Why do I self-host?

Digital freedom/independence

To put it simply, I do not want to depend on the existence of corp. X for data that is important to me. Many things could happen to corp. X such that your data could become inaccessible or worse:

• Corp. X could vanish/close/"declare backruptcy" (as with many cryto corps. lately).
• Corp. X could make a policy change and lock you out.
• You could forget to pay the bills a few times and get locked out.
• Corp. X could get hacked, and ransomed for data. This is the new fad!

Privacy at the population level

I am often asked 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?"

To such questions, I would pose the counter question:

Do we have a moral responsibily to ensure we leave the world in a better state than we inherit, or the very least, not in a worse state?

If your answer is no, then no need to read further, the following will not change your mind.

If your answer is yes, but you aren't convinced that these are related, then the argument goes something like this...

We live in a world of mass data collection/survailence.
This enables corp. X to use ML (Machine Learning) techniques to build/train AI (Artificial Intelligence) models that aim to predict human behaviour.
That in and of itself is not my cause for concern here.
The problems arise when corp. X use these techniques for profit without regard for the harm they cause at a population level (intentionally or not).
I have unfortunately lived through enough of these cases to be able to cite a few recent examples of this:

Instagram (etc.) designs its apps/products based on user behaviour data to keep its userbase on its platform for as long as possible [0]. You might think you are "too smart" to fall for these tricks, and you may be right, but what about the millions of boys, and girls who aren't as wise as you? Do they deserve to suffer from mental health, body image, confidence issues for the rest of their lives?

You could say "well thats due to bad parenting", but the point remains that more and more of the digital world is having real world negative consequences regardless of your individual participation level. For example:

It is well documented that Facebook's (etc.) targetted advertising played a significant a role in the 2016 US elections [1]. Many of the policies implemented during this time has real world consequences to millions of people potentially for many generations. This affects us all. Even if we don't have/use Facebook, we (most of us) cannot opt out of policy changes.

To summarize, it might not be a problem if individuals disregard their privacy at the individual level, but in aggregate, a population-wide disregard has dystopian consequences. (This is also the primary reason I refuse to participate in social media.)

So the question you have to ask yourself is...

Do I want to contribute to a dystopian (Orwellian) future?

If your answer is yes, then continue to live as you are.

If your answer is no, than we must put an end to mass data-collection by not voluntarily giving our data to corp. X, and finally acknowledging the value of our privacy. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can 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 as much as you can. You can see how I implement 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 as a starting point and try to search (Ctrl+f) for your service. For eg. Twitter, and Instagram both have popular options available.

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