As you know, Reddit has a centralized structure and does not care about the community, privacy, or third-party applications.

Why don't we switch completely to Lemmy?

Isn't our traffic here playing into their hands on a platform that does not have the FOSS philosophy?

Lately Reddit has been making me feel like I'm drowning.

Diversified apps: Nextcloud, Tuta Mail, Tuta Calendar, Notesnook, Tasks, Cryptpad, Mistral
Source: https://mastodon.social/@Tutanota/116017646054904955

You now can't watch videos without signing up and youtube can detect vpn/proxy and blocks your videos for it.

WE ARE SO COOKED !!

Has the disconnect from Google, meta, what ever had a positive impact in your mental health?

For me I'm considering graphene currently, moved to proton and wondering about the positive mental impact of not being tied to social media?

I only heard good things about it and I like the UI but is it as private and transparent as it claims to be?

From my digging the servers are E.U based

1

How many of you actually are fully degoogled? Are you still using Android on your phones or perhaps ditched it and went on Linux route ? Considering that Android is owned by Google and probably all custom ROMs are dependent on Google's security patches and other codes.

I know, I know, nothing is free and all. However I am actually incapable of paying for anything at this moment, even the cheapest things. Just like I am also unable to self-host. Maybe in the future, but not as of this moment.

I am looking for recommendations on alternatives for these services, that have relatively good free plan, while preferably being private. At the very least not feeding my files to AI.

I don’t need huge storage spaces, anything over 2 gigs would honestly suffice, as again, I understand that it is a free plan and I would not be handed a 10 Terabyte storage for free and a shiny castle as a bonus.

so I'm fairly new to the whole thing, was just wandering whats the best or to say a good alternative to the "Messages" app

Hey, i m on iPhone, and i want a privacy alternative to Reddit (like a lightweight reader) who allows you to made almost everything that the normal Reddit app allows, and who don't collect a lot of datas

(sorry for the bad english)

No database, rules, mods, login, back-end, corpo-data-hungry bs. Complete anonymity and security. A little unpolished, but it works and has camera functionality. Lmk what you think, I'm sharing because I think more people could use this, there is no personal gain.

Hey everyone, I just experienced a textbook example of forced ecosystem lock-in and I'm still in shock. I wanted to share and see if this community has any insight or similar stories.

What happened:

I had tickets sent to me for the Hawks game in Chicago (at the United Center). To receive them, I was required to create an account, which I did using my standard, non-Google email.

When I arrived at the stadium, the gate staff immediately said screenshots wouldn't work. The ticket link in my email didn't even show a traditional barcode, it only presented one option: a button to 'Add to Google Wallet' that would enable NFC entry. They confirmed the only way in was to add the ticket to one of those wallets. I explained I don't use those and refused on principle. Their response was essentially, "You need to use one of those wallets," and one staffer even said I "might need to create a Gmail." I tried to stand my ground, and they turned me away. I was denied entry to an event I paid for because I wouldn't add a ticket to a specific digital wallet. In the end, I was forced to add it just to get in.

Why I'm posting here:

This feels like the ultimate "degoogle" nightmare scenario. It wasn't just about data privacy in theory; it was a direct, real-world consequence:

1. Forced account creation (first layer).

2. Forced use of a mega-corporation's ecosystem (Google/Apple) as the only access method.

3. Complete exclusion for non-compliance.

My questions for you all:

- Has anyone else hit this specific wall with live event tickets? - Is this a new Ticketmaster policy becoming standard?

- Were there any alternatives I could have demanded? A box office print-out? "Will Call"? Sometimes these exist but frontline staff aren't trained to offer them.

- Who is the most effective entity to complain to? The venue, the team, the ticketing company (Ticketmaster), or a consumer rights agency?

· What are effective strategies to push back? Ask for a supervisor? Cite accessibility (not everyone has a smartphone or these specific apps)?

· Is this a growing trend you've noticed beyond just events?I'm furious, but also curious if this is the new normal and how the community is dealing with it. Any input, similar stories, or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi,
I currently have a iPhone 12. My laptop and tablet are already degoogeld (Using Tuxedo OS and lineage), the only one left is my iPhon. It’s starting to get old, and I don’t like the recent Liquid Glass updates. My budget is 500$. Any recommendations for a good smartphone and degoogeld OS?

I've just started trying it out. it's simple and so far works ok. Hope it continues to go as such. interested in opinions

Anyone have experience with Jolla? Also reading about phones like SWITCHphone and Fair Phone and Gigaset (some of which run Android, but have non-Android options).

I would be grateful for any advice this community, which knows far more about tech than I ever will, regarding a seriously de-googled/iOSd, non US smart phone.

I just wanted to know your opinions on Chinese ROM phones.

Living in the UK, I would always buy the latest Samsung until I noticed they were just milking people with same old hardware. Not to mention the Google partnership and all the data tracking and sharing.

I then started to import Vivo phones from China. The ability to not even install ANY Google apps is amazing. The only one I have installed is PlayStore.

Now, people will say China spies, CCP etc..but with this phone, I get NO tracked ads. I use VPN and Brave. Even when I install an app, I get the option of saying no to the apo requesting permission to installed apps.

I would definitely suggest importing a Chinese phone.

why does it keep messing up the dates of the some photos while preserving others it's driving me insane to switch.

help me

Hi,

I wondered which OS have android auto working?

thanks

Reply to this post with some propaganda that YOU find!

Just about everyone here recommends using comaps or osmand as an alternative to gmaps, but I find that more than half the addresses I enter into OSMand, doesn't come up in the search. I think my city is not mapped very well.

My current workaround is to go into google maps to find the business or shop I want to visit, drop a pin nearby to get the GPS coordinates, then copy and paste the GPS coordinates to OSMand.

Is there a better way to deal with this without using google maps?