed how much Apps I could replace with the F-Droid Appstore.
Maybe some of the things help others to find a European alternative.
- Desktop OS: Microsoft Windows 11 --> Linux Mint
- Mobile OS: Android --> e/Os (bought a used phone, which allows e/OS)
- Web browser: Google Chrome --> Ecosia, Mullvad
- Email: Gmail --> Posteo, Tutamail (Using Thunderbird as Clien
- Calendar: Google Calendar --> Fossify Calender and sync with kDrive
- Desktop OS: Microsoft Windows 11 --> Linux Mint
- Files: Google Drive --> Infomaniak kDrive
- Photos: Google Photos --> Ente
- Notes: Google Keep --> Fossify Notes [FOSS][P]
- Social Media:
- Facebook --> Deleted
- Instagram --> Deleted
- Reddit --> Lemmy
- AI Chatbot: OpenAI ChatGPT --> Mistral AI Le Chat
- Videos: Youtube --> Peertube, but barely using it
- Translate: Google Translate --> DeepL
- Maps: Google Maps --> Organic Maps, Here We Go, Koomot
- Weather: wetter.com --> Cirrus
- Online payments: PayPal --> Wero
- Mobile Payment: Google Pay --> Curve
- Password manager: Proton Pass --> KeePassXC sync with Syncthing across all devices
- Travel: Booking --> Check 24
- App Store: Play Store --> F-Droid, Aurora Store, e/Os App Lounge
So the best part about it, I first thought I would miss Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Reddit. But actually it feels quite liberating and browsing the internet without ads.
I forgot there were ads on the internet… However, hard to skip WhatsApp with all my relatives using it, including S.O. and children
Yeah WhatsApp was the hardest bit. But was annoyed by so many messages, so now I enjoy the reduced amount with Signal.
I was just about to give up on WhatsApp, until I landed in my current job, where I’m using it for work…
Welp… there goes all the company’s trade secrets.
We need more folks asking their friends and family to use Signal. I will do my part later.
Yeah, I also basically forgot about ads on the web :D
Not feeling that every step you make online can trigger an offload of content from a random internet bubble is great. Like when, e.g., that one day you clicked on a video about migration, and oh boy, algorithms go crazy. I totally don’t miss it.