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-author = "Kumar Damani"
-title = "Why do I self-host?"
-date = "2022-09-12"
-description = "Overview of why I self-host."
-tags = [
-    "personal",
-    "tech",
-]
-+++
-
-My reasons for self-hosting.
-<!--more-->
-
-## Digital freedom/independence
-
-![Freedeom pic](freedom.jpg)
-
-To put it simply, if you use a service such as Lastpass, iCloud, Dropbox, GDrive, OneDrive, etc.
-to store your data, **you do not own it**.
-
-You are *trusting* corp. X to store it, secure it, and make it available to you.
-Beyond the obvious privacy pitfalls with this, there are many other things that
-could go wrong with your data being stored this way:
-
-* Corp. X could vanish/close/"declare bankruptcy" (as with many crypto corps. lately), and you lose your data.
-* Corp. X could make a policy change and lock you out from accessing your account.
-* Or you could "forget" to pay the bills a few times and get locked out.
-* Corp. X could get hacked, and your data gets stolen. This is the latest trend!
-* Many other doomsday 💀 scenarios.
-
-Personally, I don't feel comfortable depending on the existence of corp. X *for data that is important to
-    me* i.e. a lifetime's worth of documents, memories, and passwords etc.
-I 💤 much better at night knowing I am avoiding most if not all of the risks above.
-
-
-## Privacy
-Normies often ask me some variation of:
-* Why do I care if corp. X has my data? I have nothing to hide!
-* Since I'm aware of targeted advertising, it won't work on me,
-    so why should I care if corp. X has my data?
-
-{{< figure src="why.jpg" alt="my pic" width="75%" >}}
-
-To such questions, I follow-up with:
-> **Do you want to contribute to a dystopian ([Orwellian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwellian) future?**
-
-{{< figure src="police.jpg" alt="thought police" width="75%" >}}
-
-If your answer is *yes*, then no need to read further, the following will not change your mind.
-
-If your answer is *no*, but you aren't convinced that/how these are related,
-then the *argument goes something like this...*
-* We live in a world of mass data-collection/surveillance.
-* This enables corp. X to use techniques such as ML (Machine Learning) to build/train models (or "AI" -
-    Artificial Intelligence)that aim to predict human behaviour.
-* That by itself is not a problem here.
-* The problems arise when corp. X use these techniques for profit without
-    regard for the harm they cause at a *population level*.
-
-I have unfortunately lived through enough of these cases to be able to cite a few recent examples:
-* Instagram (etc.) designs its apps/products optimizing for maximum <cite> addiction[^1]</cite>.
-    Think slot-machines.
-    You might think you are "too smart" to fall for these tricks, and you might be right,
-    but what about the millions of adolescents using these platforms who aren't as wise as you?
-    The data collected, and techniques developed from *your usage* enables platforms
-    to target not only you, but *all* users on the platform, including the most vulnerable.
-
-    Unfortunately, many of these kids will end up suffering from mental-health,
-    body-image, self-esteem <cite>issues[^2]</cite>,
-    and for some it **will be fatal**.
-    I do not think this is morally acceptable, and is primary reason I refuse
-    to participate in social-media platforms.
-
-    ![Depression](6imv05.jpg)
-    [^1]: [Smartphones and dopamine](https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/)
-    [^2]: [Mental health and social media](https://onlinedegrees.unr.edu/online-master-of-public-health/impact-of-social-media-on-youth-mental-health/)
-
-You could say "well that's due to bad parenting", but the point remains that
-more and more of the digital world is having <em>real world</em> negative consequences regardless of
-your individual participation level. Another example:
-
-* By now its well known that Facebook's (etc.) targeted advertising
-    played a significant a role in the 2016 US <cite>Elections[^3]</cite>.
-    Facebook was able to do this thanks to its users voluntarily giving personal information for two decades.
-    However, the policies that come out of this election has real world consequences to millions
-    (if not billions) of people, regardless of their *individual* Facebook usage, which
-    undermines the very purpose of a democratic republic.
-    Regardless of your political affiliation, it should worry you that this *can* happen.
-
-    ![Elections](elections.jpg)
-    [^3]: [Excerpt from Facebook ex-exec](https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society)
-
-To summarize, it might not be a problem if individuals disregard their
-privacy at the individual level, but in aggregate, a <em>population-wide</em> disregard
-has dystopian consequences.
-
-So the question you have to ask yourself is:
-> **What can I do?**
-
-Start by **valuing your privacy**.
-Then, follow some of these tips to *say no...*
-* **Limit your exposure to these services.** If a friend stops talking to you because
-    of this, then congratulations, you've just gotten rid of a fake friend. You're welcome.
-* [Self-host](https://wiki.r-selfhosted.com/getting-started/what-is-self-hosting/)
-    as much as you can.
-    You can see how I [implement](https://gitlab.com/kdam0/vps) this and replicate it yourself,
-    though it is a bit involved for normies.
-* If neither of the above work for you, then you'll need to do some research to
-    find an alternative source that you can trust isn't doing the same thing.
-    Use [this](https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted)
-    as a starting point and try to search (Ctrl+f) for your service. For eg. Twitter, and
-    Instagram both have popular options available.
-* **Stop using Chrome.** If you must use it, use [Brave](https://brave.com/) instead.
-    I advocate for [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/?redirect_source=firefox-com).
-    Neither are perfect, but both offer privacy respecting options in their settings.
-    Specifically disabling cross-site tracking is important.
-    Beyond that, install an ad-blocker extension such as [UBlock Origin](https://ublockorigin.com/)
-    on both of them. Don't forget to do the same on your mobile device!
-* Things get more complicated on cell-phones.
-    I suggest switching to a privacy respecting operating-system such as [GrapheneOS](https://grapheneos.org/)
-    Short of this, you can only limit your usage.
-* Support government policies that respect user-privacy.
-
-{{< figure src="office.png" alt="office pic" width="75%" >}}